Quantum criticality and optical conductivity in a two-valley system

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Gindikin, Yasha, Li, Songci, Levchenko, Alex, Kamenev, Alex, Chubukov, Andrey V., Maslov, Dmitrii L.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Gindikin, Yasha
Li, Songci
Levchenko, Alex
Kamenev, Alex
Chubukov, Andrey V.
Maslov, Dmitrii L.
author_facet Gindikin, Yasha
Li, Songci
Levchenko, Alex
Kamenev, Alex
Chubukov, Andrey V.
Maslov, Dmitrii L.
contents We demonstrate that the optical conductivity of a Fermi liquid (FL) in the absence of umklapp scattering is dramatically affected by the topology of the Fermi surface (FS). Specifically, electron-electron (ee) scattering leads to rapid current relaxation in systems with multiple, or multiply connected, FSs, provided the valleys have different effective masses. This effect results from intervalley drag. We microscopically derive the optical conductivity of a two-valley system, both within the FL regime and near a quantum critical point (QCP) of the Ising-nematic type. In the FL regime, intervalley drag restores the Gurzhi-like scaling of the conductivity, $\mathrm{Re} σ(ω) \sim ω^0$. This dependence contrasts sharply with the previously identified sub-leading contribution to the conductivity of a two-dimensional FL with a single convex FS, where $\mathrm{Re} σ(ω) \sim ω^2 \ln |ω|$. The vanishing of the leading term in the optical conductivity is a signature of geometric constraints on ee scattering channels, which are lifted for a multiply connected FS. A large differential response, $d \mathrm{Re} σ/d μ$ with $μ$ being the chemical potential, is predicted at the Lifshitz transition from a single-valley to a multi-valley FS, which should be observable within the experimentally accessible frequency range. Near a QCP, intervalley drag leads to a $|ω|^{-2/3}$ scaling of $\mathrm{Re} σ(ω)$ in 2D, thus providing a specific current-relaxing process for this long-standing conjecture.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2406_10503
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Quantum criticality and optical conductivity in a two-valley system
Gindikin, Yasha
Li, Songci
Levchenko, Alex
Kamenev, Alex
Chubukov, Andrey V.
Maslov, Dmitrii L.
Strongly Correlated Electrons
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
We demonstrate that the optical conductivity of a Fermi liquid (FL) in the absence of umklapp scattering is dramatically affected by the topology of the Fermi surface (FS). Specifically, electron-electron (ee) scattering leads to rapid current relaxation in systems with multiple, or multiply connected, FSs, provided the valleys have different effective masses. This effect results from intervalley drag. We microscopically derive the optical conductivity of a two-valley system, both within the FL regime and near a quantum critical point (QCP) of the Ising-nematic type. In the FL regime, intervalley drag restores the Gurzhi-like scaling of the conductivity, $\mathrm{Re} σ(ω) \sim ω^0$. This dependence contrasts sharply with the previously identified sub-leading contribution to the conductivity of a two-dimensional FL with a single convex FS, where $\mathrm{Re} σ(ω) \sim ω^2 \ln |ω|$. The vanishing of the leading term in the optical conductivity is a signature of geometric constraints on ee scattering channels, which are lifted for a multiply connected FS. A large differential response, $d \mathrm{Re} σ/d μ$ with $μ$ being the chemical potential, is predicted at the Lifshitz transition from a single-valley to a multi-valley FS, which should be observable within the experimentally accessible frequency range. Near a QCP, intervalley drag leads to a $|ω|^{-2/3}$ scaling of $\mathrm{Re} σ(ω)$ in 2D, thus providing a specific current-relaxing process for this long-standing conjecture.
title Quantum criticality and optical conductivity in a two-valley system
topic Strongly Correlated Electrons
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.10503