A conformal field theory description of magnetic flux fractionalization in Josephson junction ladders

We show how the recently proposed effective theory for a Quantum Hall system at "paired states" filling v=1 (Mod. Phys. Lett. A 15 (2000) 1679; Nucl. Phys. B641 (2002) 547), the twisted model (TM), well adapts to describe the phenomenology of Josephson Junction ladders (JJL) in the presence of defects. In particular it is shown how naturally the phenomenon of flux fractionalization takes place in such a description and its relation with the discrete symmetries present in the TM. Furthermore we focus on closed geometries, which enable us to analyze the topological properties of the ground state of the system in relation to the presence of half flux quanta.Comment: 16 pages, 2 figure, Latex, revised versio

New Results on the Phase Diagram of the FFXY Model: A Twisted CFT Approach

The issue of the number, nature and sequence of phase transitions in the fully frustrated XY (FFXY) model is a highly non trivial one due to the complex interplay between its continuous and discrete degrees of freedom. In this contribution we attack such a problem by means of a twisted conformal field theory (CFT) approach and show how it gives rise to the U (1)$\otimes Z_{2}$ symmetry and to the whole spectrum of excitations of the FFXY model.Comment: 7 pages; talk given by G. Niccoli at "Path Integrals - New Trends and Perspectives International Conference", Max-Planck-Institut, Dresden, Germany, September 23 - 28, 200

Topological order in Josephson junction ladders with Mobius boundary conditions

We propose a CFT description for a closed one-dimensional fully frustrated ladder of quantum Josephson junctions with Mobius boundary conditions, in particular we show how such a system can develop topological order. Such a property is crucial for its implementation as a "protected" solid state qubit.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, to appear in JSTA

A general CFT model for antiferromagnetic spin-1/2 ladders with Mobius boundary conditions

We show how the low-energy properties of the 2-leg XXZ spin-1/2 ladders with general anisotropy parameter $\Delta$ on closed geometries can be accounted for in the framework of the m-reduction procedure developed in [1]. In the limit of quasi-decoupled chains, a conformal field theory (CFT) with central charge c=2 is derived and its ability to describe the model with different boundary conditions is shown. Special emphasis is given to the Mobius boundary conditions which generate a topological defect corresponding to non trivial single-spinon excitations. Then, in the case of the 2-leg XXX ladders we discuss in detail the role of various perturbations in determining the renormalization group flow starting from the ultraviolet (UV) critical point with c=2.Comment: 23 pages, 5 figures; J. Stat. Mech.: Theory Exp. (2008), in prin