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arXiv:hep-th/9808115

Topological phase transitions in low-dimensional systems

S. A. Bulgadaev

Published Aug 19, 1998• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

A general theory of the Berezinsky-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) type phase transitions in low-dimensional systems is proposed. It is shown that in d-dimensional case the necessary conditions for it can take place are 1) conformal invariance of kinetic part of model action and 2) vacuum homotopy group $π_{d-1}$ must be nontrivial and discrete. It means a discrete vacuum degeneracy for $1d$ systems and continuous vacuum degeneracy for higher $d$ systems. For such systems topological exitations have logariphmically divergent energy and they can be described by corresponding effective field theories. In general case the sufficient conditions for existence of the BKT type phase transition are 1) constraint $d \le 2$ and 2) $π_{d-1}$ must have some crystallographic symmetries. Critical properties of possible low-dimensional effective theories are determined and it is shown that in two-dimensional case they are characterized by the Coxeter numbers $h_G$ of lattices from the series ${A,D,E,Z}$ and can be interpreted as those of conformal field theories with integer central charge $c=r,$ where $r$ is a rank of groups $π_1$ and $G.$ In one-dimensional case analogous critical properties have ferromagnetic Dyson chains with discrete Cartan-Ising spins. In contrast, critical properties of one-dimensional models with periodic potentials have a weak dependence on group $G.$

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.hep-th/9808115

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A general theory of the Berezinsky-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) type phase transitions in low-dimensional systems is proposed. It is shown that in d-dimensional case the necessary conditions for it can take place are 1) conformal invariance of kinetic part of model action and 2) vacuum homotopy group πd−1π_{d-1}πd−1​ must be nontrivial and discrete. It means a discrete vacuum degeneracy for 1d1d1d systems and continuous vacuum degeneracy for higher ddd systems. For such systems topological exitations have logariphmically divergent energy and they can be described by corresponding effective field theories. In general case the sufficient conditions for existence of the BKT type phase transition are 1) constraint d≤2d \le 2d≤2 and 2) πd−1π_{d-1}πd−1​ must have some crystallographic symmetries. Critical properties of possible low-dimensional effective theories are determined and it is shown that in two-dimensional case they are characterized by the Coxeter numbers hGh_GhG​ of lattices from the series A,D,E,Z{A,D,E,Z}A,D,E,Z and can be interpreted as those of conformal field theories with integer central charge c=r,c=r,c=r, where rrr is a rank of groups π1π_1π1​ and G.G.G. In one-dimensional case analogous critical properties have ferromagnetic Dyson chains with discrete Cartan-Ising spins. In contrast, critical properties of one-dimensional models with periodic potentials have a weak dependence on group G.G.G.
Abstract In a two-dimensional (2D) spin system, the XY model, characterized by planar rotational symmetry, exhibits a unique phenomenon known as the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) transition. In contrast, the clock model, which introduces discrete rotational symmetry, exhibits the BKT transition at two different temperatures due to this discreteness. In this study, we numerically investigate the BKT transition for XY and six-state clock models over various two-dimensional lattices. We employ two primary methods: the Monte Carlo method, which analyzes the size dependence of the ratio of the correlation functions for two different distances, and a machine-learning approach to classify the different phases --- namely, the low-temperature ordered phase, the intermediate BKT phase, and the high-temperature disordered phase. We identify the BKT transition temperatures for the XY and six-state models on honeycomb, kagome, and diced lattices. Combined with the previously calculated data for the triangular lattice, we then compare these values with the second-order phase transition temperatures of the 2D Ising model, for which exact solutions are known. Our results indicate that the ratio of the BKT transition temperatures for each lattice relative to the Ising model transition temperatures are close, although the values are not universal.
We introduce topological invariants for gapless systems and study the associated boundary phenomena.More generally, the symmetry properties of the low-energy conformal field theory (CFT) provide discrete invariants establishing the notion of symmetry-enriched quantum criticality.The charges of nonlocal scaling operators, or more generally, of symmetry defects, are topological and imply the presence of localized edge modes.We primarily focus on the 1 þ 1d case where the edge has a topological degeneracy, whose finite-size splitting can be exponential or algebraic in system size depending on the involvement of additional gapped sectors.An example of the exponential case is given by tuning the spin-1 Heisenberg chain to a symmetry-breaking Ising phase.An example of the algebraic case arises between the gapped Ising and cluster phases: This symmetry-enriched Ising CFT has an edge mode with finite-size splitting scaling as 1=L 14 .In addition to such new cases, our formalism unifies various examples previously studied in the literature.Similar to gapped symmetry-protected topological phases, a given CFT can split into several distinct symmetry-enriched CFTs.This raises the question of classification, to which we give a partial answer-including a complete characterization of symmetry-enriched 1 þ 1d Ising CFTs.Nontrivial topological invariants can also be constructed in higher dimensions, which we illustrate for a symmetry-enriched 2 þ 1d CFT without gapped sectors.
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.
Abstract In a two-dimensional (2D) spin system, the XY model, characterized by planar rotational symmetry, exhibits a unique phenomenon known as the Berezinskii–Kosterlitz–Thouless (BKT) transition. In contrast, the clock model, which introduces discrete rotational symmetry, exhibits the BKT transition at two different temperatures due to this discreteness. In this study, we numerically investigate the BKT transition for XY and six-state clock models over various 2D lattices. We employ two primary methods: the Monte Carlo method, which analyzes the size dependence of the ratio of the correlation functions for two different distances, and a machine-learning approach to classify the different phases—namely, the low-temperature ordered phase, the intermediate BKT phase, and the high-temperature disordered phase. We identify the BKT transition temperatures for the XY and six-state models on honeycomb, kagome, and diced lattices. Combined with the previously calculated data for the triangular lattice, we then compare these values with the second-order phase transition temperatures of the 2D Ising model, for which exact solutions are known. Our results indicate that the ratio of the BKT transition temperatures for each lattice relative to the Ising model transition temperatures are close, although the values are not universal.
The Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) transition, the transition of the two-dimensional sine-Gordon model, plays an important role in low-dimensional physics. We relate the operator content of the BKT transition to that of the SU (2) Wess-Zumino-Witten model, using twisted boundary conditions. With this method, in order k - 1 to determine the BKT critical point, we can use the level crossing of the lower excitations instead of those for the periodic boundary case, thus the convergence to the transition point is highly improved. We verify the efficiency of this method by applying it to the S = 1, 2 spin chains.
This thesis addresses the emergent electrostatics of two-dimensional, toroidal magnetic models that possess XY symmetry, providing a platform for novel investigations into the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) phase transition.The BKT transition drives the thermal dissociation of bound pairs of topological defects in many two-dimensional systems, including the two-dimensional XY model of magnetism. The XY model is closely analogous to the two-dimensional Coulomb gas, but can be simulated without computing the long-range interactions of the Coulombic system. This thesis elucidates this paradox by showing that Villain's approximation to the XY model is strictly equivalent to the Maggs-Rossetto (MR) electrostatic model when applied to the two-dimensional Coulomb gas.The mapping is used to probe the BKT transition through the application of the MR algorithm to the two-dimensional Coulomb gas. By simulating the Coulombic system, fluctuations in the winding of charges around the torus are shown to turn on at the BKT transition temperature. These topological-sector fluctuations in the electric field therefore signal the high-temperature phase of the transition.It is then shown that the effective critical exponent of Bramwell-Holdsworth (BH) theory can be measured in superfluid 4He films, which correspond to effective Coulomb gases in the limit of large but finite system size. With the Coulombic system taken as the base BKT system, it is inferred that BH theory is a general property of BKT systems.