Finite temperature crossovers near quantum tricritical points in metals

We present a renormalization group treatment of quantum tricriticality in metals. Applying a set of flow equations derived within the functional renormalization group framework we evaluate the correlation length in the quantum critical region of the phase diagram, extending into finite temperatures above the quantum critical or tricritical point. We calculate the finite temperature phase boundaries and analyze the crossover behavior when the system is tuned between quantum criticality and quantum tricriticality.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure

Critical temperature and Ginzburg region near a quantum critical point in two-dimensional metals

We compute the transition temperature $T_c$ and the Ginzburg temperature $T_{\rm G}$ above $T_c$ near a quantum critical point at the boundary of an ordered phase with a broken discrete symmetry in a two-dimensional metallic electron system. Our calculation is based on a renormalization group analysis of the Hertz action with a scalar order parameter. We provide analytic expressions for $T_c$ and $T_{\rm G}$ as a function of the non-thermal control parameter for the quantum phase transition, including logarithmic corrections. The Ginzburg regime between $T_c$ and $T_{\rm G}$ occupies a sizable part of the phase diagram.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figur

Fermion loops, loop cancellation and density correlations in two dimensional Fermi systems

We derive explicit results for fermion loops with an arbitrary number of density vertices in two dimensions at zero temperature. The 3-loop is an elementary function of the three external momenta and frequencies, and the N-loop can be expressed as a linear combination of 3-loops with coefficients that are rational functions of momenta and frequencies. We show that the divergencies of single loops for low energy and small momenta cancel each other when loops with permuted external variables are summed. The symmetrized N-loop, i.e. the connected N-point density correlation function of the Fermi gas, does not diverge for low energies and small momenta. In the dynamical limit, where momenta scale to zero at fixed finite energy variables, the symmetrized N-loop vanishes as the (2N-2)-th power of the scale parameter.Comment: 24 pages (including 3 EPS figures), LaTeX2e; submitted to Phys. Rev.

Correlated hopping of electrons: Effect on the Brinkman-Rice transition and the stability of metallic ferromagnetism

We study the Hubbard model with bond-charge interaction (`correlated hopping') in terms of the Gutzwiller wave function. We show how to express the Gutzwiller expectation value of the bond-charge interaction in terms of the correlated momentum-space occupation. This relation is valid in all spatial dimensions. We find that in infinite dimensions, where the Gutzwiller approximation becomes exact, the bond-charge interaction lowers the critical Hubbard interaction for the Brinkman-Rice metal-insulator transition. The bond-charge interaction also favors ferromagnetic transitions, especially if the density of states is not symmetric and has a large spectral weight below the Fermi energy.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures; minor changes, published versio

What are spin currents in Heisenberg magnets?

We discuss the proper definition of the spin current operator in Heisenberg magnets subject to inhomogeneous magnetic fields. We argue that only the component of the naive "current operator" J_ij S_i x S_j in the plane spanned by the local order parameters and is related to real transport of magnetization. Within a mean field approximation or in the classical ground state the spin current therefore vanishes. Thus, finite spin currents are a direct manifestation of quantum correlations in the system.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, published versio

Turning a First Order Quantum Phase Transition Continuous by Fluctuations: General Flow Equations and Application to d-Wave Pomeranchuk Instability

We derive renormalization group equations which allow us to treat order parameter fluctuations near quantum phase transitions in cases where an expansion in powers of the order parameter is not possible. As a prototypical application, we analyze the nematic transition driven by a d-wave Pomeranchuk instability in a two-dimensional electron system. We find that order parameter fluctuations suppress the first order character of the nematic transition obtained at low temperatures in mean-field theory, so that a continuous transition leading to quantum criticality can emerge

Photoluminescence of a single InAs quantum dot molecule under applied electric field

We study the electronic coupling between two vertically stacked InAs quantum dots, which are embedded in the center of a n-i-n structure. We use a micro-photoluminescence setup to optically isolate a single quantum dot pair and measure the time-averaged photoluminescence under an applied vertical electric field. We find that field tunable coupling between excited states of the two quantum dots leads to charge transfer from one dot to the other. We model the spectra including simultaneously the field dependent charge transfer and exciton capture rates, and the many-body spectra of the quantum dot molecule for different carrier configurations.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

A new approach for perovskites in large dimensions

Using the Hubbard Hamiltonian for transition metal-3d and oxygen-2p states with perovskite geometry, we propose a new scaling procedure for a nontrivial extension of these systems to large spatial dimensions $D$. The scaling procedure is based on a selective treatment of different hopping processes for large $D$ and can not be generated by a unique scaling of the hopping element. The model is solved in the limit $D \rightarrow \infty$ by the iterated perturbation theory and using an extended non-crossing approximation. We discuss the evolution of quasi particles at the Fermi-level upon doping, leading to interesting insight into the dynamical character of the charge carriers near the metal insulator instability of transition metal oxide systems, three dimensional perovskites and other strongly correlated transition metal oxides.Comment: 5 pages (TeX) with 2 figures (Postscript

Crossover from Luttinger- to Fermi-liquid behavior in strongly anisotropic systems in large dimensions

We consider the low-energy region of an array of Luttinger liquids coupled by a weak interchain hopping. The leading logarithmic divergences can be re-summed to all orders within a self-consistent perturbative expansion in the hopping, in the large-dimension limit. The anomalous exponent scales to zero below the one-particle crossover temperature. As a consequence, coherent quasiparticles with finite weight appear along the whole Fermi surface. Extending the expansion self-consistently to all orders turns out to be crucial in order to restore the correct Fermi-liquid behavior.Comment: Shortened version to appear in Physical Review Letter