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arXiv:cond-mat/9511121 · Physical Review Letters

Critical Properties of Random Quantum Potts and Clock Models

T. Senthil, Satya N. Majumdar

Published Apr 15, 1996• 83 citations
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Abstract

We study zero temperature phase transitions in two classes of random quantum systems---the $q$-state quantum Potts and clock models. For models with purely ferromagnetic interactions in one dimension, we show that for strong randomness there is a second order transition with critical properties that can be determined exactly by use of a renormalization group procedure. Somewhat surprisingly, the critical behavior is completely independent of $q$. For the $q>4$ clock model, we suggest the existence of a novel multicritical point at intermediate randomness. We also consider the $T\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}=\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}0$ transition from a paramagnet to a spin glass in an infinite-range model, and find $q$ independent exponents.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.76.3001

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We study zero temperature phase transitions in two classes of random quantum systems---the qqq-state quantum Potts and clock models. For models with purely ferromagnetic interactions in one dimension, we show that for strong randomness there is a second order transition with critical properties that can be determined exactly by use of a renormalization group procedure. Somewhat surprisingly, the critical behavior is completely independent of qqq. For the q>4q>4q>4 clock model, we suggest the existence of a novel multicritical point at intermediate randomness. We also consider the T=0T\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}=\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}0T=0 transition from a paramagnet to a spin glass in an infinite-range model, and find qqq independent exponents.
We study the phases and phase transitions of a disordered one-dimensional quantum qqq-state clock Hamiltonian using large-scale Monte Carlo simulations. Making contact with earlier results, we confirm that the clean, translational invariant version of the model, for q=6q=6q=6, hosts an intermediate emergent quasi-long-range ordered (QLRO) phase between the symmetry-broken true long-range ordered (TLRO) phase and the disordered (paramagnetic) phase. With increasing disorder strength, the quasi-long-range ordered phase shrinks and finally vanishes at a multicritical point, beyond which there is a direct transition from the TLRO phase to the paramagnetic phase. After establishing the phase diagram, we characterize the critical behaviors of the various quantum phase transitions in the model. We find that weak disorder is an irrelevant perturbation of the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transitions that separate the QLRO phase from the TLRO and paramagnetic phases. For stronger disorder, some of the critical exponents become disorder-dependent already before the system reaches the multicritical point. We also show that beyond the multicritical point, the direct transition from the TLRO phase to the paramagnetic phase is governed by an infinite-randomness critical point in line with strong-disorder renormalization group predictions. While our numerical results are for q=6q=6q=6, we expect the qualitative features of the behavior to hold for all q>4q>4q>4.
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Quantum critical points in quasiperiodic magnets can realize new universality classes, with critical properties distinct from those of clean or disordered systems. Here, we study quantum phase transitions separating ferromagnetic and paramagnetic phases in the quasiperiodic q-state Potts model in 2+1D. Using a controlled real-space renormalization group approach, we find that the critical behavior is largely independent of q, and is controlled by an infinite-quasiperiodicity fixed point. The correlation length exponent is found to be ν=1, saturating a modified version of the Harris-Luck criterion.
At low temperatures, the classical two-dimensional random bond Ising model undergoes a frustration-driven ferromagnet-to-paramagnet transition controlled by a zero-temperature fixed point separating ferromagnet and spin glass phases. We show that this critical point can be understood through a renormalization group transformation that constructs the ground state of the Ising model through a sequence of Hamiltonians that, starting with an unfrustrated model, iteratively adds in frustration until the target Hamiltonian is reached. Via a mapping of the thermodynamics of the 2d Ising model to the spectral properties of a related Hermitian matrix -- the Hamiltonian of a noninteracting quantum problem -- this RG procedure corresponds to an iterative diagonalization of the quantum Hamiltonian. The flow toward zero temperature in the Ising picture manifests as a flow toward infinite randomness in the spectrum of the quantum Hamiltonian, with the log gap of the Hamiltonian scaling as a power of the system size: log⁡εmin−1∼Lψ\log \varepsilon_{\it min}^{-1} \sim L^ψlogεmin−1​∼Lψ. The tunneling exponent ψψψ is equal to the spin stiffness exponent θcθ_cθc​ characterizing the zero-temperature fixed point.
The random quantum q-state clock and Potts models are studied in two and three dimensions. The existence of Griffiths phases is tested in the two-dimensional case with q=6 by sampling the integrated probability distribution of local susceptibilities of the equivalent McCoy-Wu three-dimensional classical models with Monte Carlo simulations. For the random Potts model, numerical evidence of the existence of Griffiths phases is given and the finite-size effects are analyzed. For the clock model, the data also suggest the existence of a Griffiths phase but with much larger finite-size effects. The critical point of the random quantum clock model is then studied with the Strong-Disorder Renormalization Group. Evidence is given that, at strong enough disorder, this critical behavior is governed by the same infinite-disorder fixed point as the Potts model, for all the number of states q considered. At weak disorder, our renormalization group method becomes unstable and does not allow us to make conclusions.
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