Influence of aperiodic modulations on first-order transitions: numerical study of the two-dimensional Potts model

We study the Potts model on a rectangular lattice with aperiodic modulations in its interactions along one direction. Numerical results are obtained using the Wolff algorithm and for many lattice sizes, allowing for a finite-size scaling analyses to be carried out. Three different self-dual aperiodic sequences are employed, which leads to more precise results, since the exact critical temperature is known. We analyze two models, with six and fifteen number of states: both present first-order transitions on their uniform versions. We show that the Harris-Luck criterion, originally introduced in the study of continuous transitions, is obeyed also for first-order ones. Also, we show that the new universality class that emerges for relevant aperiodic modulations depends on the number of states of the Potts model, as obtained elsewhere for random disorder, and on the aperiodic sequence. We determine the occurrence of log-periodic behavior, as expected for models with aperiodic modulated interactions.