Fractonic superfluids. (II). Condensing subdimensional particles

TL;DR

This paper develops a theory of fractonic superfluids with subdimensional particles, deriving effective field theories, analyzing quantum fluctuations, and exploring vortex excitations, revealing stability and novel topological features.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive framework for fractonic superfluidity involving subdimensional particles, including derivation of effective theories and vortex structures.

Findings

Stable off-diagonal long-range order in higher dimensions

Unified description of gapless phonons and gapped rotons

Hierarchy of vortex excitations including conventional and dipole vortices

Abstract

In this paper, we develop an exotic fractonic superfluid phase in $d$-dimensional space where subdimensional particles -- their mobility is \emph{partially} restricted -- are condensed. The off-diagonal long range order (ODLRO) is investigated. To demonstrate, we consider "lineons" -- a subdimensional particle whose mobility is free only in certain one-dimensional directions. We start with a $d$-component microscopic Hamiltonian model. The model respects a higher-rank symmetry such that both particle numbers of each component and angular charge moments are conserved quantities. By performing the Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov approximation, we derive a set of Gross-Pitaevskii equations and a Bogoliubov-de Gennes (BdG) Hamiltonian, which leads to a unified description of gapless phonons and gapped rotons. With the coherent-path-integral representation, we also derive the long-wavelength effective field theory of gapless Goldstone modes and analyze quantum fluctuations around classical ground states. The Euler-Lagrange equations and Noether charges/currents are also studied. In two spatial dimensions and higher, such an ODLRO stays stable against quantum fluctuations. Finally, we study vortex configurations. The higher-rank symmetry enforces a hierarchy of point vortex excitations whose structure is dominated by two guiding statements. Specially, we construct two types of vortex excitations, the conventional and dipole vortices. The latter carries a charge with dimension as a momentum. The two statements can be more generally applicable. Several future directions are discussed.