Evidence of one-step replica symmetry breaking in a three-dimensional Potts glass model

Abstract: We study a 7-state Potts glass model in three dimensions with first, second, and third neighbor interactions with a bimodal distribution of couplings by Monte Carlo simulations. Our results show the existence of a spin-glass transition at a finite temperature T_c, a discontinuous jump of an order parameter at T_c without latent heat, and a non-trivial structure of the order-parameter distribution below T_c. They are compatible with a one-step replica symmetry breaking.