A new algorithm for Monte Carlo simulation of Ising spin systems

We describe a new algorithm for Monte Carlo simulation of Ising spin systems and present results of a study comparing the speed of the new technique to that of a standard technique applied to a square lattice of 6400 spins evolving via single spin flips. We find that at temperatures T < Tc, the critical temperature, the new technique is faster than the standard technique, being ten times faster at T = 0.588 Tc. We expect that the new technique will be especially valuable in Monte Carlo simulation of the time evolution of binary alloy systems. The new algorithm is essentially a reorganization of the standard algorithm. It accounts for the a priori probability of changing spins before, rather than after, choosing the spin or spins to change.