Inducing Extraordinary-log Criticality through a Quantum Spin Chain

Abstract

We demonstrate the emergence of extraordinary-log criticality in a quantum many-body system by coupling a spin-$1/2$ Heisenberg chain to a two-dimensional quantum critical Heisenberg bilayer. Under the quantum-to-classical mapping, the chain acts as a plane defect in a three-dimensional critical environment for which the extraordinary-log universality class has recently been predicted. Using large-scale sign-problem-free quantum Monte Carlo simulations, we directly probe the renormalization-group flow of the effective defect coupling through the spin stiffness. We observe the characteristic logarithmic growth with linear system size $L$, corresponding to a stable weak-coupling fixed point and a running coupling $g(L)\sim 1/\log L$. Furthermore, the extracted step-scaling function quantitatively follows the universal renormalization-group flow predicted for the extraordinary-log universality class, including the leading and subleading universal coefficients. Our results establish extraordinary-log criticality in a genuine quantum many-body setting and show that its universal behavior persists despite the topological $θ$-term present in the low-energy field theory of the isolated spin chain.