A strongly-coupled zig-zag transition

Balasubramanian, Vijay; Berkooz, Micha; Ross, Simon F.; Simon, Joan

Abstract

The zig-zag symmetry transition is a phase transition in 1D quantum wires, in which a Wigner lattice of electrons transitions to two staggered lattices. Previous studies model this transition as a Luttinger liquid coupled to a Majorana fermion. The model exhibits interesting RG flows, involving quenching of velocities in subsectors of the theory. We suggest an extension of the model which replaces the Majorana fermion by a more general CFT; this includes an experimentally realizable case with two Majorana fermions. We analyse the RG flow both in field theory and using AdS/CFT techniques in the large central charge limit of the CFT. The model has a rich phase structure with new qualitative features, already in the two Majorana fermion case. The AdS/CFT calculation involves considering back reaction in space-time to capture subleading effects.

Citation

Balasubramanian, V., Berkooz, M., Ross, S. F., & Simon, J. (2013). A strongly-coupled zig-zag transition. Journal of High Energy Physics, 2013(9), Article 66. https://doi.org/10.1007/jhep09%282013%29066

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Sep 12, 2013
• Deposit Date: Oct 11, 2013
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 13, 2013
• Journal: Journal of High Energy Physics
• Print ISSN: 1126-6708
• Electronic ISSN: 1029-8479
• Publisher: Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 2013
• Issue: 9
• Article Number: 66
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/jhep09%282013%29066
• Keywords: Gauge-gravity correspondence, AdS-CFT Correspondence, Holography and condensed matter physics (AdS/CMT), Field theories in lower dimensions.
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1445703