Renormalized phi^6 model for quantum phase transitions in systems of itinerant fermions

TL;DR

This paper investigates how quantum and thermal fluctuations influence the nature of quantum phase transitions in itinerant fermion systems, using a phi^6 renormalization group approach to analyze first and second order transition boundaries.

Contribution

It introduces a functional renormalization group method with a phi^6 potential to study fluctuation effects on transition order in itinerant fermion systems.

Findings

Fluctuations can turn first order transitions into second order.

Phase boundary lines T_c are computed near quantum critical points.

Analysis of crossover behavior near quantum tricritical points.

Abstract

We study the impact of quantum and thermal fluctuations on properties of quantum phase transitions occurring in systems of itinerant fermions with main focus on the order of these transitions. Our approach is based on a set of flow equations derived within the functional renormalization group framework, in which the order parameter is retained as the only degree of freedom, and where the effective potential is parametrized with a phi^6 form allowing for both first and second order scenarios. We find a tendency to turn the first order transitions within the bare model into second order transitions upon accounting for the order parameter fluctuations. We compute the first and second order phase boundary lines T_c as a function of a non-thermal control parameter a_2 in the vicinity of a quantum phase transition. We analyze crossovers of the shift exponent psi governing the shape of the T_c line when the system is tuned close to a quantum tricritical scenario, where a second order phase transition line terminates at a quantum tricritical point.