Spin-Peierls instability of deconfined quantum critical points
Fuente:
arXiv
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2024
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1866909315905880064 |
|---|---|
| author | Hofmeier, David Willsher, Josef Seifert, Urban F. P. Knolle, Johannes |
| author_facet | Hofmeier, David Willsher, Josef Seifert, Urban F. P. Knolle, Johannes |
| contents | Deconfined quantum critical points (DQCPs) are putative phase transitions beyond the Landau paradigm with emergent fractionalized degrees of freedom. The original example of a DQCP is the spin-1/2 quantum antiferromagnet on the square lattice which features a second order transition between valence bond solid (VBS) and Néel order. The VBS order breaks a lattice symmetry, and the corresponding VBS order parameter may couple to lattice distortion modes (phonons) at appropriate momenta. We investigate a field-theoretic description of the DQCP in the presence of such a spin-lattice coupling. We show that treating phonons as classical lattice distortions leads to a relevant monopole-phonon interaction inducing an instability towards a distorted lattice by an analogous mechanism to the spin-Peierls instability in one dimension. Consequently, there is a breakdown of the DQCP which generally becomes a strong first-order transition. Taking into account the full quantum nature of the phonons, we argue that the continuous DQCP persists above a critical phonon frequency. Lastly, we comment on the connection to general gapless, deconfined gauge theories. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2406_12729 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Spin-Peierls instability of deconfined quantum critical points Hofmeier, David Willsher, Josef Seifert, Urban F. P. Knolle, Johannes Strongly Correlated Electrons High Energy Physics - Theory Deconfined quantum critical points (DQCPs) are putative phase transitions beyond the Landau paradigm with emergent fractionalized degrees of freedom. The original example of a DQCP is the spin-1/2 quantum antiferromagnet on the square lattice which features a second order transition between valence bond solid (VBS) and Néel order. The VBS order breaks a lattice symmetry, and the corresponding VBS order parameter may couple to lattice distortion modes (phonons) at appropriate momenta. We investigate a field-theoretic description of the DQCP in the presence of such a spin-lattice coupling. We show that treating phonons as classical lattice distortions leads to a relevant monopole-phonon interaction inducing an instability towards a distorted lattice by an analogous mechanism to the spin-Peierls instability in one dimension. Consequently, there is a breakdown of the DQCP which generally becomes a strong first-order transition. Taking into account the full quantum nature of the phonons, we argue that the continuous DQCP persists above a critical phonon frequency. Lastly, we comment on the connection to general gapless, deconfined gauge theories. |
| title | Spin-Peierls instability of deconfined quantum critical points |
| topic | Strongly Correlated Electrons High Energy Physics - Theory |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.12729 |