Spin singlet mott states and evidence for spin singlet quantum condensates of spin-one bosons in lattices

We have investigated spin singlet Mott states of spin-one bosons with antiferromagnetic interactions. These spin singlet states do not break rotational symmetry and exhibit remarkably different macroscopic properties compared with nematic Mott states of spin-one bosons. We demonstrate that the dynamics of spin singlet Mott states is fully characterized by even- or odd-class quantum dimer models. The difference between spin singlet Mott states for even and odd numbers of atoms per site can be attributed to a selection rule in the low energy sectors of on-site Hilbert spaces; alternatively, it can also be attributed to an effect of Berry’s phases on bosonic Mott states. We also discuss evidence for spin singlet quantum condensate of spin-one atoms. Our main finding is that in a projected spin singlet Hilbert space, the low energy physics of spin-one bosons is equivalent to that of a Bose-Hubbard model for spinless bosons interacting via Ising gauge fields. The other major finding is spin-charge separation in some one-dimensional Mott states. We propose charge-e spin singlet superfluid for an odd number of atoms per lattice site and charge-2e spin singlet superfluid for an even number of atoms per lattice site in one-dimensional lattices. All discussions in this article are limited to integer numbers of bosons per site.     

Irrational charge from topological order

Topological or deconfined phases of matter exhibit emergent gauge fields and quasiparticles that carry a corresponding gauge charge. In systems with an intrinsic conserved U(1) charge, such as all electronic systems where the Coulombic charge plays this role, these quasiparticles are also characterized by their intrinsic charge. We show that one can take advantage of the topological order fairly generally to produce periodic Hamiltonians which endow the quasiparticles with continuously variable, generically irrational, intrinsic charges. Examples include various topologically ordered lattice models, the three-dimensional resonating valence bond liquid on bipartite lattices as well as water and spin ice. By contrast, the gauge charges of the quasiparticles retain their quantized values.     

Electronic model for CoO2 layer based systems: chiral resonating valence bond metal and superconductivity

Takada et al. have reported superconductivity in layered Na(x)CoO(2)yH(2)O (T(c) approximately equal to 5 K). We model a reference neutral CoO2 layer as an orbitally nondegenerate spin-1/2 antiferromagnetic Mott insulator on a triangular lattice and Na(x)CoO(2)yH(2)O as electron doped Mott insulators described by a t-J model. It is suggested that at optimal doping chiral spin fluctuations enhanced by the dopant dynamics lead to a gapful d-wave superconducting state. A chiral resonating valence bond (RVB) metal, a parity and time (PT) reversal violating state with condensed RVB gauge fields, with a possible weak ferromagnetism, and low temperature p-wave superconductivity are also suggested at higher dopings.     

Quantum phases in a doped Mott insulator on the Shastry-Sutherland lattice

We propose the projected BCS wave function as the ground state for the doped Mott insulator SrCu2(BO3)2 on the Shastry-Sutherland lattice. At half filling this wave function yields the exact ground state. Adding mobile charge carriers, we find a strong asymmetry between electron and hole doping. Upon electron doping an unusual metal with strong valence bond correlations forms. Hole doped systems are d-wave resonating valence bond superconductors in which superconductivity is strongly enhanced by the emergence of spatially varying plaquette bond order.     

Gauge invariant Lagrangian construction for massive higher spin fermionic fields

We formulate a general gauge invariant Lagrangian construction describing the dynamics of massive higher spin fermionic fields in arbitrary dimensions. Treating the conditions determining the irreducible representations of Poincaré group with given spin as the operator constraints in auxiliary Fock space, we built the BRST charge for the model under consideration and find the gauge invariant equations of motion in terms of vectors and operators in the Fock space. It is shown that like in massless case [I.L. Buchbinder, V.A. Krykhtin, A. Pashnev, Nucl. Phys. B 711 (2005) 367, hep-th/0410215], the massive fermionic higher spin field models are the reducible gauge theories and the order of reducibility grows with the value of spin. In compare with all previous approaches, no off-shell constraints on the fields and the gauge parameters are imposed from the very beginning, all correct constraints emerge automatically as the consequences of the equations of motion. As an example, we derive a gauge invariant Lagrangian for massive spin 3/2 field.     

Symmetry of the superconducting order parameter in frustrated systems determined by the spatial anisotropy of spin correlations

We study the resonating valence bond theory of the Hubbard-Heisenberg model on the half-filled anisotropic triangular lattice. Varying the frustration changes the wave vector of maximum spin correlation in the Mott insulating phase. This, in turn, changes the symmetry of the superconducting state that occurs at the boundary of the Mott insulating phase. We propose that this physics is realized in several families of quasi-two-dimensional organic superconductors.     

Exploring the entanglement of free spin-(1/2), spin-1 and spin-2 fields

In this study, we explore the entanglement of free spin-(1/2), spin-1, and spin-2 fields. We start with an example involving Majorana fields in 1+1 and 2+1 dimensions. Subsequently, we perform the Bogoliubov transformation and express the vacuum state with a particle pair state in the configuration space, which is used to calculate the entropy. This clearly demonstrates that the entanglement entropy originates from the particles across the boundary.Finally, we generalize this method to free spin-1 and spin-2 fields. These higher free massless spin fields have wellknown complications owing to gauge redundancy. We deal with the redundancy by gauge-fixing in the light-cone gauge. We show that this gauge provides a natural tensor product structure in the Hilbert space, while surrendering explicit Lorentz invariance. We also use the Bogoliubov transformation to calculate the entropy. The area law emerges naturally by this method.     

Dual vortex theory of doped Mott insulators

We present a general framework for describing the quantum phases obtained by doping paramagnetic Mott insulators on the square lattice. The undoped insulators are efficiently characterized by the projective transformations of various fields under the square lattice space group (the PSG). We show that the PSG also imposes powerful constraints on the doped system, and on the effective action for the vortex and Bogoliubov quasiparticle excitations of superconducting states. This action can also be extended across transitions to supersolid or insulating states at non-zero doping. For the case of a valence bond solid (VBS) insulator, we show that the doped system has the same PSG as that of elementary bosons with density equal to the density of electron Cooper pairs. We also discuss aspects of the action for a d-wave superconductor obtained by doping a “staggered-flux” spin liquid state.     

4D localization in Randall-Sundrum 2 supergravity and in Vasiliev theories

We discuss the problem of localization of 4D massless states in Randall-Sundrum 2 (one-brane) models. A Randall-Sundrum 2 construction starting from N=8 gauged supergravity in 5D anti-de Sitter space gives rise to an N=4 supergravity-matter system. We explicitly show that only the modes of the N=4 graviton supermultiplet localize on the 4D brane, streamlining and generalizing previous works. We also point out that while charged 1/4 BPS black holes do exist in the 4D theory, they are always produced in sets of total charge zero. This zero-charge configuration uplifts to a 5D metric without naked singularities, thus avoiding the curvature singularity of the 5D uplift of an isolated charged BPS black hole. Finally, we resolve a puzzle with localization of massless high spin fields on a (putative) Randall-Sundrum 2 construction based on Vasiliev?s high spin theories. We show that while high spin fields do localize, the gauge symmetry that ensures decoupling of their unphysical polarizations is anomalous. This implies that the high spin fields must acquire a mass.     

An Alternative to the Gauge Theoretic Setting

The standard formulation of quantum gauge theories results from the Lagrangian (functional integral) quantization of classical gauge theories. A more intrinsic quantum theoretical access in the spirit of Wigner’s representation theory shows that there is a fundamental clash between the pointlike localization of zero mass (vector, tensor) potentials and the Hilbert space (positivity, unitarity) structure of QT. The quantization approach has no other way than to stay with pointlike localization and sacrifice the Hilbert space whereas the approach built on the intrinsic quantum concept of modular localization keeps the Hilbert space and trades the conflict creating pointlike generation with the tightest consistent localization: semiinfinite spacelike string localization. Whereas these potentials in the presence of interactions stay quite close to associated pointlike field strengths, the interacting matter fields to which they are coupled bear the brunt of the nonlocal aspect in that they are string-generated in a way which cannot be undone by any differentiation.     

Understanding correlated electron systems by a classification of Mott insulators

This paper surveys the physics of systems proximate to Mott insulators, and presents a classification using conventional and topological order parameters. This classification offers a valuable perspective on a variety of conducting correlated electron systems, from the cuprate superconductors to the heavy fermion compounds. Connections are drawn, and distinctions made, between collinear/non-collinear magnetic order, bond order, neutral spin 1/2 excitations in insulators, electron Fermi surfaces which violate Luttinger’s theorem, fractionalization of the electron, and the fractionalization of bosonic collective modes. Two distinct categories of Z₂ gauge theories are used to describe the interplay of these orders. Experimental implications for the cuprates are briefly noted, but these appear in more detail in a companion review paper (S. Sachdev, cond-mat/0211005).     

Local non-abelian gauge symmetry of the Hubbard model

It is shown that the field operators of an electron system on a lattice can be decomposed into direct products of two kinds of operators acting in two separate Hilbert spaces. The Hilbert space of electron states thus becomes a direct product of two Hilbert spaces. By this fact a certain class of electron systems exhibits a formal separation of charge and spin degrees of freedom into two kinds of elementary excitations. A typical example of such a system is given by the Hubbard model. The separation of charge and spin resulting from the new representation of the field operators can be considered as a rigorous realization and generalization of an idea expressed by Anderson concerning the separation of spin and charge degrees of freedom in strongly correlated electron systems. The new representation of electron field operators implies the existence of a localU(2) gauge symmetry in the theory. The theory of superconductivity based on the Hubbard model is then represented by a non-abelian gauge field theory.Dedicated to the memory of my teacher and friend Professor Jozef Kvasnica.The main part of this work has been done during the author stay at the Research Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Helsinki. The author expresses this sincere gratitude to Prof. C. Cronström, who played an important role in completing this work.     

Analysis on experimental valence charge density in germanium at RT and 200 K

The electronic structure and hence the valence charge distribution of germanium at 296 and 200 K has been elucidated from structure factors measured by X-ray diffraction experiment using maximum entropy method (MEM) and multipole model. The methods adopted here are used to extract the fine details of the charge density distribution in the valence region. The charge density evaluated using both the models along the bond path and at the mid bond positions are compared and found to confirm the covalent bond existing in the solid. Topology of the charge density in the crystal is analysed and the critical points determined reveal unique spatial arrangement of valence charge in the direction normal to the bonding direction. The Laplacian of the charge density is also analysed for the understanding of the spatial distribution and the partitioning of the valence charge. The local charge concentration and the mapping of the electron pairs of the Lewis and valence shell electron pair repulsion (VSEPR) models have been done using electron localization function (ELF) and localized orbital locator (LOL).     

Optical Bragg,atomic Bragg and cavity QED detections of quantum phases and excitation spectra of ultracold atoms in bipartite and frustrated optical lattices

Ultracold atoms loaded on optical lattices can provide unprecedented experimental systems for the quantum simulations and manipulations of many quantum phases and quantum phase transitions between these phases. However, so far, how to detect these quantum phases and phase transitions effectively remains an outstanding challenge. In this paper, we will develop a systematic and unified theory of using the optical Bragg scattering, atomic Bragg scattering or cavity QED to detect the ground state and the excitation spectrum of many quantum phases of interacting bosons loaded in bipartite and frustrated optical lattices. The physically measurable quantities of the three experiments are the light scattering cross sections, the atom scattered clouds and the cavity leaking photons respectively. We show that the two photon Raman transition processes in the three detection methods not only couple to the density order parameter, but also the valence bond order parameter due to the hopping of the bosons on the lattice. This valence bond order coupling is very sensitive to any superfluid order or any valence bond (VB) order in the quantum phases to be probed. These quantum phases include not only the well-known superfluid and Mott insulating phases, but also other important phases such as various kinds of charge density waves (CDW), valence bond solids (VBS), and CDW-VBS phases with both CDW and VBS orders unique to frustrated lattices, and also various kinds of supersolids. We analyze respectively the experimental conditions of the three detection methods to probe these various quantum phases and their corresponding excitation spectra. We also address the effects of a finite temperature and a harmonic trap. We contrast the three scattering methods with recent in situ measurements inside a harmonic trap and argue that the two kinds of measurements are complementary to each other. The combination of both kinds of detection methods could be used to match the combination of Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), the Angle Resolved Photo Emission spectroscopy (ARPES) and neutron scattering in condensed matter systems, therefore achieve the putative goals of quantum simulations     

Massive supersymmetric quantum gauge theory

We continue the study of the supersymmetric vector multiplet in a purely quantum framework. We obtain some new results which make the connection with the standard literature. First we construct the one‐particle physical Hilbert space taking into account the (quantum) gauge structure of the model. Then we impose the condition of positivity for the scalar product only on the physical Hilbert space. Finally we obtain a full supersymmetric coupling which is gauge invariant in the supersymmetric sense in the first order of perturbation theory. By integrating out the Grassmann variables we get an interacting Lagrangian for a massive Yang‐Mills theory related to ordinary gauge theory; however the number of ghost fields is doubled so we do not obtain the same ghost couplings as in the standard model Lagrangian.     

Correlations and confinement of excitations in an asymmetric Hubbard ladder

Correlation functions and low-energy excitations are investigated in the asymmetric two-leg ladder consisting of a Hubbard chain and a noninteracting tight-binding (Fermi) chain using the density matrix renormalization group method. The behavior of charge, spin and pairing correlations is discussed for the four phases found at half filling, namely, Luttinger liquid, Kondo-Mott insulator, spin-gapped Mott insulator and correlated band insulator. Quasi-long-range antiferromagnetic spin correlations are found in the Hubbard leg in the Luttinger liquid phase only. Pair-density-wave correlations are studied to understand the structure of bound pairs found in the Fermi leg of the spin-gapped Mott phase at half filling and at light doping but we find no enhanced pairing correlations. Low-energy excitations cause variations of spin and charge densities on the two legs that demonstrate the confinement of the lowest charge excitations on the Fermi leg while the lowest spin excitations are localized on the Hubbard leg in the three insulating phases. The velocities of charge, spin, and single-particle excitations are investigated to clarify the confinement of elementary excitations in the Luttinger liquid phase. The observed spatial separation of elementary spin and charge excitations could facilitate the coexistence of different (quasi-)long-range orders in higher-dimensional extensions of the asymmetric Hubbard ladder.     

Spin, charge, and orbital orderings in iron-based superconductors

In this article, we briefly review spin, charge, and orbital orderings in iron-based superconductors, as well as the multi-orbital models. The interplay of spin, charge, and orbital orderings is a key to understand the high temperature superconductivity. As an illustration, we use the two-orbital model to show the spin and charge orderings in iron-based superconductors based on the mean-field approximation in real space. The typical spin and charge orderings are shown by choosing appropriate parameters, which are in good agreement with experiments. We also show the effect of Fe vacancies, which can introduce the nematic phase and interesting magnetic ground states. The orbital ordering is also discussed in iron-based superconductors. It is found that disorder may play a role to produce the superconductivity.     

Quantum Field Theory on Curved Backgrounds. I. The Euclidean Functional Integral

We give a mathematical construction of Euclidean quantum field theory on certain curved backgrounds. We focus on generalizing Osterwalder Schrader quantization, as these methods have proved useful to establish estimates for interacting fields on flat space-times. In this picture, a static Killing vector generates translations in Euclidean time, and the role of physical positivity is played by positivity under reflection of Euclidean time. We discuss the quantization of flows which correspond to classical space-time symmetries, and give a general set of conditions which imply that broad classes of operators in the classical picture give rise to well-defined operators on the quantum-field Hilbert space. In particular, Killing fields on spatial sections give rise to unitary groups on the quantum-field Hilbert space, and corresponding densely-defined self-adjoint generators. We construct the Schrödinger representation using a method which involves localizing certain integrals over the full manifold to integrals over a codimension-one submanifold. This method is called sharp-time localization, and implies reflection positivity.     

Gauge fields, geometric phases, and quantum adiabatic pumps

Quantum adiabatic pumping of charge and spin between two reservoirs (leads) has recently been demonstrated in nanoscale electronic devices. Pumping occurs when system parameters are varied in a cyclic manner and sufficiently slowly that the quantum system always remains in its ground state. We show that quantum pumping has a natural geometric representation in terms of gauge fields (both Abelian and non-Abelian) defined on the space of system parameters. Tunneling from a scanning tunneling microscope tip through a magnetic atom could be used to demonstrate the non-Abelian character of the gauge field.