Influence of dilution on the strong first-order phase transition of the 3D 4-state Potts model Original Research Article

We investigate the phase diagram of the bond-diluted three-dimensional 4-state Potts model which undergoes a strong first-order phase transition in the pure case. We used standard large-scale Monte Carlo simulations with a cluster algorithm coupled to multicanonical methods in the regime of low dilution where the transition is supposed to be first order. We present strong numerical evidence for the existence of a tricritical point and we give an estimate of its location.