No Arabic abstract
We study 2d U(1) gauge Higgs systems with a $theta$-term. For properly discretizing the topological charge as an integer we introduce a mixed group- and algebra-valued discretization (MGA scheme) for the gauge fields, such that the charge conjugation symmetry at $theta = pi$ is implemented exactly. The complex action problem from the $theta$-term is overcome by exactly mapping the partition sum to a worldline/worldsheet representation. Using Monte Carlo simulation of the worldline/worldsheet representation we study the system at $theta = pi$ and show that as a function of the mass parameter the system undergoes a phase transition. Determining the critical exponents from a finite size scaling analysis we show that the transition is in the 2d Ising universality class. We furthermore study the U(1) gauge Higgs systems at $theta = pi$ also with charge 2 matter fields, where an additional $Z_2$ symmetry is expected to alter the phase structure. Our results indicate that for charge 2 a true phase transition is absent and only a rapid crossover separates the large and small mass regions.
We simulate the 2d U(1) gauge Higgs model on the lattice with a topological angle $theta$. The corresponding complex action problem is overcome by using a dual representation based on the Villain action appropriately endowed with a $theta$-term. The Villain action is interpreted as a non-compact gauge theory whose center symmetry is gauged and has the advantage that the topological term is correctly quantized so that $2pi$ periodicity in $theta$ is intact. Because of this the $theta = pi$ theory has an exact $Z_2$ charge-conjugation symmetry $C$, which is spontaneously broken when the mass-squared of the scalars is large and positive. Lowering the mass squared the symmetry becomes restored in a second order phase transition. Simulating the system at $theta = pi$ in its dual form we determine the corresponding critical endpoint as a function of the mass parameter. Using a finite size scaling analysis we determine the critical exponents and show that the transition is in the 2d Ising universality class, as expected.
We study the three-dimensional (3D) compact U(1) lattice gauge theory coupled with $N$-flavor Higgs fields by means of the Monte Carlo simulations. This model is relevant to multi-component superconductors, antiferromagnetic spin systems in easy plane, inflational cosmology, etc. It is known that there is no phase transition in the N=1 model. For N=2, we found that the system has a second-order phase transition line $tilde{c}_1(c_2)$ in the $c_2$(gauge coupling)$-c_1$(Higgs coupling) plane, which separates the confinement phase and the Higgs phase. Numerical results suggest that the phase transition belongs to the universality class of the 3D XY model as the previous works by Babaev et al. and Smiseth et al. suggested. For N=3, we found that there exists a critical line similar to that in the N=2 model, but the critical line is separated into two parts; one for $c_2 < c_{2{rm tc}}=2.4pm 0.1$ with first-order transitions, and the other for $ c_{2{rm tc}} < c_2$ with second-order transitions, indicating the existence of a tricritical point. We verified that similar phase diagram appears for the N=4 and N=5 systems. We also studied the case of anistropic Higgs coupling in the N=3 model and found that there appear two second-order phase transitions or a single second-order transition and a crossover depending on the values of the anisotropic Higgs couplings. This result indicates that an enhancement of phase transition occurs when multiple phase transitions coincide at a certain point in the parameter space.
In this work we study the two and three-dimensional antiferromagnetic Ising model with an imaginary magnetic field $itheta$ at $theta=pi$. In order to perform numerical simulations of the system we introduce a new geometric algorithm not affected by the sign problem. Our results for the $2D$ model are in agreement with the analytical solutions. We also present new results for the $3D$ model which are qualitatively in agreement with mean-field predictions.
We investigate in detail the phase diagram of the Abelian-Higgs model in one spatial dimension and time (1+1D) on a lattice. We identify a line of first order phase transitions separating the Higgs region from the confined one. This line terminates in a quantum critical point above which the two regions are connected by a smooth crossover. We analyze the critical point and find compelling evidences for its description as the product of two non-interacting systems, a massless free fermion and a massless free boson. However, we find also some surprizing results that cannot be explained by our simple picture, suggesting this newly discovered critical point to be an unusual one.
We describe how the strings, which are classical solutions of the continuum three-dimensional U(1)+Higgs theory, can be studied on the lattice. The effect of an external magnetic field is also discussed and the first results on the string free energy are presented. It is shown that the string free energy can be used as an order parameter when the scalar self-coupling is large and the transition is continuous.