Phase transitions in the presence of fluctuating charge-density wave in two-dimensional film of kagome metals

TL;DR

This paper investigates the nature of phase transitions involving fluctuating charge-density waves in a two-dimensional kagome metal film, revealing a second-order transition through Monte Carlo simulations and finite size scaling.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed Monte Carlo analysis of phase transitions with fluctuating charge-density waves in kagome metals, confirming a second-order transition in this context.

Findings

Finite size scaling indicates a second-order phase transition.

Monte Carlo simulations measure susceptibility, energy, and specific heat.

Transition occurs amidst competing vortices and charge density wave interactions.

Abstract

We determine the nature of a phase transition in a model describing an interaction of multiple charge density waves in a two dimensional film. The model was introduced by two of the authors in Phys. Rev. B {\bf 108}, 045119 (2023) to describe fluctuations in charge density wave order in the kagome metals AV$_3$Sb$_5$ (A=K, Rb, Cs) in two dimensions. The situation is nontrivial since the transition occurs in the region of phase diagram where the unbound vortices compete with the interaction between charge density waves. Here, we study the nature of the phase transition via Metropolis Monte Carlo simulations. The 3-component order parameter, the susceptibility, the energy per site, and the specific heat are measured for a range of temperatures for different lattice sizes $L=8,16,24,32$. The finite size scaling analysis indicates the presence of a second-order transition.