Weak first-order transition in the three-dimensional site-diluted Ising antiferromagnet in a magnetic field

Abstract

We perform intensive numerical simulations of the three-dimensional site-diluted Ising antiferromagnet in a magnetic field at high values of the external applied field. Even if data for small lattice sizes are compatible with second-order criticality, the critical behavior of the system shows a crossover from second-order to first-order behavior for large system sizes, where signals of latent heat appear. We propose “apparent” critical exponents for the dependence of some observables on the lattice size for a generic disordered first-order phase transition.