We analyze quantum fluctuation effects at the onset of incommensurate 2 k F charge- or spin-density-wave order in two-dimensional metals for a model in which the ordering wave vector Q connects a single pair of hot spots on the Fermi surface with a vanishing Fermi surface curvature. The tangential momentum dependence of the bare dispersion near the hot spots is proportional to | k t | α with α > 2 . We first compute the order parameter susceptibility and the fermion self-energy in a random phase approximation (RPA). Logarithmic divergences are subsequently treated by a renormalization-group analysis. The coupling between the order parameter fluctuations and the fermions vanishes logarithmically in the low-energy limit. As a consequence, the logarithmic divergences found in the RPA do not sum up to anomalous power laws. Instead, only logarithmic corrections to Fermi liquid behavior are obtained. In particular, the quasiparticle weight and the Fermi velocity vanish logarithmically at the hot spots. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
In light of the new experimental and theoretical important developments in high-
Tc superconductivity, we revisit the fermionic hot-spot model relevant to the phenomenology of the cuprates. We extend previous results by means of a complete two-loop order renormalization group (RG) framework. Here, we explicitly study the effect of the charge-density-wave (CDW) order parameter with a
d-wave form factor with the experimentally observed modulation $(\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}{Q}_{0},0)$ and $(0,\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}{Q}_{0})$ at the infrared-stable nontrivial fixed point obtained previously for this model. Additionally, we proceed to investigate also the so-called pair-density-wave (PDW) order that was recently proposed in the literature as a possible candidate for the ``hidden'' order to describe the pseudogap phase observed in underdoped cuprates. We confirm that although the above two ordering tendencies are also found to be nearly degenerate both at one-loop and two-loop RG orders and linked by an emergent SU(2) pseudospin symmetry, they turn out to be subleading for weaker couplings in the present model to antiferromagnetism,
d-wave bond-density wave (BDW) order with modulation along Brillouin zone diagonals $(\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}{Q}_{0},\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}{Q}_{0})$, and
d-wave singlet superconductivity (SSC). However, as we increase the strength of the initial coupling towards moderate values, we do capture a tendency for the entangled PDW/CDW order to become leading compared to BDW/SSC in the model, which suggests that the former composite order might be indeed a viable concept to describe some cuprate superconductors at high temperatures in the underdoped regime, as has been recently alluded to by many authors in the literature.
We analyze the particle-hole symmetric two-dimensional Hubbard model on a square lattice starting from weak-to-moderate couplings by means of the field-theoretical renormalization group approach up to two-loop order. This method is essential in order to evaluate the effect of the momentum-resolved anomalous dimension $\ensuremath{\eta}(\mathbf{p})$ which arises in the normal phase of this model on the corresponding low-energy single-particle excitations. As a result, we find important indications pointing to the existence of a non-Fermi-liquid (NFL) regime at temperature $T\ensuremath{\rightarrow}0$ displaying a truncated Fermi surface (FS) for a doping range exactly in between the well-known antiferromagnetic insulating and the ${d}_{{x}^{2}\ensuremath{-}{y}^{2}}$-wave singlet superconducting phases. This NFL evolves as a function of doping into a correlated metal with a large FS before the ${d}_{{x}^{2}\ensuremath{-}{y}^{2}}$-wave pairing susceptibility finally produces the dominant instability in the low-energy limit.
The stability or lack thereof of nonrelativistic fermionic systems to interactions is studied within the renormalization-group (RG) framework, in close analogy with the study of critical phenomena using ${\ensuremath{\varphi}}^{4}$ scalar field theory. A brief introduction to ${\ensuremath{\varphi}}^{4}$ theory in four dimensions and the path-integral formulation for fermions is given before turning to the problem at hand. As for the latter, the following procedure is used. First, the modes on either side of the Fermi surface within a cutoff $\ensuremath{\Lambda}$ are chosen for study, in analogy with the modes near the origin in ${\ensuremath{\varphi}}^{4}$ theory, and a path integral is written to describe them. Next, an RG transformation that eliminates a part of these modes, but preserves the action of the noninteracting system, is identified. Finally the possible perturbations of this free-field fixed point are classified as relevant, irrelevant or marginal. A
d=1 warmup calculation involving a system of fermions shows how, in contrast to mean-field theory, which predicts a charge-density wave for arbitrarily weak repulsion, and superconductivity for arbitrarily weak attraction, the renormalization-group approach correctly yields a scale-invariant system (Luttinger liquid) by taking into account both instabilities. Application of the renormalization group in
d=2and3, for rotationally invariant Fermi surfaces, automatically leads to Landau's Fermi-liquid theory, which appears as a fixed point characterized by an effective mass and a Landau function
F, with the only relevant perturbations being of the superconducting (BCS) type. The functional flow equations for the BCS couplings are derived and separated into an infinite number of flows, one for each angular momentum. It is shown that similar results hold for rotationally noninvariant (but time-reversal-invariant) Fermi surfaces also, with obvious loss of rotational invariance in the parametrization of the fixed-point interactions. A study of a nested Fermi surface shows an additional relevant flow leading to charge-density-wave formation. It is pointed out that, for small $\frac{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}{{K}_{F}}$, a
N1 expansion emerges, with $N=\frac{{K}_{F}}{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}$, which explains why one is able to solve the narrow-cutoff theory. The search for non-Fermi liquids in
d=2 using the RG is discussed. Bringing a variety of phenomena (Landau theory, charge-density waves, BCS instability, nesting, etc.) under the one unifying principle of the RG not only allows us to better understand and unify them, but also paves the way for generalizations and extensions. The article is pedagogical in nature and is expected to be accessible to any serious graduate student. On the other hand, its survey of the vast literature is mostly limited to the RG approach.
We present a renormalization-group analysis of two-dimensional interacting fermion systems with a closed and partially flat Fermi surface. Numerical solutions of the one-loop flow equations show that for a bare local repulsion, the system evolves through three different regimes as the typical energy is lowered: a high-energy transient with a strong competition between particle-particle and particle-hole channels, an intermediate regime with dominant spin-density wave correlations, and finally a ``hot spot'' regime exhibiting d-wave superconductivity. We study, mostly by analytical methods, how this flow pattern depends on the number N of Fermi-surface patches used in the numerical solution. This clearly indicates that the final regime requires vanishingly small microscopic interactions, for the one-loop approximation to be valid, as N is going to infinity.
We describe a Wick ordered functional renormalization group method for interacting Fermi systems, where the complete flow from the bare action of the microscopic model to the effective low-energy action is obtained from a differential flow equation. We apply this renormalization group approach to a prototypical two-dimensional lattice electron system, the Hubbard model on a square lattice. The flow equation for the effective interactions is evaluated numerically on 1-loop level. The effective interactions diverge at a finite energy scale which is exponentially small for small bare interactions. To analyze the nature of the instabilities signalled by the diverging interactions we compute the flow of the singlet superconducting susceptibilities for various pairing symmetries and also charge and spin density susceptibilities. Depending on the choice of the model parameters (hopping amplitudes, interaction strength and band-filling) we find antiferromagnetic order or d-wave superconductivity as leading symmetry breaking instability.