Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:1309.1765 · Physical Review B

Dynamics and conductivity near quantum criticality

Snir Gazit, Daniel K. Podolsky, Assa Auerbach, Daniel P. Arovas

Published Dec 6, 2013• 61 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Relativistic O($N$) field theories are studied near the quantum-critical point in two space dimensions. We compute dynamical correlations by large-scale Monte Carlo simulations and numerical analytic continuation. In the ordered side, the scalar spectral function exhibits a universal peak at the Higgs mass. For $N=3$ and 4, we confirm its ${\ensuremath{\omega}}^{3}$ rise at low frequency. On the disordered side, the spectral function exhibits a sharp gap. For $N=2$, the dynamical conductivity rises above a threshold at the Higgs mass (density gap), in the superfluid (Mott insulator) phase. For charged bosons (Josephson arrays), the power-law rise above the Higgs mass increases from two to four. Approximate charge-vortex duality is reflected in the ratio of imaginary conductivities on either side of the transition. We determine the critical conductivity to be ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{\mathrm{c}}^{*}=0.3(\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.1)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}4{e}^{2}/h$ and describe a generalization of the worm algorithm to $N>2$. We use a singular value decomposition error analysis for the numerical analytic continuation.

DOI
10.1103/physrevb.88.235108

Related papers

The dynamics of quantum criticality: Quantum Monte Carlo and holography

William Witczak‐Krempa, Erik Schwartz Sørensen, Subir Sachdev A

Understanding the real time dynamics of quantum systems without quasiparticles constitutes an important yet challenging problem. We study the superfluid-insulator quantum-critical point of bosons on a two-dimensional lattice, a system whose excitations cannot be described in a quasiparticle basis. We present detailed quantum Monte Carlo results for two separate lattice realizations: their low-frequency conductivities are found to have the same universal dependence on imaginary frequency and temperature. We then use the structure of the real time dynamics of conformal field theories described by the holographic gauge/gravity duality to make progress on the dicult problem of analytically continuing the Monte Carlo data to real time. Our method yields quantitative and experimentally testable results on the frequency-dependent conductivity near the quantum critical point, and on the spectrum of quasinormal modes in the vicinity of the superfluid-insulator quantum phase transition. Extensions to other observables and universality classes are discussed.

Bulletin of the American Physical Society•Mar 4, 2014•0 citations

Spectral functions of the Higgs mode near two-dimensional quantum critical points

Daniel K. Podolsky, Subir Sachdev A

We study the Higgs excitation in the Goldstone phase of the relativistic O($N$) model in two spatial dimensions at zero temperature. The response functions of the order parameter, and its magnitude squared, become universal functions of frequency in the vicinity of the quantum critical point described by the Wilson-Fisher fixed point, and we compute them to next-to-leading order in $1/N$. The Higgs particle has an infrared singular decay to gapless Goldstone excitations, and its response functions are characterized by a pole in the lower half of the complex frequency plane. The pole acquires a nonzero real part only at next-to-leading order in $1/N$, demonstrating that the Higgs excitation has an oscillatory component even in the scaling limit. Both the real and imaginary parts of the pole position vanish with the correlation length exponent $\ensuremath{\nu}$ upon approaching the critical point. We present evidence that the spectral density of the O($N$)-invariant amplitude-squared of the order parameter has a peak at a nonzero frequency in the scaling limit. We connect our results to recent experimental studies of the superfluid-insulator quantum phase transition of ultracold bosonic atoms in optical lattices.

arXiv:1205.2700•Physical Review B•Aug 10, 2012•111 citations

Dynamique et transport au voisinage d'une transition de phase quantique en dimension deux

Félix Rose

We study the relativistic O (N) model, a quantum generalization of the φ⁴ theory used in statistical physics to study some phase transitions. This model describes quantum phase transitions such as the Mott insulator-superluid transition in boson gases trapped in optical latices or the paramagnetic-antiferromagnetic transition in magnets. In two space dimensions, these systems exhibit strong correlations near the transition. We study them using the nonperturbative renormalization group, an implementation of Wilson’s renormalization group. We focus on the universal properties in the vicinity of the zero-temperature quantum phase transition. We determine the universal scaling functions which define the thermodynamics and we show that these functions are related to those describing the critical Casimir forces in a three-dimensional system. Then, we study the excitation spectrum in the zero-temperature ordered phase. For N = 2 and 3, we establish the existence of an amplitude mode, also called “Higgs mode” by analogy with the Higgs mechanism in high-energy physics. For N = 1, we show the existence of a bound state at dimensions close to three. Finally, we compute the frequency-dependent conductivity at zero temperature and confirm its universal character, in particular at the transition. We prove that one of the components of the conductivity tensor in the ordered phase is a “superuniversal” quantity depending neither on the distance to the critical point nor on N.

•Sep 19, 2017•0 citations

Universal conductivity of dirty bosons in two dimensions

S. M. Girvin, Mats Wallin, Erik Schwartz Sørensen +1 more

In contrast to the case of free fermions which have all states localized in two dimensions, dirty, repulsively-interacting bosons exhibit a zero-temperature localization phase transition between superconducting and insulating states as disorder is increased. The conductivity σ* = g (2 e ) 2 / h at the quantum critical point is a universal critical amplitude analogous to the universal jump in superfluid density at the classical Kosterlitz-Thouless transition. Using numerical Monte Carlo methods we compute the value of g for disorder-tuned transitions with and without long-range Coulomb interactions. We argue that this model is relevant to experiments on superconducting thin films and Josephson junction arrays.

Physica Scripta•Jan 1, 1992•8 citations

Higgs mode near superfluid-to-Mott-insulatortransition studied by the quantum Monte Carlo method

Kun Chen, Youjin Deng

In additional to the phonon (massless Goldstone mode) in Galilean invariant superfluid, there is another type of mode known as the Higgs amplitude mode in superfluid with emergent Lorentz invariance. In two dimensions, due to the strong decay into phonons, whether this Higgs mode is a detectable excitation with sharp linear response has been controversial for decades. Recent progress gives a positive answer to this question. Here, we review a series of numerical studies of the linear response of a two-dimensional Lorentz invariant superfluid near the superfluid-Mott insulator quantum critical point (SF-MI QCP). Particularly, we introduce a numerical procedure to unbiasedly calculate the linear response properties of strongly correlated systems. The numerical procedure contains two crucial steps, i.e., one is to use a highly efficient quantum Monte Carlo method, the worm algorithm in the imaginary-time path-integral representation, to calculate the imaginary time correlation functions for the system in equilibrium; and then, the other is, based on the imaginary time correlation functions, to use the numerical analytical continuation method for obtaining the real-time (real-frequency) linear response function. Applying this numerical procedure to the two-dimensional Bose Hubbard model near SF-MI QCP, it is found that despite strong damping, the Higgs boson survives as a prominent resonance peak in the kinetic energy response function. Further investigations also suggest a similar but less prominent resonance peak near SF-MI QCP on the MI side, and even on the normal liquid side. Since SF-MI quantum criticality can be realized by ultracold aotms in optical lattice, the Higgs resonance peak can be directly observed in experiment. In addition, we point out that the same Higgs resonance peak exists in all quantum critical systems with the same universality, namely (2 + 1)-dimensional relativistic U(1) criticality, as SF-MI QCP.

Acta Physica Sinica•Jan 1, 2015•1 citation

Dynamical Response near Quantum Critical Points

Andrew Lucas, Snir Gazit, Daniel K. Podolsky +1 more

We study high-frequency response functions, notably the optical conductivity, in the vicinity of quantum critical points (QCPs) by allowing for both detuning from the critical coupling and finite temperature. We consider general dimensions and dynamical exponents. This leads to a unified understanding of sum rules. In systems with emergent Lorentz invariance, powerful methods from quantum field theory allow us to fix the high-frequency response in terms of universal coefficients. We test our predictions analytically in the large-N O(N) model and using the gauge-gravity duality and numerically via quantum Monte Carlo simulations on a lattice model hosting the interacting superfluid-insulator QCP. In superfluid phases, interacting Goldstone bosons qualitatively change the high-frequency optical conductivity and the corresponding sum rule.

arXiv:1608.02586•Physical Review Letters•Feb 2, 2017•24 citations
Relativistic O(NNN) field theories are studied near the quantum-critical point in two space dimensions. We compute dynamical correlations by large-scale Monte Carlo simulations and numerical analytic continuation. In the ordered side, the scalar spectral function exhibits a universal peak at the Higgs mass. For N=3N=3N=3 and 4, we confirm its \ensuremathω3{\ensuremath{\omega}}^{3}\ensuremathω3 rise at low frequency. On the disordered side, the spectral function exhibits a sharp gap. For N=2N=2N=2, the dynamical conductivity rises above a threshold at the Higgs mass (density gap), in the superfluid (Mott insulator) phase. For charged bosons (Josephson arrays), the power-law rise above the Higgs mass increases from two to four. Approximate charge-vortex duality is reflected in the ratio of imaginary conductivities on either side of the transition. We determine the critical conductivity to be \ensuremathσc∗=0.3(\ifmmode±\else\textpm\fi0.1)\ifmmode×\else\texttimes\fi4e2/h{\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{\mathrm{c}}^{*}=0.3(\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.1)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}4{e}^{2}/h\ensuremathσc∗​=0.3(\ifmmode±\else\textpm\fi0.1)\ifmmode×\else\texttimes\fi4e2/h and describe a generalization of the worm algorithm to N>2N>2N>2. We use a singular value decomposition error analysis for the numerical analytic continuation.
Understanding the real time dynamics of quantum systems without quasiparticles constitutes an important yet challenging problem. We study the superfluid-insulator quantum-critical point of bosons on a two-dimensional lattice, a system whose excitations cannot be described in a quasiparticle basis. We present detailed quantum Monte Carlo results for two separate lattice realizations: their low-frequency conductivities are found to have the same universal dependence on imaginary frequency and temperature. We then use the structure of the real time dynamics of conformal field theories described by the holographic gauge/gravity duality to make progress on the dicult problem of analytically continuing the Monte Carlo data to real time. Our method yields quantitative and experimentally testable results on the frequency-dependent conductivity near the quantum critical point, and on the spectrum of quasinormal modes in the vicinity of the superfluid-insulator quantum phase transition. Extensions to other observables and universality classes are discussed.
We study the Higgs excitation in the Goldstone phase of the relativistic O(NNN) model in two spatial dimensions at zero temperature. The response functions of the order parameter, and its magnitude squared, become universal functions of frequency in the vicinity of the quantum critical point described by the Wilson-Fisher fixed point, and we compute them to next-to-leading order in 1/N1/N1/N. The Higgs particle has an infrared singular decay to gapless Goldstone excitations, and its response functions are characterized by a pole in the lower half of the complex frequency plane. The pole acquires a nonzero real part only at next-to-leading order in 1/N1/N1/N, demonstrating that the Higgs excitation has an oscillatory component even in the scaling limit. Both the real and imaginary parts of the pole position vanish with the correlation length exponent $\ensuremath{\nu}$ upon approaching the critical point. We present evidence that the spectral density of the O(NNN)-invariant amplitude-squared of the order parameter has a peak at a nonzero frequency in the scaling limit. We connect our results to recent experimental studies of the superfluid-insulator quantum phase transition of ultracold bosonic atoms in optical lattices.
We study the relativistic O (N) model, a quantum generalization of the φ⁴ theory used in statistical physics to study some phase transitions. This model describes quantum phase transitions such as the Mott insulator-superluid transition in boson gases trapped in optical latices or the paramagnetic-antiferromagnetic transition in magnets. In two space dimensions, these systems exhibit strong correlations near the transition. We study them using the nonperturbative renormalization group, an implementation of Wilson’s renormalization group. We focus on the universal properties in the vicinity of the zero-temperature quantum phase transition. We determine the universal scaling functions which define the thermodynamics and we show that these functions are related to those describing the critical Casimir forces in a three-dimensional system. Then, we study the excitation spectrum in the zero-temperature ordered phase. For N = 2 and 3, we establish the existence of an amplitude mode, also called “Higgs mode” by analogy with the Higgs mechanism in high-energy physics. For N = 1, we show the existence of a bound state at dimensions close to three. Finally, we compute the frequency-dependent conductivity at zero temperature and confirm its universal character, in particular at the transition. We prove that one of the components of the conductivity tensor in the ordered phase is a “superuniversal” quantity depending neither on the distance to the critical point nor on N.
In contrast to the case of free fermions which have all states localized in two dimensions, dirty, repulsively-interacting bosons exhibit a zero-temperature localization phase transition between superconducting and insulating states as disorder is increased. The conductivity σ* = g (2 e ) 2 / h at the quantum critical point is a universal critical amplitude analogous to the universal jump in superfluid density at the classical Kosterlitz-Thouless transition. Using numerical Monte Carlo methods we compute the value of g for disorder-tuned transitions with and without long-range Coulomb interactions. We argue that this model is relevant to experiments on superconducting thin films and Josephson junction arrays.
In additional to the phonon (massless Goldstone mode) in Galilean invariant superfluid, there is another type of mode known as the Higgs amplitude mode in superfluid with emergent Lorentz invariance. In two dimensions, due to the strong decay into phonons, whether this Higgs mode is a detectable excitation with sharp linear response has been controversial for decades. Recent progress gives a positive answer to this question. Here, we review a series of numerical studies of the linear response of a two-dimensional Lorentz invariant superfluid near the superfluid-Mott insulator quantum critical point (SF-MI QCP). Particularly, we introduce a numerical procedure to unbiasedly calculate the linear response properties of strongly correlated systems. The numerical procedure contains two crucial steps, i.e., one is to use a highly efficient quantum Monte Carlo method, the worm algorithm in the imaginary-time path-integral representation, to calculate the imaginary time correlation functions for the system in equilibrium; and then, the other is, based on the imaginary time correlation functions, to use the numerical analytical continuation method for obtaining the real-time (real-frequency) linear response function. Applying this numerical procedure to the two-dimensional Bose Hubbard model near SF-MI QCP, it is found that despite strong damping, the Higgs boson survives as a prominent resonance peak in the kinetic energy response function. Further investigations also suggest a similar but less prominent resonance peak near SF-MI QCP on the MI side, and even on the normal liquid side. Since SF-MI quantum criticality can be realized by ultracold aotms in optical lattice, the Higgs resonance peak can be directly observed in experiment. In addition, we point out that the same Higgs resonance peak exists in all quantum critical systems with the same universality, namely (2 + 1)-dimensional relativistic U(1) criticality, as SF-MI QCP.
We study high-frequency response functions, notably the optical conductivity, in the vicinity of quantum critical points (QCPs) by allowing for both detuning from the critical coupling and finite temperature. We consider general dimensions and dynamical exponents. This leads to a unified understanding of sum rules. In systems with emergent Lorentz invariance, powerful methods from quantum field theory allow us to fix the high-frequency response in terms of universal coefficients. We test our predictions analytically in the large-N O(N) model and using the gauge-gravity duality and numerically via quantum Monte Carlo simulations on a lattice model hosting the interacting superfluid-insulator QCP. In superfluid phases, interacting Goldstone bosons qualitatively change the high-frequency optical conductivity and the corresponding sum rule.