17 research outputs found
Finite temperature phase transition for disordered weakly interacting bosons in one dimension
It is commonly accepted that there are no phase transitions in
one-dimensional (1D) systems at a finite temperature, because long-range
correlations are destroyed by thermal fluctuations. Here we demonstrate that
the 1D gas of short-range interacting bosons in the presence of disorder can
undergo a finite temperature phase transition between two distinct states:
fluid and insulator. None of these states has long-range spatial correlations,
but this is a true albeit non-conventional phase transition because transport
properties are singular at the transition point. In the fluid phase the mass
transport is possible, whereas in the insulator phase it is completely blocked
even at finite temperatures. We thus reveal how the interaction between
disordered bosons influences their Anderson localization. This key question,
first raised for electrons in solids, is now crucial for the studies of atomic
bosons where recent experiments have demonstrated Anderson localization in
expanding very dilute quasi-1D clouds.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure