Quasi Long Range Order and Vortex Lattice in the Three State Potts Model

We show that the order-disorder phase transition in the three state Potts ferromagnet on a square lattice is driven by a coupled proliferation of vortices and domain walls. Raising the vortex core energy above a certain value decouples the proliferation and splits the transition into two. The phase between the two transitions exhibits an emergent U(1) symmetry and quasi long range order. Lowering the core energy also splits the order-disorder transition but the proliferation does not decouple and a vortex lattice appears as the intermediate phase.