We investigate the quantum phase transition from antiferromagnetism (
AF) to algebraic spin liquid (
ASL). {\it We propose that spin 1/2 fermionic spinons in the
ASL fractionalize into spin 1/2 bosonic spinons and spinless fermions at the quantum critical point (
QCP) between the
AF and the
ASL}. Condensation of the bosonic spinons leads to the
AF, where the condensed bosonic spinons are confined with the spinless fermions to form the fermionic spinons. These fermionic spinons are also confined to make antiferromagnons as elementary excitations in the
AF. {\it Approaching the
QCP from the
AF, spin 1 critical antiferromagnetic fluctuations are expected to break up into spin 1/2 critical bosonic spinons. Then, these bosonic spinons hybridize with spin 1/2 fermionic spinons, making spinless fermions}. As a result the fermionic spinons decay into the bosonic spinons and the spinless fermions. But, the spinless fermions are confined and thus, only the bosonic spinons emerge at the
QCP. This coincides with the recent studies of {\it deconfined quantum criticality}\cite{Laughlin_deconfinement,Senthil_deconfinement,Kim1,Ichinose_de confinement}. When the bosonic spinons are gapped, the
ASL is realized. The bosonic spinons are confined with the spinless fermions to form the fermionic spinons. These fermionic spinons are deconfined to describe the
ASL.
We study one dimensional {\it extended} Kondo lattice model, described by the
t−J Hamiltonian for conduction electrons away from half filling and the Heisenberg Hamiltonian for localized spins at half filling. Following Shankar,\cite{Shankar} we find an effective field theory for this model, where doped holes are represented by massless Dirac fermions (holons) and spin excitations are fractionalized into relativistic bosons (spinons). These holons and spinons interact via U(1) gauge fluctuations. Effects of Berry phase to the localized spins disappear due to the presence of Kondo couplings, causing the spinon excitations gapped. Furthermore, the gauge fluctuations are suppressed by hole doping. As a result, massive spinons are deconfined to arise in the localized spins unless the Kondo hybridization is strong enough. When the Kondo hybridization strength exceeds a certain value, we find that the localized spin chain becomes critical. This indicates that the present one dimensional Kondo lattice model exhibits a phase transition from a spin-gapped phase to a critical state in the localized spin chain, driven by the Kondo interaction.
Resorting to a recently developed theoretical device called dimensional regularization for quantum criticality with a Fermi surface, we examine a metal-insulator quantum phase transition from a Landau's Fermi-liquid state to a U(1) spin-liquid phase with a spinon Fermi surface in two dimensions. Unfortunately, we fail to approach the spin-liquid Mott quantum critical point from the U(1) spin-liquid state within the dimensional regularization technique. Self-interactions between charge fluctuations called holons are not screened, which shows a run-away renormalization group flow, interpreted as holons remain gapped. This leads us to consider another fixed point, where the spinon Fermi surface can be destabilized across the Mott transition. Based on this conjecture, we reveal the nature of the spin-liquid Mott quantum critical point: Dimensional reduction to one dimension occurs for spin dynamics described by spinons. As a result, Landau damping for both spin and charge dynamics disappear in the vicinity of the Mott quantum critical point. When the flavor number of holons is over its critical value, an interacting fixed point appears to be identified with an inverted
XY universality class, controlled within the dimensional regularization technique. On the other hand, a fluctuation-driven first order metal-insulator transition results when it is below the critical number. We propose that the destabilization of a spinon Fermi surface and the emergence of one-dimensional spin dynamics near the spin-liquid Mott quantum critical point can be checked out by spin susceptibility with a
2kF transfer momentum, where
kF is a Fermi momentum in the U(1) spin-liquid state: The absence of Landau damping in U(1) gauge fluctuations gives rise to a divergent behavior at zero temperature while it vanishes in the presence of a spinon Fermi surface.
We present two two-dimensional lattice models with non-Fermi-liquid metallic phases. We show that the low-energy physics of these models is exactly described by a Fermi sea of fractionalized quasiparticles coupled to a fluctuating
U(1) gauge field. In the first model, the underlying degrees of freedom are spin-1/2 fermions. This model demonstrates that electrons can in principle give rise to non-Fermi-liquid metallic phases. In the second model, the underlying degrees of freedom are spinless bosons. This model provides a concrete example of a (non-Fermi-liquid) Bose metal. With little modification, it also gives an example of a critical
U(1) symmetric spin liquid.
The quantum phase transitions of metals have been extensively studied in the rare-earth "heavy electron" materials, the cuprates, and related compounds. The Fermi surface of the metal often has different shapes in the states well away from the critical point. It has been proposed that these differences can persist up to the critical point, setting up a discontinuous Fermi surface change across a continuous quantum transition. We study square lattice antiferromagnets undergoing a continuous transition from a Neel state to a valence bond solid, and examine the fate of a small density of holes in the two phases. Fermi surfaces of charge e, spin 1/2 quasiparticles appear in both phases, enclosing the usual Luttinger area. However, additional quantum numbers cause the area enclosed by each Fermi surface pocket to jump by a factor of 2 across the transition in the limit of small density. We demonstrate that the electronic spectrum across this transition is described by a critical theory of a localized impurity coupled to a 2+1 dimensional conformal field theory. This critical theory also controls the more complex Fermi surface crossover at fixed density, which likely involves intermediate phases with exotic fractionalized excitations. We suggest that such theories control the electronic spectrum in the pseudogap phase of the cuprates.
We present the critical theory of a number of zero-temperature phase transitions of quantum antiferromagnets and interacting boson systems in two dimensions. The most important example is the transition of the
S=1∕2 square lattice antiferromagnet between the N\'eel state (which breaks spin rotation invariance) and the paramagnetic valence bond solid (which preserves spin rotation invariance but breaks lattice symmetries). We show that these two states are separated by a second-order quantum phase transition. This conflicts with Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson theory, which predicts that such states with distinct broken symmetries are generically separated either by a first-order transition, or by a phase with co-existing orders. The critical theory of the second-order transition is not expressed in terms of the order parameters characterizing either state, but involves fractionalized degrees of freedom and an emergent, topological, global conservation law. A closely related theory describes the superfluid-insulator transition of bosons at half filling on a square lattice, in which the insulator has a bond density wave order. Similar considerations are shown to apply to transitions of antiferromagnets between the valence bond solid and the
Z2 spin liquid: the critical theory has deconfined excitations interacting with an emergent
U(1) gauge force. We comment on the broader implications of our results for the study of quantum criticality in correlated electron systems.