Itinerant quantum critical point with frustration and non-Fermi-liquid

Employing the self-learning quantum Monte Carlo algorithm, we investigate the frustrated transverse-field triangle-lattice Ising model coupled to a Fermi surface. Without fermions, the spin degrees of freedom undergoes a second-order quantum phase transition between paramagnetic and clock-ordered phases. This quantum critical point (QCP) has an emergent U(1) symmetry and thus belongs to the (2+1)D XY universality class. In the presence of fermions, spin fluctuations introduce effective interactions among fermions and distort the bare Fermi surface towards an interacting one with hot spots and Fermi pockets. Near the QCP, non-Fermi-liquid behavior are observed at the hot spots, and the QCP is rendered into a different universality with Hertz-Millis type exponents. The detailed properties of this QCP and possibly related experimental systems are also discussed.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure

Competing pairing channels in the doped honeycomb lattice Hubbard model

Proposals for superconductivity emerging from correlated electrons in the doped Hubbard model on the honeycomb lattice range from chiral $d+id$ singlet to $p+ip$ triplet pairing, depending on the considered range of doping and interaction strength, as well as the approach used to analyze the pairing instabilities. Here, we consider these scenarios using large-scale dynamic cluster approximation (DCA) calculations to examine the evolution in the leading pairing symmetry from weak to intermediate coupling strength. These calculations focus on doping levels around the van Hove singularity (VHS) and are performed using DCA simulations with an interaction-expansion continuous-time quantum Monte Carlo cluster solver. We calculated explicitly the temperature dependence of different uniform superconducting pairing susceptibilities and found a consistent picture emerging upon gradually increasing the cluster size: while at weak coupling the $d+id$ singlet pairing dominates close to the VHS filling, an enhanced tendency towards $p$-wave triplet pairing upon further increasing the interaction strength is observed. The relevance of these systematic results for existing proposals and ongoing pursuits of odd-parity topological superconductivity are also discussed.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure

Age Problem in Lemaitre-Tolman-Bondi Void Models

As is well known, one can explain the current cosmic acceleration by considering an inhomogeneous and/or anisotropic universe (which violates the cosmological principle), without invoking dark energy or modified gravity. The well-known one of this kind of models is the so-called Lema\^{\i}tre-Tolman-Bondi (LTB) void model, in which the universe is spherically symmetric and radially inhomogeneous, and we are living in a locally underdense void centered nearby our location. In the present work, we test various LTB void models with some old high redshift objects (OHROs). Obviously, the universe cannot be younger than its constituents. We find that an unusually large $r_0$ (characterizing the size of the void) is required to accommodate these OHROs in LTB void models. There is a serious tension between this unusually large $r_0$ and the much smaller $r_0$ inferred from other observations (e.g. SNIa, CMB and so on). However, if we instead consider the lowest limit 1.7\,Gyr for the quasar APM 08279+5255 at redshift $z=3.91$, this tension could be greatly alleviated.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures, revtex4; v2: discussions added, Phys. Lett. B in press; v3: published versio

Charge-Density-Wave Transitions of Dirac Fermions Coupled to Phonons

The spontaneous generation of charge-density-wave order in a Dirac fermion system via the natural mechanism of electron-phonon coupling is studied in the framework of the Holstein model on the honeycomb lattice. Using two independent and unbiased quantum Monte Carlo methods, the phase diagram as a function of temperature and coupling strength is determined. It features a quantum critical point as well as a line of thermal critical points. Finite-size scaling appears consistent with fermionic Gross-Neveu-Ising universality for the quantum phase transition, and bosonic Ising universality for the thermal phase transition. The critical temperature has a maximum at intermediate couplings. Our findings motivate experimental efforts to identify or engineer Dirac systems with sufficiently strong and tunable electron-phonon coupling.Comment: 4+3 pages, 4+2 figure