We have investigated the dynamic critical behavior of the two-dimensional Z(5)-symmetric spin model by using short-time Monte Carlo (MC) simulations. We have obtained estimates of some critical points in its rich phase diagram and included, among the usual critical lines the study of first-order (weak) transition by looking into the order-disorder phase transition. In addition, we also investigated the soft-disorder phase transition by considering empiric methods. A study of the behavior of $\beta /\nu z$ along the self-dual critical line has been performed and special attention has been devoted to the critical bifurcation point, or Fateev-Zamolodchikov (FZ) point. First, by using a refinement method and taking into account simulations out of equilibrium, we were able to localize parameters of this point. In a second part of our study, we turned our attention to the behavior of the model at the early stage of its time evolution in order to find the dynamic critical exponent $z$ as well as the static critical exponents $\beta$ and $\nu$ of the FZ point on square lattices. The values of the static critical exponents and parameters are in good agreement with the exact results, and the dynamic critical exponent $z\approx 2.28$ very close to the four-state Potts model ($z\approx 2.29$).

We present a method to derive an analytical expression for the roughness of an eroded surface whose dynamics are ruled by cellular automaton. Starting from the automaton, we obtain the time evolution of the height average and height variance (roughness). We apply this method to the etching model in $1+1$ dimensions, and then we obtain the roughness exponent. Using this in conjunction with the Galilean invariance we obtain the other exponents, which perfectly match the numerical results obtained from simulations. These exponents are exact, and they are the same as those exhibited by the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) model for this dimension. Therefore, our results provide proof for the conjecture that the etching and KPZ models belong to the same universality class. Moreover, the method is general, and it can be applied to other cellular automata models.

In this paper we revisited the Ziff-Gulari-Barshad model to study its phase transitions and critical exponents through time-dependent Monte Carlo simulations. We use a method proposed recently to locate the nonequilibrium second-order phase transitions and that has been successfully used in systems with defined Hamiltonians and with absorbing states. This method, which is based on optimization of the coefficient of determination of the order parameter, was able to characterize the continuous phase transition of the model, as well as its upper spinodal point, a pseudocritical point located near the discontinuous phase transition. The static critical exponents $\beta , {\nu }_{\parallel }$, and ${\nu }_{\perp }$, as well as the dynamic critical exponents $\theta$ and $z$ for the continuous transition point, were also estimated and are in excellent agreement with results found in literature.