Abstract We derive the self-consistent harmonic approximation for the 2 D XY model with non-local interactions. The resulting equation for the variational couplings holds for any form of the spin-spin coupling as well as for any dimension. Our analysis is then specialized to power-law couplings decaying with the distance r as in order to investigate the robustness, at finite σ , of the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) transition, which occurs in the short-range limit . We propose an ansatz for the functional form of the variational couplings and show that for any the BKT mechanism occurs. The present investigation provides an upper bound for the critical threshold above which the traditional BKT transition persists in spite of the non-local nature of the couplings.
Abstract We derive the self-consistent harmonic approximation for the 2 D XY model with non-local interactions. The resulting equation for the variational couplings holds for any form of the spin-spin coupling as well as for any dimension. Our analysis is then specialized to power-law couplings decaying with the distance r as in order to investigate the robustness, at finite σ , of the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) transition, which occurs in the short-range limit . We propose an ansatz for the functional form of the variational couplings and show that for any the BKT mechanism occurs. The present investigation provides an upper bound for the critical threshold above which the traditional BKT transition persists in spite of the non-local nature of the couplings.
In the past decades, considerable efforts have been made to understand the critical features of both classical and quantum long-range (LR) interacting models. The case of the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) universality class, as in the two-dimensional (2D) classical XY model, is considerably complicated by the presence, for short-range interactions, of a line of renormalization group fixed points. In this paper, we discuss a field-theoretical treatment of the 2D XY model with LR couplings, and we compare it with results from the self-consistent harmonic approximation. These methods lead to a rich phase diagram, where both power law BKT scaling and spontaneous symmetry breaking appear for the same (intermediate) decay rates of LR interactions. We also discuss the Villain approximation for the 2D XY model with power law couplings, providing hints that, in the LR regime, it fails to reproduce the correct critical behavior. The obtained results are then applied to the LR quantum XXZ spin chain at zero temperature. We discuss the relation between the phase diagrams of the two models, and we give predictions about the scaling of the order parameter of the quantum chain close to the transition.
The Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) transition is the paradigmatic example of a topological phase transition without symmetry breaking, where a quasiordered phase, characterized by a power-law scaling of the correlation functions at low temperature, is disrupted by the proliferation of topological excitations above the critical temperature T_{BKT}. In this Letter, we consider the effect of long-range decaying couplings ∼r^{-2-σ} on the BKT transition. After pointing out the relevance of this nontrivial problem, we discuss the phase diagram, which is far richer than the corresponding short-range one. It features-for 7/4<σ<2-a quasiordered phase in a finite temperature range T_{c}<T<T_{BKT}, which occurs between a symmetry broken phase for T<T_{c} and a disordered phase for T>T_{BKT}. The transition temperature T_{c} displays unique universal features quite different from those of the traditional, short-range XY model. Given the universal nature of our findings, they may be observed in current experimental realizations in 2D atomic, molecular, and optical quantum systems.
The Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) transition is an archetypal example of a topological phase transition, which is driven by the proliferation of vortices. In this Letter, we analyze the persistence of the BKT transition in the XY model under the influence of long-range algebraically decaying interactions of the form ∼1/r^{2+σ}. The model hosts a magnetized low temperature phase for sufficiently small σ. Crucially, in the presence of long-range interactions, spin waves renormalize the interaction between vortices, which stabilizes the BKT transition. As a result, we find that there is no direct transition from the magnetized to the disordered phase and that the BKT transition persists for arbitrary long-range exponents, which is distinct from previous results. The key methodological advance is the inclusion of coupling between spin wave and topological excitations. We do this by developing Landau-Peierls-type arguments and using higher-order renormalization group calculations, obtaining compatible results. We emphasize that Landau-Peierls-type arguments are a powerful tool for analyzing continuous spin models. We discuss the relevance of our findings for current Rydberg atom experiments, and highlight the importance of long-range couplings for other types of topological defects.
In this paper we present a study of the phase diagram and critical properties of the square-lattice quantum XY model, with a single-ion anisotropy and spin S = 1, as a function of the anisotropy parameter D . For D less than a critical value D C , which is the critical point for a quantum phase transition at T = 0, the model presents a Berezinskii–Kosterlitz–Thouless (BKT) transition. This region is adequately described by the self-consistent harmonic approximation. We show that, if we want to use a Schwinger boson theory in this region, we should include fluctuations around the mean-field approximation (which leads to a gauge field) to describe correctly the BKT transition. However both methods are inadequate to describe the large- D phase, and we show that this phase can be studied using the bond operator formalism which gives the correct behaviour for the correlation length as a function of the temperature in the critical point and above. Our results agree with scaling arguments.
It is argued that two-dimensional U(N) spin models for any N undergo a Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT)-like phase transition, similarly to the famous XY model. This conclusion follows from the Berezinskii-like calculation of the two-point correlation function in U(N) models, approximate renormalization group analysis, and numerical investigations of the U(2) model. It is shown, via Monte Carlo simulations, that the universality class of the U(2) model coincides with that of the XY model. Moreover, preliminary numerical results point out that two-dimensional SU(N) spin models with the fundamental and adjoint terms and N>4 exhibit two phase transitions of BKT type, similarly to Z(N) vector models.
We study the effect of a linear tunneling coupling between two-dimensional systems, each separately exhibiting the topological Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) transition. In the uncoupled limit, there are two phases: one where the one-body correlation functions are algebraically decaying and the other with exponential decay. When the linear coupling is turned on, a third BKT-paired phase emerges, in which one-body correlations are exponentially decaying, while two-body correlation functions exhibit power-law decay. We perform numerical simulations in the paradigmatic case of two coupled XY models at finite temperature, finding evidences that for any finite value of the interlayer coupling, the BKT-paired phase is present. We provide a picture of the phase diagram using a renormalization group approach.