Numerical study of critical properties and hidden orders in dimerized spin ladders

Dimerized antiferromagnetic spin-1/2 ladders are known to exhibit a quantum critical phase transition in the ground state, the existence or absence of which is dependent on the dimerization pattern of the ladder. The gapped phases cannot be distinguished by the conventional Landau long-range order parameter. However, they possess a non-local (hidden) string order parameter, which is non-zero in one phase and vanishes in the other. We use an exact diagonalization technique to calculate ground state energies, energy gaps and string order parameters of dimerized two- and three-leg Heisenberg ladders, as well as a critical scaling analysis to yield estimates of the critical exponents nu and beta.Comment: 7 pages, 14 figures. V.2: Extended version to appear in PR

Quantum Criticality in Dimerized Spin Ladders

We analyze a possibility of quantum criticality (gaplessness) in dimerized antiferromagnetic two- and three-leg spin-1/2 ladders. Contrary to earlier studies of these models, we examine different dimerization patterns in the ladder. We find that ladders with the columnar dimerization order have lower zero-temperature energies and they are always gapped. For the staggered dimerization order, we find the quantum critical lines, in agreement with earlier analyses. The bond mean-field theory we apply, demonstrates its quantitative accuracy and agrees with available numerical results. We conclude that unless some mechanism for locking dimerization into the energetically less favorable staggered configuration is provided, the dimerized ladders do not order into the phase where the quantum criticality occurs.Comment: 7 pages, 9 figure

Leading Temperature Corrections to Fermi Liquid Theory in Two Dimensions

We calculate the basic parameters of the Fermi Liquid: the scattering vertex, the Landau interaction function, the effective mass, and physical susceptibilities for a model of two-dimensional (2D) fermions with a short ranged interaction at non-zero temperature. The leading temperature dependences of the spin components of the scattering vertex, the Landau function, and the spin susceptibility are found to be linear. T-linear terms in the effective mass and in the ``charge-sector''- quantities are found to cancel to second order in the interaction, but the cancellation is argued not to be generic. The connection with previous studies of the 2D Fermi-Liquid parameters is discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Universal corrections to the Fermi-liquid theory

We show that the singularities in the dynamical bosonic response functions of a generic 2D Fermi liquid give rise to universal, non-analytic corrections to the Fermi-liquid theory. These corrections yield a $T^2$ term in the specific heat, $T$ terms in the effective mass and the uniform spin susceptibility $\chi_s (Q=0,T)$, and $|Q|$ term in $\chi_s (Q,T=0)$. The existence of these terms has been the subject of recent controversy, which is resolved in this paper. We present exact expressions for all non-analytic terms to second order in a generic interaction $U(q)$ and show that only U(0) and $U(2p_F)$ matter.Comment: references added, a typo correcte

Renormalization group study of interacting electrons

The renormalization-group (RG) approach proposed earlier by Shankar for interacting spinless fermions at $T=0$ is extended to the case of non-zero temperature and spin. We study a model with $SU(N)$-invariant short-range effective interaction and rotationally invariant Fermi surface in two and three dimensions. We show that the Landau interaction function of the Fermi liquid, constructed from the bare parameters of the low-energy effective action, is RG invariant. On the other hand, the physical forward scattering vertex is found as a stable fixed point of the RG flow. We demonstrate that in $d=2$ and 3, the RG approach to this model is equivalent to Landau's mean-field treatment of the Fermi liquid. We discuss subtleties associated with the symmetry properties of the scattering amplitude, the Landau function and the low-energy effective action. Applying the RG to response functions, we find the compressibility and the spin susceptibility as fixed points.Comment: 11 pages, RevTeX 3.0, 2 PostScript figure

Local versus Nonlocal Order Parameter Field Theories for Quantum Phase Transitions

General conditions are formulated that allow to determine which quantum phase transitions in itinerant electron systems can be described by a local Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson or LGW theory solely in terms of the order parameter. A crucial question is the degree to which the order parameter fluctuations couple to other soft modes. Three general classes of zero-wavenumber order parameters, in the particle-hole spin-singlet and spin-triplet channels, and in the particle-particle channel, respectively, are considered. It is shown that the particle-hole spin-singlet class does allow for a local LGW theory, while the other two classes do not. The implications of this result for the critical behavior at various quantum phase transitions are discussed, as is the connection with nonanalyticities in the wavenumber dependence of order parameter susceptibilities in the disordered phase.Comment: 9 pp., LaTeX, no figs, final version as publishe

Dynamical symmetry breaking in the Nambu-Jona-Lasino model with external gravitational and constant electric fields

An investigation of the Nambu-Jona-Lasino model with external constant electric and weak gravitational fields is carried out in three- and four- dimensional spacetimes. The effective potential of the composite bifermionic fields is calculated keeping terms linear in the curvature, while the electric field effect is treated exactly by means of the proper- time formalism. A rich dynamical symmetry breaking pattern, accompanied by phase transitions which are ruled, independently, by both the curvature and the electric field strength is found. Numerical simulations of the transitions are presented.Comment: 20 pages, LaTeX, 6 .ps-figures, Final version published in "Classical and Quantum Gravity

Metamagnetic Quantum Criticality in Sr3Ru2O7

We consider the metamagnetic transition in the bilayer ruthenate, ${\rm Sr_3Ru_2O_7}$, and use this to motivate a renormalization group treatment of a zero-temperature quantum-critical end-point. We summarize the results of mean field theory and give a pedagogical derivation of the renormalization-group equations. These are then solved to yield numerical results for the susceptibility, the specific heat and the resistivity exponent which can be compared with measured data on ${\rm Sr_3Ru_2O_7}$ to provide a powerful test for the standard framework of metallic quantum criticality. The observed approach to the critical point is well-described by our theory explaining a number of unusual features of experimental data. The puzzling behaviour very near to the critical point itself, though, is not accounted for by this, or any other theory with a Fermi surface

Genome characterisation of an isoprene-degrading Alcaligenes sp. isolated from a tropical restored forest

Isoprene is a climate-active biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC), emitted into the atmosphere in abundance, mainly from terrestrial plants. Soil is an important sink for isoprene due to its consumption by microbes. In this study, we report the ability of a soil bacterium to degrade isoprene. Strain 13f was isolated from soil beneath wild Himalayan cherry trees in a tropical restored forest. Based on phylogenomic analysis and an Average Nucleotide Identity score of >95%, it most probably belongs to the species Alcaligenes faecalis. Isoprene degradation by Alcaligenes sp. strain 13f was measured by using gas chromatography. When isoprene was supplied as the sole carbon and energy source at the concentration of 7.2 × 105 ppbv and 7.2 × 106 ppbv, 32.6% and 19.6% of isoprene was consumed after 18 days, respectively. Genome analysis of Alcaligenes sp. strain 13f revealed that the genes that are typically found as part of the isoprene monooxygenase gene cluster in other isoprene-degrading bacteria were absent. This discovery suggests that there may be alternative pathways for isoprene metabolism