https://doi.org/10.1007/s100510050171
Boundary condition histograms for modulated phases
1
Department of Physics, Condensed Matter
Section, ICTP, P.O. Box 586, 34014, Trieste, Italy
2
Laboratoire de Physique des Solides
Laboratoire associé au CNRS, Université de Paris-Sud, Bâtiment 510,
91405 Orsay Cedex, France
3
Department of Physics
Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas 77843-4242, USA
Corresponding author: a marc@classic.lps.u-psud.fr
Received:
9
September
1997
Revised:
17
October
1997
Accepted:
3
November
1997
Published online: 15 January 1998
Boundary conditions strongly affect the results of numerical computations for finite size inhomogeneous or incommensurate structures. We present a method which allows to deal with this problem, both for ground state and for critical properties: it combines fluctuating boundary conditions and specific histogram techniques. Our approach concerns classical systems possessing a continuous symmetry as well as quantum systems. In particular, current-current correlation functions, which probe large scale coherence of the states, can be accurately evaluated. We illustrate our method on a frustrated two dimensional XY model.
PACS: 75.10.Hk – Classical spin models
© EDP Sciences, Società Italiana di Fisica, Springer-Verlag, 1998