The Nordic-walking mechanism and its explanation of deconfined pseudocriticality from Wess-Zumino-Witten theory
The understanding of phenomena falling outside the Ginzburg-Landau paradigm of phase transitions represents a key challenge in condensed matter physics. A famous class of examples is constituted by the putative deconfined quantum critical points between two symmetry-broken phases in layered quantum...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article (Journal) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
02 January 2025
|
| In: |
Nature Communications
Year: 2025, Volume: 16, Pages: 1-13 |
| ISSN: | 2041-1723 |
| DOI: | 10.1038/s41467-024-54884-w |
| Online Access: | Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-54884-w Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-54884-w 
|
| Author Notes: | Bilal Hawashin, Astrid Eichhorn, Lukas Janssen, Michael M. Scherer & Shouryya Ray |
| Summary: | The understanding of phenomena falling outside the Ginzburg-Landau paradigm of phase transitions represents a key challenge in condensed matter physics. A famous class of examples is constituted by the putative deconfined quantum critical points between two symmetry-broken phases in layered quantum magnets, such as pressurised SrCu2(BO3)2. Experiments find a weak first-order transition, which simulations of relevant microscopic models can reproduce. The origin of this behaviour has been a matter of considerable debate for several years. In this work, we demonstrate that the nature of the deconfined quantum critical point can be best understood in terms of a novel dynamical mechanism, termed Nordic walking. Nordic walking denotes a renormalisation group flow arising from a beta function that is flat over a range of couplings. This gives rise to a logarithmic flow that is faster than the well-known walking behaviour, associated with the annihilation and complexification of fixed points, but still significantly slower than the generic running of couplings. The Nordic-walking mechanism can thus explain weak first-order transitions, but may also play a role in high-energy physics, where it could solve hierarchy problems. We analyse the Wess-Zumino-Witten field theory pertinent to deconfined quantum critical points with a topological term in 2+1 dimensions. To this end, we construct an advanced functional renormalisation group approach based on higher-order regulators. We thereby calculate the beta function directly in 2+1 dimensions and provide evidence for Nordic walking. |
|---|---|
| Item Description: | Gesehen am 10.11.2025 |
| Physical Description: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 2041-1723 |
| DOI: | 10.1038/s41467-024-54884-w |