A MATLAB GUI to Study Ising Model Phase Transition

Abstract

We have created a MATLAB based graphical user interface (GUI) that simulates the single spin flip Metropolis Monte Carlo algorithm. The GUI has the capability to study temperature and external magnetic field dependence of magnetization, susceptibility, and equilibration behavior of the nearest-neighbor square lattice Ising model. Since the Ising model is a canonical system to study phase transition, the GUI can be used both for teaching and research purposes. The presence of a Monte Carlo code in a GUI format allows easy visualization of the simulation in real time and provides an attractive way to teach the concept of thermal phase transition and critical phenomena. We will also discuss the GUI implementation to study phase transition in a classical spin ice model on the pyrochlore lattice. Funding Source: Center for Undergraduate Research and Scholarship and Department of Chemistry and Physics