Disorder-induced quantum-Griffiths-like features from a non-conventional renormalization group analysis near four dimensions

We investigate the role played by symmetry conserving quenched disorder on quantum criticality of a variety of d-dimensional systems with a continuous symmetry order parameter. We employ a non-standard procedure which combines a preliminary reduction to an effective classical random problem and a successive conventional renormalization group treatment. Solving the effective flow equations to first order in ε=4−d and then restoring the original coupling parameters, for d<4 we find a quantum critical point scenario exhibiting unusual features, which remind us of some predictions of the quantum Griffiths phase model.     

Absence of long-range order in certain random systems

It is proved that a classical X-Y model where the field conjugate to the order parameter is static and random shows no long-range order at any temperature for spatial dimensions d ? 4. The proof can be extended to systems with higher order parameter dimension n.     

Phase diagram for the <Emphasis Type="Italic">O</Emphasis>(<Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>) model with defects of “random local field” type and verity of the Imry–Ma theorem

It is shown that the Imry–Ma theorem stating that in space dimensions d < 4 the introduction of an arbitrarily small concentration of defects of the “random local field” type in a system with continuous symmetry of the n-component vector order parameter (O(n) model) leads to long-range order collapse and to the occurrence of a disordered state is not true if the anisotropic distribution of the defect-induced random local field directions in the space of the order parameter gives rise to the effective anisotropy of the “easy axis” type. In the case of a weakly anisotropic field distribution, in space dimensions 2 ≤ d < 4 there exists some critical defect concentration, above which the inhomogeneous Imry–Ma state can exist as an equilibrium one. At a lower defect concentration, long-range order takes place in the system. In the case of a strongly anisotropic field distribution, the Imry–Ma state is suppressed completely and long-range order state takes place at any defect concentration.     

Quantum critical behavior of clean itinerant ferromagnets

We consider the quantum ferromagnetic transition at zero temperature in clean itinerant electron systems. We find that the Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson order parameter field theory breaks down since the electron-electron interaction leads to singular coupling constants in the Landau- Ginzburg-Wilson functional. These couplings generate an effective long-range interaction between the spin or order parameter fluctuations of the form 1 <r ² d?1, with d the spatial dimension. This leads to unusual scaling behavior at the quantum critical point in 1 < d ≤ 3, which we determine exactly. We also discuss the quantum-to-classical crossover at small but finite temperatures, which is characterized by the appearance of multiple temperature scales. A comparison with recent results on disordered itinerant ferromagnets is given.     

Tricritical phase transitions in semi-infinite systems

Semi-infinite systems with a bulk tricritical point are studied using a free energy functional of the Ginzburg-Landau-Wilson type. Tricritical surface exponents, order parameter profiles and the phase diagram are presented within mean field theory. In the case of ordinary and special transition, renormalization-group methods are used to obtain the exponents of a system withO(n)-symmetry to first order in ?=3?d and logarithmic corrections ind=3.     

Phase transition in spin systems with various types of fluctuations

Various types ordering processes in systems with large fluctuation are overviewed. Generally, the so-called order–disorder phase transition takes place in competition between the interaction causing the system be ordered and the entropy causing a random disturbance. Nature of the phase transition strongly depends on the type of fluctuation which is determined by the structure of the order parameter of the system. As to the critical property of phase transitions, the concept “universality of the critical phenomena” is well established. However, we still find variety of features of ordering processes. In this article, we study effects of various mechanisms which bring large fluctuation in the system, e.g., continuous symmetry of the spin in low dimensions, contradictions among interactions (frustration), randomness of the lattice, quantum fluctuations, and a long range interaction in off-lattice systems.     

The Berry phase: A topological test for the spectrum structure of frustrated quantum spin systems

The nature of the low energy spectrum of frustrated quantum spin systems is investigated by means of a topological test introduced by Hatsugai [Y. Hatsugai, J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 73 (2004) 2604; Y. Hatsugai, J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 74 (2005) 1374; Y. Hatsugai, J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 75 (2006) 123601] which enables to infer the possible existence or absence of a gap between the ground state and excited states of these systems. The test relies on the determination of an order parameter which is a Berry phase. The structure of the spectra of even and odd-legged systems in 2d and 3d is analysed. Results are confronted with previous work.     

Ground state energy of the electron-hole liquid in type-II (GaAs)m/(AlAs)m quantum wells

The ground state energy of quasi-two-dimensional electron-hole liquid (EHL) at zero temperature is calculated for type-II (GaAs)_m/(AlAs)_m (5≤m≤10) quantum wells (QWs). The correlation effects of Coulomb interaction are taken into account by a random phase approximation of Hubbard. Our EHL ground state energy per electron-hole pair is lower than the exciton energy calculated recently for superlattices, so we expected that EHL is more stable state than excitons at high excitation density. It is also demonstrated that the equilibrium density of EHL in type-II GaAs/AlAs QWs is of one order of magnitude larger than that in type-I GaAs/AlAs QWs.     

Rounding effects of quenched randomness on first-order phase transitions

Frozen-in disorder in an otherwise homogeneous system, is modeled by interaction terms with random coefficients, given by independent random variables with a translation-invariant distribution. For such systems, it is proven that ind=2 dimensions there can be no first-order phase transition associated with discontinuities in the thermal average of a quantity coupled to the randomized parameter. Discontinuities which would amount to a continuous symmetry breaking, in systems which are (stochastically) invariant under the action of a continuous subgroup ofO(N), are suppressed by the randomness in dimensionsd4. Specific implications are found in the Random-Field Ising Model, for which we conclude that ind=2 dimensions at all (,h) the Gibbs state is unique for almost all field configurations, and in the Random-Bond Potts Model where the general phenomenon is manifested in the vanishing of the latent heat at the transition point. The results are explained by the argument of Imry and Ma [1]. The proofs involve the analysis of fluctuations of free energy differences, which are shown (using martingale techniques) to be Gaussian on the suitable scale.Dedicated to R. L. Dobrushin, on the occasion of his 60^th birthdayAlso in the Physics DepartmentResearch partially supported by NSF grants PHY-8896163 and PHY-8912067Work done in part at Rutgers University, Department of Mathematics     

Bose–Einstein condensation in random potentials

We present a rigorous study of the perfect Bose-gas in the presence of a homogeneous ergodic random potential. It is demonstrated that the Lifshitz tail behaviour of the one-particle spectrum reduces the critical dimensionality of the (generalized) Bose–Einstein Condensation (BEC) to d=1. To tackle the Off-Diagonal Long-Range Order (ODLRO) we introduce the space average one-body reduced density matrix. For a one-dimensional Poisson-type random potential we prove that randomness enhances the exponential decay of this matrix in domain free of the BEC. To cite this article: O. Lenoble et al., C. R. Physique 5 (2004).     

Landau-Ginzburg theory of phase transitions in heated rotating nuclei

The Landau-Ginzburg theory is applied to heated rotating superfluid systems. It is demonstrated that the free energy F' is an even function of the order parameter Δ even when external fields are present. The energy surfaces F'(Δ) are calculated for various rotational frequencies and temperatures. These surfaces provide clear illustrations of first-order and second-order phase transitions, as well as a critical point.     

Well-posedness for solid-liquid phase transitions with a fourth-order nonlinearity

A phase-field system which describes the evolution of both the absolute temperature θ and the phase variable f during first-order transitions in thermal insulators is considered. A thermodynamic approach is developed by regarding the order parameter as a phase field and its evolution equation as a balance law. By virtue of the special form of the internal energy, a third-order nonlinearity appears in the energy balance in place of the (customarily constant) latent heat. As a consequence, the bounds 0≤f≤1 hold whenever θ is positive valued. In addition, a nonlinear Fourier law with conductivity proportional to temperature is assumed. Well-posedness for the resulting initial and boundary value problem are then established in a suitable setting.     

On the mechanical stability of bcc transition elements and alloys

A volume independent and a volume dependent lattice energy function involving short-range interatomic potentials were able to be fitted to the elastic constants, cohesive energy, lattice parameter and for the latter function to the vacancy formation energy and bcc-fcc lattice stability energy, as well, for fcc metals and bcc alkali metals, but not to the cohesive energy and C' elastic constant of bcc transition metals. The assumption that directional, but partial, covalent bonds exist between nearest-neighbors in the bcc transition elements provides an explanation for the latter results and in addition explains the identical dependence of C' and the bcc-fcc lattice stability upon N_d, where N_d is the average number of d electrons, for the bcc transition metals and alloys. Both the mechanical and thermodynamic stability of the bcc structure for transition metals and all transition metal alloys disappears for 5 ? N_d > 2 and <?1.     

The spin-1 Blume-Capel model with random crystal field on the Bethe lattice

The dependence of the phase diagrams on the random crystal field (RCF) is investigated for the spin-1 Blume-Capel (BC) model on the Bethe lattice. The calculations are carried out in terms of the recursion relations for the coordination number z=4 which corresponds to the square lattice. The model presents tricritical points which are observed at lower negative crystal fields and higher temperatures for higher probabilities p and which vanish at lower p’s. The effect of randomness is illustrated for p=0.5 and shown that it changes the phase diagrams drastically from random to non-random systems. The reentrant behavior is also observed for appropriate p values.     

The thermodynamic limit for long-range random systems

Long-range spin systems with random interactions are considered. A simple argument is presented showing that the thermodynamic limit of the free energy exists and depends neither on the specific random configuration nor on the sample shape, provided there is no external field. The argument is valid for both classical and quantum spin systems, and can be applied to (a) spins randomly distributed on a lattice and interacting via dipolar interactions; and (b) spin systems with potentials of the formJ(x ₁,x ₂)/|x ₁ -x ₂| ^αd , where theJ(x ₁,x ₂) are independent random variables with mean zero,d is the dimension, and α > 1/2. The key to the proof is a (multidimensional) subadditive ergodic theorem. As a corollary we show that, for random ferromagnets, the correlation length is a nonrandom quantity.     

On the critical dynamics of disordered spin systems

The dynamic critical behaviour of spin systems with quenched impurities, and of amorphous spin systems as characterized by the additional presence of random anisotropy directions, is studied by renormalization group methods to second order in=4–d. For the Halperin-Hohenberg-Ma model with purely relaxational dynamics it is concluded that in three dimensions (d=3) the critical slowing down should be enhanced by impurities for systems with Ising type statics, whereas there is no change forXY- and Heisenberg systems. For amorphous systems, however, the critical dynamics should change also in theXY- and Heisenberg cases. Furthermore, it is concluded that additional conserved, but noncritical modes become always statically decoupled from the order parameter for systems with impurities, but not for amorphous systems. Thus, for the impure system, the energy density mode and the asymmetric models of Halperin, Hohenberg and Siggia are ruled out. But the effects of dynamic coupling remain: Especially, the relationz=d/2 for the dynamic exponent of planar and isotropic antiferromagnets is modified for impure or amorphous systems.     

Distribution of periodic orbits for the Casati-Prosen map on rational lattices

We study numerically the periodic orbits of the Casati-Prosen map, a two-parameter reversible map of the torus, with zero entropy. For rational parameter values, this map preserves rational lattices, and each lattice decomposes into periodic orbits. We consider the distribution function of the periods over prime lattices, and its dependence on the parameters of the map. Based on extensive numerical evidence, we conjecture that, asymptotically, almost all orbits are symmetric, and that for a set of rational parameters having full density, the distribution function approaches the gamma-distribution R(x)=1−e^−x(1+x). These properties, which have been proved to hold for random reversible maps, were previously thought to require a stronger form of deterministic randomness, such as that displayed by rational automorphisms over finite fields. Furthermore, we show that the gamma-distribution is the limit of a sequence of singular distributions which are observed on certain lines in parameter space. Our experiments reveal that the convergence rate to R is highly non-uniform in parameter space, being slowest in sharply-defined regions reminiscent of resonant zones in Hamiltonian perturbation theory.     

Magnetic field induced order–order phase transition in magnetocaloric systems Mn2−xFexAs0.5P0.5 and MnFeAsyP1−y

An analysis is presented of experimental and theoretical results of the MnFeAs_yP_1−y (0.15≤y≤0.66) and Mn_2−xFe_xAs_0.5P_0.5 (0.5≤x≤1.0) systems to identify main traits that underlie the mechanism of formation of different antiferromagnetic (AF) phases in the two systems. The discrepancy between the calculated from first principles and experimental values of the magnetic moment in the ferromagnetic phase with cation substitution in the system Mn_2−xFe_xAs_0.5P_0.5 is due to the appearance of a canted magnetic structure. In this case, the emergence of an AF phase with decreasing iron concentration precedes a significant change in the electronic d-band filling. In the model of the spiral structure in the system of itinerant electrons it is shown that the stabilization of the AF phase with decreasing arsenic concentration, while maintaining the number of d-electrons, is a consequence of changes in the shape of the density of electronic states that occur with a decrease in unit-cell volume.     

Anisotropy induced by impurities of “random local field” type in <Emphasis Type="Italic">O</Emphasis>(<Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>) models and suppression of the Imry–Ma inhomogeneous state

It is shown that in a system with anisotropic distribution of the impurity-induced random local field directions in the n-dimensional space of a vector order parameter with the O(n) symmetry, the impurityinduced effective anisotropy arises for the space dimensionality 2 < d < 4. If the anisotropy constant exceeds the threshold value, then an inhomogeneous state predicted by Imry and Ma becomes energetically unfavorable, and the system goes back to a state with the long-range order.     

Kinks and d-waves from phonons: The intermediate coupling story

I present results from an approach that extends the Eliashberg theory by systematic expansion in the vertex function; an essential extension at large phonon frequencies, even for weak coupling. In order to deal with computationally expensive double sums over momenta, a dynamical cluster approximation (DCA) approach is used to incorporate momentum dependence into the Eliashberg equations. First, I consider the effects of introducing partial momentum dependence on the standard Eliashberg theory using a quasi-local approximation; which I use to demonstrate that it is essential to include corrections beyond the standard theory when investigating d-wave states. Using the extended theory with vertex corrections, I compute electron and phonon spectral functions. A kink in the electronic dispersion is found in the normal state along the major symmetry directions, similar to that found in photo-emission from cuprates. The phonon spectral function shows that for weak coupling Wλ<ω₀, the dispersion for phonons has weak momentum dependence, with consequences for the theory of optical phonon mediated d-wave superconductivity, which is shown to be 2nd order in λ. In particular, examination of the order parameter vs. filling shows that vertex corrections lead to d-wave superconductivity mediated via simple optical phonons. I map out the order parameters in detail, showing that there is significant induced anisotropy in the superconducting pairing in quasi-2D systems.