Fixed Point Stability Switches from Attractive to Repulsive at 2d Pomeranchuk/Stoner Instabilities via Field-Theoretical RG

Abstract

We study an interacting two-flavor fermionic system via field-theoretical functional renormalization group (RG). Each flavor, labeled by $\pm$, has a dispersion of $E^{\pm}=c k^{2\alpha}-\mu^\pm$ with tunable real exponent $\alpha>0$. The effective theory is parametrized by intra-flavor and inter-flavor interactions, preserving global U(1) $\times$ U(1) symmetry, which can be enhanced to U(2). The U(2) symmetric system has a Fermi liquid phase and two possible instabilities, leading to spontaneous spatial rotational or flavor symmetry breaking, known as the Pomeranchuk and Stoner instabilities, respectively. The key discovery of this work is the following. The Stoner instability possesses an RG fixed point that preserves the U(2) symmetry. For $\alpha<1$, this fixed point is attractive, indicating a continuous transition. Conversely, for $\alpha>1$, the fixed point becomes repulsive, and without fine-tuning, there is runaway RG flow, resulting in a discontinuous transition. The U(1) $\times$ U(1) symmetric system, with $\mu^+\neq \mu^-$, exhibits richer physics. This system have two Pomeranchuk instabilities. At one of them, a non-trivial RG fixed point switches its nature from attractive to repulsive as $\alpha$ increases across $1$. Notably, the runaway flow at $\alpha>1$ results in the depletion of a Fermi surface at the transition. Collective modes in these Fermi liquids are also investigated. A universal Fermi surface deformation ratio $\delta\mu^+/\delta\mu^-$ is predicted for $\alpha<1$ at the instability as a continuous transition, which can be observed experimentally.