No Arabic abstract
We present a theory describing the superconducting (SC) interaction of Dirac electrons in a quasi-two-dimensional system consisting of a stack of N planes. The occurrence of a SC phase is investigated both at T = 0 and T 5 0. At T = 0, we find a quantum phase transition connecting the normal and SC phases. Our theory qualitatively reproduces the SC phase transition occurring in the underdoped regime of the high-Tc cuprates. This fact points to the possible relevance of Dirac electrons in the mechanism of high-Tc superconductivity.
We study the effects of an external magnetic field on thensuperconducting phase diagram of a quasi-two-dimensional system of Dirac electrons at an arbitrary temperature. At zero temperature, there is a quantum phase transition connecting a normal and a superconducting phase, occurring at a critical line that corresponds to a magnetic field dependent critical coupling parameter, which should be observed in planar materials containing Dirac electrons, such as $Cu_xTiSe_2$. Moreover, the superconducting gap is obtained as a function of temperature, magnetic field and coupling parameter ($lambda_{rm R}$). From this, we extract the critical magnetic field $ B_{ c } $ as a function of the temperature. For small values of $ B_{ c } $, we obtain a linear decay of the critical field, which is similar to the behavior observed experimentally in the copper doped dichalcogenide $Cu_xTiSe_2$ and also in intercalated graphite.
We re-examine the experimental results for the magnetic response function $chi({bf q}, E, T)$, for ${bf q}$ around the anti-ferromagnetic vectors ${bf Q}$, in the quantum-critical region, obtained by inelastic neutron scattering, on an Fe-based superconductor, and on a heavy Fermion compound. The motivation is to compare the results with a recent theory, which shows that the fluctuations in a generic anti-ferromagnetic model for itinerant fermions map to those in the universality class of the dissipative quantum-XY model. The quantum-critical fluctuations in this model, in a range of parameters, are given by the correlations of spatial and of temporal topological defects. The theory predicts a $chi({bf q}, E, T)$ (i) which is a separable function of $({bf q -Q})$ and of ($E$,$T$), (ii) at crticality, the energy dependent part is $propto tanh (E/2T)$ below a cut-off energy, (iii) the correlation time departs from its infinite value at criticality on the disordered side by an essential singularity, and (iv) the correlation length depends logarithmically on the correlation time, so that the dynamical critical exponent $z$ is $infty$ . The limited existing experimental results are found to be consistent with the first two unusual predictions from which the linear dependence of the resistivity on T and the $T ln T$ dependence of the entropy also follow. More experiments are suggested, especially to test the theory of variations on the correlation time and length on the departure from criticality.
In this paper we discuss the N$acute{e}$el and Kekul$acute{e}$ valence bond solids quantum criticality in graphene Dirac semimetal. Considering the quartic four-fermion interaction $g(bar{psi}_iGamma_{ij}psi_j)^2$ that contains spin,valley, and sublattice degrees of freedom in the continuum field theory, we find the microscopic symmetry is spontaneously broken when the coupling $g$ is greater than a critical value $g_c$. The symmetry breaking gaps out the fermion and leads to semimetal-insulator transition. All possible quartic fermion-bilinear interactions give rise to the uniform critical coupling, which exhibits the multicritical point for various orders and the Landau-forbidden quantum critical point. We also investigate the typical critical point between N$acute{e}$el and Kekul$acute{e}$ valence bond solid transition when the symmetry is broken. The quantum criticality is captured by the Wess-Zumino-Witten term and there exist a mutual-duality for N$acute{e}$el-Kekul$acute{e}$ VBS order. We show the emergent spinon in the N$acute{e}$el-Kekul$acute{e}$ VBS transition , from which we conclude the phase transition is a deconfined quantum critical point. Additionally, the connection between the index theorem and zero energy mode bounded by the topological defect in the Kekul$acute{e}$ VBS phase is studied to reveal the N$acute{e}$el-Kekul$acute{e}$ VBS duality.
Changing the interactions between particles in an ensemble-by varying the temperature or pressure, for example-can lead to phase transitions whose critical behaviour depends on the collective nature of the many-body system. Despite the diversity of ingredients, which include atoms, molecules, electrons and their spins, the collective behaviour can be grouped into several families (called universality classes) represented by canonical spin models1. One kind of transition, the Mott transition2, occurs when the repulsive Coulomb interaction between electrons is increased, causing wave-like electrons to behave as particles. In two dimensions, the attractive behaviour responsible for the superconductivity in high-transition temperature copper oxide3,4 and organic5-7 compounds appears near the Mott transition, but the universality class to which two-dimensional, repulsive electronic systems belongs remains unknown. Here we present an observation of the critical phenomena at the pressure-induced Mott transition in a quasi-two-dimensional organic conductor using conductance measurements as a probe. We find that the Mott transition in two dimensions is not consistent with known universality classes, as the observed collective behaviour has previously not been seen. This peculiarity must be involved in any emergent behaviour near the Mott transition in two dimensions.
In a recent publication [M. B. Stone et al., New Journal of Physics 9, 31 (2007)] a Renormalized Classical 2D (RC) phase has been reported in a quasi-two-dimensional quantum antiferromagnet PHCC. Its key signature is a sharp cusp-like feature in the magnetic susceptibility which appears below the critical field of magnetic ordering indicated by specific heat anomaly and emergence of a Bragg peak. Here we present experimental data which shows that regardless of experimental geometry, the specific heat and susceptibility anomalies in PHCC both coincide with the onset of true long range order. This leaves no room for any additional intermediate RC phase.