The Interface free energy: Comparison of accurate Monte Carlo results for the 3D Ising model with effective interface models.

We provide accurate Monte Carlo results for the free energy of interfaces with periodic boundary conditions in the 3D Ising model. We study a large range of inverse temperatures, allowing to control corrections to scaling. In addition to square interfaces, we study rectangular interfaces for a large range of aspect ratios u=L_1/L_2. Our numerical results are compared with predictions of effective interface models. This comparison verifies clearly the effective Nambu-Goto model up to two-loop order. Our data also allow us to obtain the estimates T_c sigma^-1/2=1.235(2), m_0++ sigma^-1/2=3.037(16) and R_+=f_+^2 sigma_0 =0.387(2), which are more precise than previous ones.