No Arabic abstract
We propose a nonperturbative renormalization-group (NPRG) approach to fermion systems in the two-particle-irreducible (2PI) effective action formalism, based on an exact RG equation for the Luttinger-Ward functional. This approach enables us to describe phases with spontaneously broken symmetries while satisfying the Mermin-Wagner theorem. We show that it is possible to choose the Hartree-Fock--RPA theory as initial condition of the RG flow and argue that the 2PI-NPRG is not restricted to the weak-coupling limit. An expansion of the Luttinger-Ward functional about the minimum of the 2PI effective action including only the two-particle 2PI vertex leads to nontrivial RG equations where interactions between fermions and collective excitations naturally emerge.
Studying the strong correlation effects in interacting Dirac fermion systems is one of the most challenging problems in modern condensed matter physics. The long-range Coulomb interaction and the fermion-phonon interaction can lead to a variety of intriguing properties. In the strong-coupling regime, weak-coupling perturbation theory breaks down. The validity of $1/N$ expansion with $N$ being the fermion flavor is also in doubt since $N$ equals to $2$ or $4$ in realistic systems. Here, we investigate the interaction between (1+2)- and (1+3)-dimensional massless Dirac fermions and a generic scalar boson, and develop an efficient non-perturbative approach to access the strong-coupling regime. We first derive a number of self-consistently coupled Ward-Takahashi identities based on a careful symmetry analysis and then use these identities to show that the full fermion-boson vertex function is solely determined by the full fermion propagator. Making use of this result, we rigorously prove that the full fermion propagator satisfies an exact and self-closed Dyson-Schwinger integral equation, which can be solved by employing numerical methods. A major advantage of our non-perturbative approach is that there is no need to employ any small expansion parameter. Our approach provides a unified theoretical framework for studying strong Coulomb and fermion-phonon interactions. It may also be used to approximately handle the Yukawa coupling between fermions and order-parameter fluctuations around continuous quantum critical points. Our approach is applied to treat the Coulomb interaction in undoped graphene. We find that the renormalized fermion velocity exhibits a logarithmic momentum-dependence but is nearly energy independent, and that no excitonic gap is generated by the Coulomb interaction. These theoretical results are consistent with experiments in graphene.
We reexamine the two-dimensional linear O(2) model ($varphi^4$ theory) in the framework of the nonperturbative renormalization-group. From the flow equations obtained in the derivative expansion to second order and with optimization of the infrared regulator, we find a transition between a high-temperature (disordered) phase and a low-temperature phase displaying a line of fixed points and algebraic order. We obtain a picture in agreement with the standard theory of the Kosterlitz-Thouless (KT) transition and reproduce the universal features of the transition. In particular, we find the anomalous dimension $eta(Tkt)simeq 0.24$ and the stiffness jump $rho_s(Tkt^-)simeq 0.64$ at the transition temperature $Tkt$, in very good agreement with the exact results $eta(Tkt)=1/4$ and $rho_s(Tkt^-)=2/pi$, as well as an essential singularity of the correlation length in the high-temperature phase as $Tto Tkt$.
We generalize the recently introduced dual fermion (DF) formalism for disordered fermion systems by including the effect of interactions. For an interacting disordered system the contributions to the full vertex function have to be separated into elastic and inelastic scattering processes, and addressed differently when constructing the DF diagrams. By applying our approach to the Anderson-Falicov-Kimball model and systematically restoring the nonlocal correlations in the DF lattice calculation, we show a significant improvement over the Dynamical Mean-Field Theory and the Coherent Potential Approximation for both one-particle and two-particle quantities.
We consider the two dimensional disordered Bose gas which present a metallic state at low temperatures. A simple model of an interacting Bose system in a random field is propose to consider the interaction effect on the transition in the metallic state.
Techniques based on $n$-particle irreducible effective actions can be used to study systems where perturbation theory does not apply. The main advantage, relative to other non-perturbative continuum methods, is that the hierarchy of integral equations that must be solved truncates at the level of the action, and no additional approximations are needed. The main problem with the method is renormalization, which until now could only be done at the lowest ($n$=2) level. In this paper we show how to obtain renormalized results from an $n$-particle irreducible effective action at any order. We consider a symmetric scalar theory with quartic coupling in four dimensions and show that the 4 loop 4-particle-irreducible calculation can be renormalized using a renormalization group method. The calculation involves one bare mass and one bare coupling constant which are introduced at the level of the Lagrangian, and cannot be done using any known method by introducing counterterms.