Weak First-Order Transition and Pseudoscaling Behavior in the Universality Class of the O(N) Ising Model

Using Monte Carlo and renormalization group methods, we investigate systems with critical behavior described by two order parameters: continuous (vector) and discrete (scalar). We consider two models of classical three-dimensional Heisenberg magnets with different numbers of spin components N = 1, horizontal ellipsis ,4: the model on a cubic lattice with an additional competing antiferromagnetic exchange interaction in a layer and the model on a body-centered lattice with two competing antiferromagnetic interactions. In both models, we observe a first-order transition for all values of N. In the case where competing exchanges are approximately equal, the first order of a transition is close to the second order, and pseudoscaling behavior is observed with critical exponents differing from those of the O(N) model. In the case N = 2, the critical exponents are consistent with the well-known indices of the class of magnets with a noncollinear spin ordering. We also give a possible explanation of the observed pseudoscaling in the framework of the renormalization group analysis.