arXiv subjects

Alexei M. Tsvelik

Publications and source records attributed to Alexei M. Tsvelik.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2020

How magnetic field can transform a superconductor into a Bose metal

We discuss whether a simple theory of superconducting stripes coupled by Josephson tunneling can describe a metallic transport, once the coherent tunneling of pairs is suppressed by the magnetic field. For a clean system, the conclusion we reached is negative: the excitation spectrum of preformed pairs consists of Landau levels, and once the magnetic field exceeds a critical value, the transport becomes insulating. As a speculation, we suggest that a Bose metal can exist in disordered systems provided that the disorder is strong enough to localize some pairs. Then the coupling between propagating and localized pairs broadens the Landau levels, resulting in a metallic conductivity. Our model respects the particle-hole symmetry, which leads to a zero Hall response. And intriguingly, the resulting anomalous metallic state has no Drude peak and the spectral weight of the cyclotron resonance vanishes at low temperatures.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2020

How transverse thermal fluctuations disorder a condensate of chiral spirals into a quantum spin liquid

For a scalar theory with a global $O(N)$ symmetry, when $N=2$ a spatially inhomogeneous condensate arises when the term in the Lagrangian with two spatial derivatives has a negative coefficient. If the condensate for such a chiral spiral includes only one mode, characterized by a momentum $k_0 \hat{z}$, then in perturbation theory at nonzero temperature the propagator for the static mode has a double pole when $\vec{k}^2 = k_0^2$. We conjecture that since chiral spirals spontaneously break both global and spacetime symmetries, that such double poles are a universal property of their static transverse modes. Fluctuations from double poles generate linear infrared divergences in any number of spatial dimensions and disorder the condensate of chiral spirals, analogous to a type of quantum spin liquid. The characteristic feature of this region is that over large spatial distances the two point function is the usual exponential times an oscillatory function. We prove this at large $N$ and suggest this occurs for all $N > 2$. Implications for four-fermion models and the phase diagram of QCD are discussed.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2019

Generalised route to effective field theories for quantum systems with local constraints

Some of the exciting phenomena uncovered in strongly correlated systems in recent years - for instance quantum topological order, deconfined quantum criticality, and emergent gauge symmetries -- appear in systems in which the Hilbert space is effectively projected at low energies in a way that imposes local constraints on the original degrees of freedom. Cases in point include spin liquids, valence bond systems, dimer models, and vertex models. In this work, we use a slave boson description coupled to a large-$S$ path integral formulation to devise a generalised route to obtain effective field theories for such systems. We demonstrate the validity and capability of our approach by studying quantum dimer models and by comparing our results with the existing literature. Field-theoretic approaches to date are limited to bipartite lattices, they depend on a gauge-symmetric understanding of the constraint, and they lack generic quantitative predictive power for the coefficients of the terms that appear in the Lagrangians of these systems. Our method overcomes all these shortcomings and we show how the results up to quadratic order compare with the known height description of the square lattice quantum dimer model, as well as with the numerical estimate of the speed of light of the photon excitations on the diamond lattice. Finally, instanton considerations allow us to infer properties of the finite-temperature behaviour in two dimensions.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2019

Anomalies in the pseudogap phase of the cuprates: Competing ground states and the role of umklapp scattering

Over the past two decades, advances in computational algorithms have revealed a curious property of the two-dimensional Hubbard model (and related theories) with hole doping: the presence of close-in-energy competing ground states that display very different physical properties. On the one hand, there is a complicated state exhibiting intertwined spin, charge, and pair density wave orders. We call this `type A'. On the other hand, there is a uniform d-wave superconducting state that we denote as `type B'. We advocate, with the support of both microscopic theoretical calculations and experimental data, dividing the high-temperature cuprate superconductors into two corresponding families, whose properties reflect either the type A or type B ground states at low temperatures. We review the anomalous properties of the pseudogap phase that led us to this picture, and present a modern perspective on the role that umklapp scattering plays in these phenomena in the type B materials. This reflects a consistent framework that has emerged over the last decade, in which Mott correlations at weak coupling drive the formation of the pseudogap. We discuss this development, recent theory and experiments, and open issues.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2019

Ladder-like optical conductivity in the spin-fermion model

In the nested limit of the spin-fermion model for the cuprates, one-dimensional physics in the form of half-filled two-leg ladders emerges. We show that the renormalization group flow of the corresponding ladder is towards the d-Mott phase, a gapped spin-liquid with short-ranged d-wave pairing correlations, and reveals an intermediate SO(5)$\times$SO(3) symmetry. We use the results of the renormalization group in combination with a memory-function approach to calculate the optical conductivity of the spin-fermion model in the high-frequency regime, where processes within the hot spot region dominate the transport. We argue that umklapp processes play a major role. For finite temperatures, we determine the resistivity in the zero-frequency (dc) limit. Our results show an approximate linear temperature dependence of the resistivity and a conductivity that follows a non-universal power law. A comparison to experimental data supports our assumption that the conductivity is dominated by the antinodal contribution above the pseudogap.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Non-Topological Majorana Zero Modes in Inhomogeneous Spin Ladders

We show that the coupling of homogeneous Heisenberg spin-1/2 ladders in different phases leads to the formation of interfacial zero energy Majorana bound states. Unlike Majorana bound states at the interfaces of topological quantum wires, these states are void of topological protection and generally susceptible to local perturbations of the host spin system. However, a key message of our work is that in practice they show a high degree of resilience over wide parameter ranges which may make them interesting candidates for applications.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Renormalization group analysis for the quasi-1D superconductor BaFe$_2$S$_3$

Motivated by the discovery of superconductivity in the two-leg, quasi-one dimensional ladder compound, BaFe$_2$S$_3$ we present a renormalization group study of electrons moving on a two leg, two orbital ladder, subjected to Hubbard repulsion $U$ and Hund's coupling $J$. In our calculations, we adopt tightbinding parameters obtained from ab-initio studies on this material. At incommensurate filling, the long wavelength analysis displays four phases as a function of $0 \leq J/U <1$. We show that a fully gapped superconductor is stabilized at sufficiently large Hund's coupling, the relative phases at the three Fermi points are "+,-,-". By contrast, when the system is tuned to half filling, Umklapp scattering gives rise to Mott insulating phases. We discuss the general implications of our study for the broad class of iron-based superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2018

Fluctuations in cool quark matter and the phase diagram of Quantum Chromodynamics

We consider the phase diagram of hadronic matter as a function of temperature, T , and baryon chemical potential, mu. Currently the dominant paradigm is a line of first order transitions which ends at a critical endpoint. In this work we suggest that spatially inhomogenous phases are a generic feature of the hadronic phase diagram at nonzero mu and low T . Familiar examples are pion and kaon condensates. At higher densities, we argue that these condensates connect onto chiral spirals in a quarkyonic regime. Both of these phases exhibit the spontaneous breaking of a global U(1) symmetry and quasi-long range order, analogous to smectic liquid crystals. We argue that there is a continuous line of first order transitions which separate spatially inhomogenous from homogenous phases, where the latter can be either a hadronic phase or a quark-gluon plasma. While mean field theory predicts that there is a Lifshitz point along this line of first order transitions, in three spatial dimensions strong infrared fluctuations wash out any Lifshitz point. Using known results from inhomogenous polymers, we suggest that instead there is a Lifshitz regime. Non-perturbative effects are large in this regime, where the momentum dependent terms for the propagators of pions and associated modes are dominated not by terms quadratic in momenta, but quartic. Fluctuations in a Lifshitz regime may be directly relevant to the collisions of heavy ions at (relatively) low energies, sqrt(s)/A : 1 to 20 GeV.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2018

Unified Phase Diagram of Antiferromagnetic SU(N) Spin Ladders

Motivated by near-term experiments with ultracold alkaline-earth atoms confined to optical lattices, we establish numerically and analytically the phase diagram of two-leg SU($N$) spin ladders. Two-leg ladders provide a rich and highly non-trivial extension of the single chain case on the way towards the relatively little explored two dimensional situation. Focusing on the experimentally relevant limit of one fermion per site, antiferromagnetic exchange interactions, and $2\leq N \leq 6$, we show that the phase diagrams as a function of the interchain (rung) to intrachain (leg) coupling ratio $J_\perp/J_\Vert$ strongly differ for even vs. odd $N$. For even $N=4$ and 6, we demonstrate that the phase diagram consists of a single valence bond crystal (VBC) with a spatial period of $N/2$ rungs. For odd $N=3$ and 5, we find surprisingly rich phase diagrams exhibiting three distinct phases. For weak rung coupling, we obtain a VBC with a spatial period of $N$ rungs, whereas for strong coupling we obtain a critical phase related to the case of a single chain. In addition, we encounter intermediate phases for odd $N$, albeit of a different nature for $N=3$ as compared to $N=5$. For $N=3$, we find a novel gapless intermediate phase with $J_\perp$-dependent incommensurate spatial fluctuations in a sizeable region of the phase diagram. For $N=5$, there are strong indications for a narrow potentially gapped intermediate phase, whose nature is not entirely clear.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2017

Umklapp scattering as the origin of $T$-linear resistivity in the normal state of high-$T_c$ cuprate superconductors

The high-temperature normal state of the unconventional cuprate superconductors has resistivity linear in temperature $T$, which persists to values well beyond the Mott-Ioffe-Regel upper bound. At low-temperature, within the pseudogap phase, the resistivity is instead quadratic in $T$, as would be expected from Fermi liquid theory. Developing an understanding of these normal phases of the cuprates is crucial to explain the unconventional superconductivity. We present a simple explanation for this behavior, in terms of umklapp scattering of electrons. This fits within the general picture emerging from functional renormalization group calculations that spurred the Yang-Rice-Zhang ansatz: umklapp scattering is at the heart of the behavior in the normal phase.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2017

Skyrme insulators: insulators at the brink of superconductivity

Current theories of superfluidity are based on the idea of a coherent quantum state with topologically protected, quantized circulation. When this topological protection is absent, as in the case of $^3$He-A, the coherent quantum state no longer supports persistent superflow. Here we argue that the loss of topological protection in a superconductor gives rise to an insulating ground state. We specifically introduce the concept of a Skyrme insulator to describe the coherent dielectric state that results from the topological failure of superflow carried by a complex vector order parameter. We apply this idea to the case of SmB$_6$, arguing that the observation of a diamagnetic Fermi surface within an insulating bulk can be understood in terms of a Skyrme insulator. Our theory enables us to understand the linear specific heat of SmB$_6$ in terms of a neutral Majorana Fermi sea and leads us to predict that in low fields of order a Gauss, SmB6 will develop a Meissner effect.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2017

Non-perturbative methodologies for low-dimensional strongly-correlated systems: From non-abelian bosonization to truncated spectrum methods

We review two important non-perturbative approaches for extracting the physics of low-dimensional strongly correlated quantum systems. Firstly, we start by providing a comprehensive review of non-Abelian bosonization. This includes an introduction to the basic elements of conformal field theory as applied to systems with a current algebra, and we orient the reader by presenting a number of applications of non-Abelian bosonization to models with large symmetries. We then tie this technique into recent advances in the ability of cold atomic systems to realize complex symmetries. Secondly, we discuss truncated spectrum methods for the numerical study of systems in one and two dimensions. For one-dimensional systems we provide the reader with considerable insight into the methodology by reviewing canonical applications of the technique to the Ising model (and its variants) and the sine-Gordon model. Following this we review recent work on the development of renormalization groups, both numerical and analytical, that alleviate the effects of truncating the spectrum. Using these technologies, we consider a number of applications to one-dimensional systems: properties of carbon nanotubes, quenches in the Lieb-Liniger model, 1+1D quantum chromodynamics, as well as Landau-Ginzburg theories. In the final part we move our attention to consider truncated spectrum methods applied to two-dimensional systems. This involves combining truncated spectrum methods with matrix product state algorithms. We describe applications of this method to two-dimensional systems of free fermions and the quantum Ising model, including their non-equilibrium dynamics.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Quantum Critical Point revisited by the Dynamical Mean Field Theory

Dynamical mean field theory is used to study the quantum critical point (QCP) in the doped Hubbard model on a square lattice. The QCP is characterized by a universal scaling form of the self energy and a spin density wave instability at an incommensurate wave vector. The scaling form unifies the low energy kink and the high energy waterfall feature in the spectral function, while the spin dynamics includes both the critical incommensurate and high energy antiferromagnetic paramagnons. We use the frequency dependent four-point correlation function of spin operators to calculate the momentum dependent correction to the electron self energy. Our results reveal a substantial difference with the calculations based on the Spin-Fermion model which indicates that the frequency dependence of the the quasiparitcle-paramagnon vertices is an important factor.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Spin Frustration and a `Half Fire, Half Ice' Critical Point from Nonuniform $g$-Factors

It is demonstrated that novel spin frustration can be induced in ferromagnets with nonuniform Landé $g$-factors. The frustrated state is characterized by a mutual interplay of typical ferromagnetic (FM) and antiferromagnetic (AF) features, such as the zero-field susceptibility being FM-like at low temperatures but AF-like at high temperatures. It is also found to contain an exotic zero-temperature `half fire, half ice' critical point at which the spins on one sublattice are fully disordered and on the other one are fully ordered. We suggest that such frustration may occur in a number of copper-iridium oxides such as Sr$_3$CuIrO$_6$. We also anticipate a realization of the frustration and `partial fire, partial ice' states in certain antiferromagnets, lattice gas, and neuron systems.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2015

Spin liquid polymorphism in a correlated electron system on the threshold of superconductivity

We report neutron scattering measurements, which reveal spin-liquid polymorphism in a '11' iron chalcogenide superconductor, a poorly-metallic magnetic FeTe tuned towards superconductivity by substitution of a small amount of Tellurium with iso-electronic Sulphur. We observe liquid-like magnetic dynamics, which is described by a competition of two phases with different local structure, whose relative abundance depends on temperature. One is the ferromagnetic (FM) plaquette phase observed in the non-superconducting FeTe, which preserves the C$_4$ symmetry of the underlying square lattice and is favored at high temperatures. The other is the antiferromagnetic plaquette phase with broken C$_4$ symmetry, which emerges with doping and is predominant at low temperatures. These findings suggest a first-order liquid-liquid phase transition in the electronic spin system of FeTe$_{1-x}$(S,Se)$_x$. We thus discover remarkable new physics of competing spin liquid polymorphs in a correlated electron system approaching superconductivity. Our results facilitate an understanding of large swaths of recent experimental data in unconventional superconductors.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2011

Unconventional temperature enhanced magnetism in iron telluride

Highly energetic magnetic fluctuations, discovered in high-temperature superconductors (HTSC) by inelastic neutron scattering (INS), are now widely believed to be vital for the superconductivity. In two competing scenarios, they either originate from local atomic spins, or are a property of cooperative spin-density-wave (SDW) behavior of conduction electrons. Both assume clear partition into localized electrons, giving rise to local spins, and itinerant ones, occupying well-defined, rigid conduction bands. Here, by performing an INS study of spin dynamics in iron telluride, a parent material of one of the iron-based HTSC families, we have discovered that this very assumption fails, and that conduction and localized electrons are fundamentally entangled. We find that the real-space structure of magnetic correlations can be explained by a simple local-spin plaquette model. However, the effective spin implicated in such a model, appears to increase with the increasing temperature. Thus, we observe a remarkable redistribution of magnetism between the two groups of electrons, which occurs in the temperature range relevant for the superconductivity. The analysis of magnetic spectral weight shows that the effective spin per Fe at T \approx 10 K, in the antiferromagnetic phase, corresponds to S \approx 1, consistent with the recent analyses that emphasize importance of Hund's intra-atomic exchange. However, it grows to S \approx 3/2 in the disordered phase, a result that profoundly challenges the picture of rigid bands, broadly accepted for HTSC.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2009

Comment on "Breakdown of the Luttinger sum rule within the Mott-Hubbard insulator", by J. Kokalj and P. Prelovsek [Phys. Rev. B 78, 153103 (2008), arXiv:arXiv:0803.4468]

On the basis of an analysis of the numerical results corresponding to the half-filled 1D t-t'-V model on some finite lattices, Kokalj and Prelovsek (KP) have in a recent paper [Phys. Rev. B 78, 153103 (2008), arXiv:arXiv:0803.4468] concluded that the Luttinger theorem (LT) does not apply for the Mott-Hubbard (MH) insulating phase of this model (i.e. for V >> t) in the thermodynamic limit; KP even suggested, incorrectly, that failure of the LT were apparent for a half-filled finite system consisting of N=26 lattice sites. By employing a simple model for the self-energy Sigma of a MH state, we show that the finite-size-scaling approach of the type utilised by KP is not reliable for the system sizes considered by KP. On the basis of the equivalence of the model under consideration (at half-filling and for t'/t << 1) and the XXZ spin-chain Hamiltonian for SU(2) spins, we further show that for V > V_c(t,t') the system under consideration has a charge-density-wave (CDW) ground state (GS) in the thermodynamic limit, corresponding to a doubling of the unit cell in comparison with that specific to the underlying lattice. Although this GS is also insulating, its spectral gap is due to the broken translational symmetry of the GS; it is not a correlation-induced MH gap. The LT is therefore a priori valid for this GS. This fact establishes that the conclusion by KP is indeed erroneous. Finally, we present a heuristic argument due to Volovik that sheds light on the mechanism underlying the robustness of the LT. In an appendix, we present the details of the calculation of the single-particle Green function of the broken-symmetry GS of the model under consideration by means of bosonization and in terms of the form factors of a class of soliton-generating fields pertaining to the quantum sine-Gordon Hamiltonian. [Shortened abstract]

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2003

Spectrum and correlation functions of a quasi-one-dimensional quantum Ising model

We consider a model of weakly coupled quantum Ising chains. We describe the phase diagram of such a model and study the dynamical magnetic susceptibility by means of Bethe ansatz and the Random Phase Approximation applied to the inter-chain exchange. We argue that some of the beautiful physics of the quantum Ising chain in a magnetic field survives in the ordered state of the quasi-one-dimensional model and can be observed experimentally by means of neutron scattering.

cond-mat.str-el↗