Critical Dynamics of the Antiferromagnetic $O(3)$ Nonlinear Sigma Model with Conserved Magnetization

Abstract

We study the near-equilibrium critical dynamics of the $O(3)$ nonlinear sigma model describing isotropic antiferromagnets with non-conserved order parameter reversibly coupled to the conserved total magnetization. To calculate response and correlation functions, we set up a description in terms of Langevin stochastic equations of motion, and their corresponding Janssen--De~Dominicis response functional. We find that in equilibrium, the dynamics is well-separated from the statics, at least to one-loop order in a perturbative treatment with respect to the static and dynamical nonlinearities. Since the static nonlinear sigma model must be analyzed in a dimensional $d = 2 + \varepsilon$ expansion about its lower critical dimension $d_\textrm{lc} = 2$, whereas the dynamical mode-coupling terms are governed by the upper critical dimension $d_c = 4$, a simultaneous perturbative dimensional expansion is not feasible, and the reversible critical dynamics for this model cannot be accessed at the static critical renormalization group fixed point. However, in the coexistence limit addressing the long-wavelength properties of the low-temperature ordered phase, we can perform an $\epsilon = 4 - d$ expansion near $d_c$. This yields anomalous scaling features induced by the massless Goldstone modes, namely sub-diffusive relaxation for the conserved magnetization density with asymptotic scaling exponent $z_\Gamma = d - 2$ which may be observable in neutron scattering experiments. Intriguingly, if initialized near the critical point, the renormalization group flow for the effective dynamical exponents recovers their universal critical values $z_c = d / 2$ in an intermediate crossover region.