Monte Carlo study of the antiferromagnetic three-state Potts model with staggered polarization field on the square lattice

Using the Wang-Landau Monte Carlo method, we study the antiferromagnetic (AF) three-state Potts model with a staggered polarization field on the square lattice. We obtain two phase transitions; one belongs to the ferromagnetic three-state Potts universality class, and the other to the Ising universality class. The phase diagram obtained is quantitatively consistent with the transfer matrix calculation. The Ising transition in the large nearest-neighbor interaction limit has been made clear by the detailed analysis of the energy density of states.