arXiv subjects

Subir Sachdev

Publications and source records attributed to Subir Sachdev.

At least 325 records · Page 18Linked to original sources

arXiv2008

Theory of the nodal nematic quantum phase transition in superconductors

We study the character of an Ising nematic quantum phase transition (QPT) deep inside a d-wave superconducting state with nodal quasiparticles in a two-dimensional tetragonal crystal. We find that, within a 1/N expansion, the transition is continuous. To leading order in 1/N, quantum fluctuations enhance the dispersion anisotropy of the nodal excitations, and cause strong scattering which critically broadens the quasiparticle (qp) peaks in the spectral function, except in a narrow wedge in momentum space near the Fermi surface where the qp's remain sharp. We also consider the possible existence of a nematic glass phase in the presence of weak disorder. Some possible implications for cuprate physics are also discussed.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2008

Theory of Néel and Valence-Bond-Solid Phases on the Kagome Lattice of Zn-paratacamite

Recently, neutron scattering data on powder samples of Zn-paratacamite, Zn$_x$Cu$_{4-x}$(OH)$_6$Cl$_{2}$, with small Zn concentration has been interpreted as evidence for valence bond solid and Néel ordering [1]. We study the classical and quantum Heisenberg models on the distorted kagome lattice appropriate for Zn-paratacamite at low Zn doping. Our theory naturally leads to the emergence of the valence bond solid and collinear magnetic order at zero temperature. Implications of our results to the existing experiments are discussed. We also suggest future inelastic neutron and X-ray scattering experiments that can test our predictions.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2008

Quantum magnetism and criticality

Magnetic insulators have proved to be fertile ground for studying new types of quantum many body states, and I survey recent experimental and theoretical examples. The insights and methods transfer also to novel superconducting and metallic states. Of particular interest are critical quantum states, sometimes found at quantum phase transitions, which have gapless excitations with no particle- or wave-like interpretation, and control a significant portion of the finite temperature phase diagram. Remarkably, their theory is connected to holographic descriptions of Hawking radiation from black holes.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2008

Quantum critical transport in clean graphene

We describe electrical transport in ideal single-layer graphene at zero applied bias. There is a crossover from collisionless transport at frequencies larger than k_B T/hbar (T is the temperature) to collision-dominated transport at lower frequencies. The d.c. conductivity is computed by the solution of a quantum Boltzmann equation. Due to a logarithmic singularity in the collinear scattering amplitude (a consequence of relativistic dispersion in two dimensions) quasi-particles and -holes moving in the same direction tend to an effective equilibrium distribution whose parameters depend on the direction of motion. This property allows us to find the non-equilibrium distribution functions and the quantum critical conductivity exactly to leading order in 1/|ln(alpha)| where alpha is the coupling constant characterizing the Coulomb interactions.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2008

Infinite randomness fixed point of the superconductor-metal quantum phase transition

We examine the influence of quenched disorder on the superconductor-metal transition, as described by a theory of overdamped Cooper pairs which repel each other. The self-consistent pairing eigenmodes of a quasi-one dimensional wire are determined numerically. Our results support the recent proposal by Hoyos et al. (arXiv:0705.1865) that the transition is characterized by the same strong disorder fixed point describing the onset of ferromagnetism in the random quantum Ising chain in a transverse field.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2008

Nodal quasiparticles and the onset of spin density wave order in the cuprates

We present a theory for the onset of spin density wave order in the superconducting ground state of the cuprates. We compute the scaling dimensions of allowed perturbations of a `relativistic' fixed point with O(4)xO(3) symmetry, including those associated with the fermionic nodal Bogoliubov quasiparticles. Analyses of up to six loops show that all perturbations with square lattice symmetry are likely irrelevant. We demonstrate that the fermion spectral functions are primarily damped by the coupling to fluctuations of a composite field with Ising nematic order. We also discuss the influence of quenched disorder.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2008

Quantum phase transitions in d-wave superconductors

Motivated by the strong, low temperature damping of nodal quasiparticles observed in some cuprate superconductors, we study quantum phase transitions in d_{x^2-y^2} superconductors with a spin-singlet, zero momentum, fermion bilinear order parameter. We present a complete, group-theoretic classification of such transitions into 7 distinct cases (including cases with nematic order) and analyze fluctuations by the renormalization group. We find that only 2, the transitions to d_{x^2-y^2}+is and d_{x^2-y^2} + i d_{xy} pairing, possess stable fixed points with universal damping of nodal quasiparticles; the latter leaves the gapped quasiparticles along (1,0), (0,1) essentially undamped.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2008

Renormalization group analysis of quantum critical points in d-wave superconductors

We describe a search for renormalization group fixed points which control a second-order quantum phase transition between a d_{x^2-y^2} superconductor and some other superconducting ground state. Only a few candidate fixed points are found. In the finite temperature quantum-critical region of some of these fixed points, the fermion quasiparticle lifetime is very short and the spectral function has an energy width of order k_B T near the Fermi points. Under the same conditions, the thermal conductivity is infinite in the scaling limit. We thus provide simple, explicit, examples of quantum theories in two dimensions for which a purely fermionic quasiparticle description of transport is badly violated.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2008

Valence bond solid order near impurities in two-dimensional quantum antiferromagnets

Recent scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) experiments on underdoped cuprates have displayed modulations in the local electronic density of states which are centered on a Cu-O-Cu bond (Kohsaka et. al., cond-mat/0703309). As a paradigm of the pinning of such bond-centered ordering in strongly correlated systems, we present the theory of valence bond solid (VBS) correlations near a single impurity in a square lattice antiferromagnet. The antiferromagnet is assumed to be in the vicinity of a quantum transition from a magnetically ordered Neel state to a spin-gap state with long-range VBS order. We identify two distinct classes of impurities: i) local modulation in the exchange constants, and ii) a missing or additional spin, for which the impurity perturbation is represented by an uncompensated Berry phase. The `boundary' critical theory for these classes is developed: in the second class we find a `VBS pinwheel' around the impurity, accompanied by a suppression in the VBS susceptibility. Implications for numerical studies of quantum antiferromagnets and for STM experiments on the cuprates are noted.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2008

Quantum criticality of U(1) gauge theories with fermionic and bosonic matter in two spatial dimensions

We consider relativistic U(1) gauge theories in 2+1 dimensions, with N_b species of complex bosons and N_f species of Dirac fermions at finite temperature. The quantum phase transition between the Higgs and Coulomb phases is described by a conformal field theory (CFT). At large N_b and N_f, but for arbitrary values of the ratio N_b/N_f, we present computations of various critical exponents and universal amplitudes for these CFTs. We make contact with the different spin-liquids, charge-liquids and deconfined critical points of quantum magnets that these field theories describe. We compute physical observables that may be measured in experiments or numerical simulations of insulating and doped quantum magnets.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2007

Algebraic charge liquids

High temperature superconductivity emerges in the cuprate compounds upon changing the electron density of an insulator in which the electron spins are antiferromagnetically ordered. A key characteristic of the superconductor is that electrons can be extracted from them at zero energy only if their momenta take one of four specific values (the `nodal points'). A central enigma has been the evolution of the zero energy electrons in the metallic state between the antiferromagnet and the superconductor, and recent experiments yield apparently contradictory results. The oscillation of the resistance in this metal as a function of magnetic field indicate that the zero energy electrons carry momenta which lie on elliptical `Fermi pockets', while ejection of electrons by high intensity light indicates that the zero energy electrons have momenta only along arc-like regions. We present a theory of new states of matter, which we call `algebraic charge liquids', which arise naturally between the antiferromagnet and the superconductor, and reconcile these observations. Our theory also explains a puzzling dependence of the density of superconducting electrons on the total electron density, and makes a number of unique predictions for future experiments.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2007

Coulomb impurity in graphene

We consider the problem of screening of an electrically charged impurity in a clean graphene sheet. When electron-electron interactions are neglected, the screening charge has a sign opposite to that of the impurity, and is localized near the impurity. Interactions between electrons smear out the induced charge density to give a large-distance tail that follows approximately, but not exactly, an r^{-2} behavior and with a sign which is the same as that of the impurity.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2007

A square lattice algebraic spin liquid with SO(5) symmetry

We propose a critical spin liquid ground state for S=1/2 antiferromagnets on the square lattice. In a renormalization group analysis of the `staggered flux' algebraic spin liquid, we examine perturbations, present in the antiferromagnet, which break its global SU(4) symmetry to SO(5). At physical parameter values, we find an instability towards a fixed point with SO(5) symmetry. We discuss the possibility that this fixed point describes a transition between the Neel and valence bond solid states, and the relationship to the SO(5) non-linear sigma model of Tanaka and Hu.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2007

Insulator-metal transition on the triangular lattice

Mott insulators with a half-filled band of electrons on the triangular lattice have been recently studied in a variety of organic compounds. All of these compounds undergo transitions to metallic/superconducting states under moderate hydrostatic pressure. We describe the Mott insulator using its hypothetical proximity to a Z_2 spin liquid of bosonic spinons. This spin liquid has quantum phase transitions to descendant confining states with Neel or valence bond solid order, and the insulator can be on either side of one of these transitions. We present a theory of fermionic charged excitations in these states, and describe the route to metallic states with Fermi surfaces. We argue that an excitonic condensate can form near this insulator-metal transition, due to the formation of charge neutral pairs of charge +e and charge -e fermions. This condensate breaks the lattice space group symmetry, and we propose its onset as an explanation of a low temperature anomaly in kappa-(ET)2Cu2(CN)3. We also describe the separate BCS instability of the metallic states to the pairing of like-charge fermions and the onset of superconductivity.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2007

Superfluid-insulator transitions of the Fermi gas with near-unitary interactions in a periodic potential

We consider spin-1/2 fermions of mass m with interactions near the unitary limit. In an applied periodic potential of amplitude V and period a, and with a density of an even integer number of fermions per unit cell, there is a second-order quantum phase transition between superfluid and insulating ground states at a critical V=Vc. We compute the universal ratio Vc m a^2 / h^2 at N=infinity in a model with Sp(2N) spin symmetry. The insulator interpolates between a band insulator of fermions and a Mott insulator of fermion pairs. We discuss implications for recent experiments.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2007

Universal thermal and electrical transport near the superconductor-metal quantum phase transition in nanowires

We describe the thermal and electrical conductivities of quasi-one dimensional wires, across a quantum phase transition from a superconductor to a metal induced by pairbreaking perturbations. Fluctuation corrections to BCS theory motivate a field theory for quantum criticality. We describe deviations in the Wiedemann-Franz ratio from the Lorenz number, which can act as sensitive tests of the theory. We also describe the crossovers out of the quantum critical region into the metallic and superconducting phases.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2007

Theory of the Nernst effect near quantum phase transitions in condensed matter, and in dyonic black holes

We present a general hydrodynamic theory of transport in the vicinity of superfluid-insulator transitions in two spatial dimensions described by "Lorentz"-invariant quantum critical points. We allow for a weak impurity scattering rate, a magnetic field B, and a deviation in the density, ρ, from that of the insulator. We show that the frequency-dependent thermal and electric linear response functions, including the Nernst coefficient, are fully determined by a single transport coefficient (a universal electrical conductivity), the impurity scattering rate, and a few thermodynamic state variables. With reasonable estimates for the parameters, our results predict a magnetic field and temperature dependence of the Nernst signal which resembles measurements in the cuprates, including the overall magnitude. Our theory predicts a "hydrodynamic cyclotron mode" which could be observable in ultrapure samples. We also present exact results for the zero frequency transport co-efficients of a supersymmetric conformal field theory (CFT), which is solvable by the AdS/CFT correspondence. This correspondence maps the ρand B perturbations of the 2+1 dimensional CFT to electric and magnetic charges of a black hole in the 3+1 dimensional anti-de Sitter space. These exact results are found to be in full agreement with the general predictions of our hydrodynamic analysis in the appropriate limiting regime. The mapping of the hydrodynamic and AdS/CFT results under particle-vortex duality is also described.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2007

Quantum critical transport, duality, and M-theory

We consider charge transport properties of 2+1 dimensional conformal field theories at non-zero temperature. For theories with only Abelian U(1) charges, we describe the action of particle-vortex duality on the hydrodynamic-to-collisionless crossover function: this leads to powerful functional constraints for self-dual theories. For the n=8 supersymmetric, SU(N) Yang-Mills theory at the conformal fixed point, exact hydrodynamic-to-collisionless crossover functions of the SO(8) R-currents can be obtained in the large N limit by applying the AdS/CFT correspondence to M-theory. In the gravity theory, fluctuating currents are mapped to fluctuating gauge fields in the background of a black hole in 3+1 dimensional anti-de Sitter space. The electromagnetic self-duality of the 3+1 dimensional theory implies that the correlators of the R-currents obey a functional constraint similar to that found from particle-vortex duality in 2+1 dimensional Abelian theories. Thus the 2+1 dimensional, superconformal Yang Mills theory obeys a "holographic self duality" in the large N limit, and perhaps more generally.

hep-th↗