Phase Transitions in the Two-Dimensional O(3) Model.

We use Monte Carlo, transfer-matrix and finite-size scaling methods to investigate twodimensional O(n) models with n > 2, in particular the case n = 3 which includes the classical Heisenberg model. Depending on the type of interaction and the lattice structure, two different types of phase transitions are present. One type resembles the hard-hexagon transition and occurs in the loop representation of the honeycomb O(n) model. The other type is a first-order transition which occurs for spin-spin interactions that are strongly nonlinear in the neighbor-spin products. When the nonlinearity is decreased, the first-order line ends in a critical point. The existence of the first-order line is in agreement with mean-field theory as well as with high- and low-temperature approximations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]