Abstract The Mermin-Wagner theorem states that spontaneous continuous symmetry breaking is prohibited in systems with short-range interactions at spatial dimension D ≤ 2. For long-range interactions with a power-law form (1/ r α ), the theorem further forbids ferromagnetic or antiferromagnetic order at finite temperature when α ≥ 2 D . However, the situation for α ∈ (2, 4) at D = 2 is not covered by the theorem. To address this, we conduct large-scale quantum Monte Carlo simulations and field theoretical analysis. Our findings show spontaneous breaking of S U (2) symmetry in the ferromagnetic Heisenberg model with 1/ r α -form long-range interactions at D = 2. We determine critical exponents through finite-size analysis for α < 3 (above the upper critical dimension with Gaussian fixed point) and 3 ≤ α < 4 (below the upper critical dimension with non-Gaussian fixed point). These results reveal new critical behaviors in 2D long-range Heisenberg models, encouraging further experimental studies of quantum materials with long-range interactions beyond the Mermin-Wagner theorem’s scope.
Abstract The Mermin-Wagner theorem states that spontaneous continuous symmetry breaking is prohibited in systems with short-range interactions at spatial dimension D ≤ 2. For long-range interactions with a power-law form (1/ r α ), the theorem further forbids ferromagnetic or antiferromagnetic order at finite temperature when α ≥ 2 D . However, the situation for α ∈ (2, 4) at D = 2 is not covered by the theorem. To address this, we conduct large-scale quantum Monte Carlo simulations and field theoretical analysis. Our findings show spontaneous breaking of S U (2) symmetry in the ferromagnetic Heisenberg model with 1/ r α -form long-range interactions at D = 2. We determine critical exponents through finite-size analysis for α < 3 (above the upper critical dimension with Gaussian fixed point) and 3 ≤ α < 4 (below the upper critical dimension with non-Gaussian fixed point). These results reveal new critical behaviors in 2D long-range Heisenberg models, encouraging further experimental studies of quantum materials with long-range interactions beyond the Mermin-Wagner theorem’s scope.
Algebraically decaying interactions ∼1/rd+σ can lead to nontrivial universality beyond short-range (SR) theories and spontaneous symmetry breaking in low-dimensional systems. We perform large-scale Monte Carlo simulations for the classical long-range (LR) Heisenberg model in two dimensions (2D) up to linear size L=8192. We show that the system enters a long-range-ordered phase through a single continuous phase transition for all σ≤2, including the marginal case σ=2. In contrast, for σ>2 it recovers the SR asymptotically free behavior with no finite-temperature transition. This places the LR--SR crossover threshold at σ∗=2. To characterize the ordered phase, we introduce an LR simple random walk with a fixed total length L∼O(Ld). This fixed-L walk reproduces the finite-size scaling of the Goldstone-mode fluctuations in the LR Heisenberg model in both two and three dimensions, including the logarithmic scaling at σ=2. These results further motivate a general criterion for the existence of finite-temperature long-range order in LR systems with continuous symmetry in any spatial dimension.
Some measurements have shown that the second-order exchange interaction is non-negligible in ferromagnetic compounds whose microscopic interactions are described by means of half-odd integer quantum spins. In these spin systems the ground state is either ferromagnetic or antiferromagnetic when the bilinear exchange interaction is dominant. Instead, in ferromagnetic systems characterized by bilinear and biquadratic exchange interactions of comparable magnitude, the energy minimum occurs when spins are in a canting ground-state. To this aim, a one-dimensional (1D) quantum spin chain and a two-dimensional (2D) lattice of quantum spins subjected to periodic boundary conditions are modeled via the generalized quantum Heisenberg Hamiltonian containing, in addition to the isotropic and short-range bilinear exchange interaction of the Heisenberg type, a second-order interaction, the isotropic and short-range biquadratic exchange interaction between nearest-neighbors quantum spins. For these 1D and 2D quantum systems a generalization of the Mermin–Wagner–Hohenberg theorem (also known as Mermin–Wagner–Berezinksii or Coleman theorem) is given. It is demonstrated, by means of quantum statistical arguments, based on Bogoliubov’s inequality, that, at any finite temperature, (1) there is absence of long-range order and that (2) the law governing the vanishing of the order parameter is the same as in the bilinear case for both 1D and 2D quantum ferromagnetic systems. The physical implications of the absence of a spontaneous spin symmetry breaking in 1D spin chains and 2D spin lattices modeled via a generalized quantum Heisenberg Hamiltonian are discussed.
Spontaneous symmetry breaking of 2D isotropic Heisenberg magnet is restricted by Mermin-Wagner theorem at any finite temperature in presence of short-range exchange interaction.Kosterlitz and Thouless using XY spin model showed that how an order state could developed in 2D spin system in presence of short range isotropic interaction.Very recent discovery of several van der waals magnet revised and redefined our understanding on 2D Heisenberg magnet and its ground state properties.After a rigorous and careful study of several 2D magnetic material we have realized from both experimentally and numerically that the finite size of a 2D system has great impact on the ground state symmetry breaking.Because of that finite size effect more often an anisotropic residual magnetic moment is generated and trigger the spontaneous symmetry breaking at finite temperature(T) and even only presence of short-range interaction we observed the phase transition of that Heisenberg spin system.In this present work we have shown the basic role of finite size,anisotropy during the symmetry breaking of 2D Heisenberg XY magnet.Here we have simulated Kosterlitz-Thouless transition using classical Monte-carlo simulation and study the effect of anisotropy during the phase transition.We presented the behaviour of different thermodynamic properties of 2D XY spin model system during the Kosterlitz-Thouless(KT) transition.The generic characteristic of KT transition which make it distinct from other critical phenomena is that the peak of heat capacity is not diverging with increase of system size rather peak is decreasing with the increasing of system size near at transition temperature.Here we are observing that behaviour in our present simulation and that specific behaviour help us for classifying the present transition as Kosterlitz-Thouless(KT) transition.
Continuous symmetry breaking (CSB) in low-dimensional systems, forbidden by the Mermin-Wagner theorem for short-range interactions, may take place in the presence of slowly decaying long-range interactions. Nevertheless, there is no stringent bound on how slowly interactions should decay to give rise to CSB in 1D quantum systems at zero temperature. Here, we study a long-range interacting spin chain with U(1) symmetry and power-law interactions V(r)∼1/r^{α}. Using a number of analytical and numerical techniques, we find CSB for α smaller than a critical exponent α_{c}(≤3) that depends on the microscopic parameters of the model. Furthermore, the transition from the gapless XY phase to the gapless CSB phase is mediated by the breaking of conformal and Lorentz symmetries due to long-range interactions, and is described by a universality class akin to, but distinct from, the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition. Signatures of the CSB phase should be accessible in existing trapped-ion experiments.
We study quantum phase transitions in Heisenberg antiferromagnetic chains with a staggered power-law decaying long-range interactions. Employing the density-matrix renormalization group (DMRG) algorithm and the fidelity susceptibility as the criticality measure, we establish more accurate values of quantum critical points than the results obtained from the spin-wave approximation, quantum Monte Carlo, and DMRG in literatures. The deviation is especially evident for strong long-range interactions. We extend isotropic long-range interactions to the anisotropic cases and find that kaleidoscope of quantum phases emerge from the interplay of anisotropy of the long-range exchange interaction and symmetry breaking. We demonstrate nonfrustrating long-range interactions induce the true long-range order in Heisenberg antiferromagnetic chains with a continuous symmetry breaking, lifting the restrictions imposed by the Mermin-Wagner theorem.
Long-range interactions can fundamentally reshape the low-energy properties of low-dimensional quantum matter, altering both continuous symmetry breaking and topological phenomena. However, their impact on the quantum criticality separating these regimes remains poorly understood. We determine the ground-state phase diagram and critical properties of the spin-one Heisenberg chain with single-ion anisotropy and staggered antiferromagnetic power-law interactions, using matrix-product state (MPS) calculations complemented by high-order series expansions (pCUT+MC). Such long-range, non-frustrated interactions circumvent the Hohenberg-Mermin-Wagner theorem, thereby stabilizing continuous symmetry breaking (CSB) phases in direct competition with the Haldane phase. We map out the resulting phase diagram and analyze the entanglement entropy scaling behavior in the U(1) and SU(2) CSB phases, finding logarithmic corrections beyond the short-range, universal contributions expected from linearly dispersed Goldstone modes. We further characterize all critical boundaries through finite-size scaling of either the entanglement entropy or the staggered magnetization. In particular, the large-D-to-U(1)-CSB transition exhibits unconventional, continuously varying critical exponents as a function of the long-range decay exponent with a strong dependence on the imposed boundary conditions leading to distinct finite-size scalings for sufficiently long-range potentials. Remarkably, the Haldane-to-U(1)-CSB transition likewise displays unconventional quantum criticality with distinct continuously varying critical exponents. Our work positions this model as a target for near-term atomic platforms with tunable long-range couplings and exhibiting natural single-ion anisotropy, offering a minimal playground for exploring the interplay between long-range interactions, continuous symmetry breaking, and topology.