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arXiv:2305.00941

Many-body physics of spontaneously broken higher-rank symmetry: from fractonic superfluids to dipolar Hubbard model

Shuai A. Chen, Peng Ye

Published May 1, 2023• 1 citation
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Fractonic superfluids are exotic phases of matter in which bosons are subject to mobility constraints, resulting in features beyond those of conventional superfluids. These exotic phases arise from the spontaneous breaking of higher-rank symmetry (HRS) in many-body systems with higher-moment conservation, such as dipoles, quadrupoles, and angular moments. The aim of this paper is to introduce exciting developments on the theory of spontaneous symmetry breaking in such systems, which we refer to as ``many-fracton systems''. More specifically, we introduce exciting progress on general aspects of HRS, minimal model construction, realization of symmetry-breaking ground states, order parameter, off-diagonal long-range order (ODLRO), Noether currents with continuity equations, Gross-Pitaevskii equations, quantum fluctuations, Goldstone modes, specific heat, generalized Mermin-Wagner theorem, critical current, Landau criterion, symmetry defects, and Kosterlitz-Thouless (KT)-like physics, hydrodynamics, and dipolar Hubbard model realization. This paper is concluded with several future directions.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.2305.00941

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Fractonic superfluids are exotic phases of matter in which bosons are subject to mobility constraints, resulting in features beyond those of conventional superfluids. These exotic phases arise from the spontaneous breaking of higher-rank symmetry (HRS) in many-body systems with higher-moment conservation, such as dipoles, quadrupoles, and angular moments. The aim of this paper is to introduce exciting developments on the theory of spontaneous symmetry breaking in such systems, which we refer to as ``many-fracton systems''. More specifically, we introduce exciting progress on general aspects of HRS, minimal model construction, realization of symmetry-breaking ground states, order parameter, off-diagonal long-range order (ODLRO), Noether currents with continuity equations, Gross-Pitaevskii equations, quantum fluctuations, Goldstone modes, specific heat, generalized Mermin-Wagner theorem, critical current, Landau criterion, symmetry defects, and Kosterlitz-Thouless (KT)-like physics, hydrodynamics, and dipolar Hubbard model realization. This paper is concluded with several future directions.
Symmetry defects, e.g., vortices in conventional superfluids, play a critical role in a complete description of symmetry breaking phases. In this paper, we develop the theory of symmetry defects in fractonic superfluids, i.e., spontaneously higher-rank symmetry (HRS) breaking phases initially proposed by Yuan et al. [Phys. Rev. Res. 2, 023267 (2020)] and by Chen et al. [Phys. Rev. Res. 3, 013226 (2021)]. By Noether's theorem, HRS is associated with the conservation law of higher moments, e.g., dipoles, quadrupoles, and angular moments. We establish finite-temperature phase diagrams by identifying a series of topological phase transitions via the renormalization group flow equations and Debye-H\"uckel approximation. Accordingly, a series of Kosterlitz-Thouless topological transitions are found to occur successively at different temperatures, which are triggered by proliferation of defects, defect bound states, and so on. Such a hierarchical proliferation brings rich phase structures. Meanwhile, a screening effect from sufficiently high density of defect bound states leads to instability and collapse of the intermediate temperature phases, which further enriches the phase diagrams. For concreteness, we consider a fractonic superfluid in which ``angular moments'' are conserved. We then present the general theory, in which other types of HRS can be analyzed in a similar manner. Further directions are present at the end of the paper.
Fractonic superfluids are featured by the interplay of spontaneously broken charge symmetry and mobility constraints on single-particle kinematics due to the conservation of higher moments, such as dipoles, angular charge moments, and quadrupoles. Building on prior studies by Yuan [] and Chen [], we study a class of fractonic superfluids, termed (HFS), in which bosons of multiple species interact while moment hybridization is conserved. We explore the consequences of hybridization via two model series: , conserving total moments of the same order across species, and , conserving total moments of different orders. In Model Series A, we analyze dipole moment hybridization and extend the discussion to higher-order moments, examining the ground state, Goldstone modes, correlation functions, and so on. We compute the minimal spatial dimensions, where the total charge symmetry begins to get partially broken via particle-hole condensation, leading to true off-diagonal long-range order. In Model Series B, we focus on HFS with hybrid dipole-quadrupole conservation. For both series, we introduce Bose-Hubbard–type lattice models that reduce to either of both series in the weak Hubbard interaction regime. We perform a mean-field analysis on the global phase diagram and discuss experimental realizations in strongly tilted optical lattices via a third-order perturbation theory. This work, alongside prior studies, completes a trilogy on fractonic superfluids, uncovering symmetry-breaking physics emerging from higher moment conservation, leaving various promising studies for future investigation.
As a series of work about "fractonic superfluids," in this paper, we develop an exotic fractonic superfluid phase in d-dimensional space where subdimensional particles-their mobility is partially restricted-are condensed.The off-diagonal long range order (ODLRO) is investigated.To demonstrate, we consider "lineons"-a subdimensional particle whose mobility is free only in certain one-dimensional directions.We start with a d-component microscopic Hamiltonian model.The model respects a higher-rank symmetry such that both particle numbers of each component and angular charge moments are conserved quantities.By performing the Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov approximation, we derive a set of Gross-Pitaevskii equations and a Bogoliubov-de Gennes (BdG) Hamiltonian, which leads to a description of both condensed components and unification of gapless phonons and gapped rotons.With the coherent-path-integral representation, we also derive the longwavelength effective field theory of gapless Goldstone modes and analyze quantum fluctuations around classical ground states.The Euler-Lagrange equations and Noether charges/currents are also studied.In two spatial dimensions and higher, such an ODLRO stays stable against quantum fluctuations.Finally, we study vortex configurations.The higher-rank symmetry enforces a hierarchy of thermal vortex excitations whose structures are dominated by two guiding statements.Specially, we construct two types of vortex excitations, the conventional and dipole vortices.The latter carries a charge with dimension as a momentum.The two statements can be more generally applicable.Further perspectives are discussed.
Fractonic many-body systems with higher-rank symmetry admit exotic conservation of higher moments and have been recently focused on intensively. But microscopic Hamiltonians often look quite intricate, highly anisotropic and fine-tuned. In this paper, we attempt to identify higher-rank symmetry as an emergent phenomenon at low energies. We start with a more realistic Hamiltonian of interacting ddd-component bosons in ddd dimensions. At symmetric points, the iii-th component is dispersive only along the x^i\hat{x}_ix^i​-th direction, which renders the conservation of angular moments -- a typical example of higher moments. We find that, all symmetry-breaking kinetic terms, which are usually unavoidable in real systems, become irrelevant in a wide parameter region. In other words, starting from a less fine-tuned Hamiltonian without symmetry, we can potentially achieve emergent higher-rank symmetry and higher-moment conservation at low energies. A detailed one-loop Wilson's perturbative renormalization-group study is performed, leading to a phase diagram of symmetry-breaking kinetic energy v.s. interaction strength. Such a scenario holds promise for both theoretical and experimental realization of higher-rank symmetry, higher-moment conservation, and the resulting exotic non-equilibrium physics.
We consider theories of fractons with NNN fields. These theories have exotic spacetime symmetries, including a conserved dipole moment. Using collective fields we solve these models to leading order in large NNN. The large NNN solution reveals that these models are strongly correlated, and that interactions generate a momentum-dependent self-energy. Dipole symmetry is spontaneously broken throughout the phase diagram of these models, leading to a low-energy Goldstone description of what we dub "dipole superfluids."
We examine the hydrodynamics of systems with spontaneously broken multipolar symmetries using a systematic effective field theory. We focus on the simplest nontrivial setting: a system with charge and dipole symmetry, but without momentum conservation. When no symmetries are broken, our formalism reproduces the quartic subdiffusion ($\ensuremath{\omega}\ensuremath{\sim}\ensuremath{-}i{k}^{4}$) characteristic of ``fracton hydrodynamics'' with conserved dipole moment. Our formalism also captures spontaneous breaking of charge and/or dipole symmetry. When charge symmetry is spontaneously broken, the hydrodynamic modes are quadratically propagating and quartically relaxing ($\ensuremath{\omega}\ensuremath{\sim}\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}{k}^{2}\ensuremath{-}i{k}^{4}$). When the dipole symmetry is spontaneously broken but the charge symmetry is preserved, then we find quadratically relaxing (diffusive) transverse modes, plus another mode which, depending on parameters, may be either purely diffusive ($\ensuremath{\omega}\ensuremath{\sim}\ensuremath{-}i{k}^{2}$) or quadratically propagating and quadratically relaxing ($\ensuremath{\omega}\ensuremath{\sim}\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}{k}^{2}\ensuremath{-}i{k}^{2}$). Our work provides concrete predictions that may be tested in near-term cold atom experiments, and also lays out a general framework that may be applied to study systems with spontaneously broken multipolar symmetries.