The Kosterlitz-Thouless Transitions on Fluctuating Surface of Genus Zero

TL;DR

This paper explores how the Kosterlitz-Thouless transition behaves on a fluctuating spherical surface, revealing that the transition can be suppressed or occur depending on the ratio of hexatic to bending rigidity.

Contribution

It derives a Coulomb gas and sine-Gordon Hamiltonian for hexatic order on a fluctuating sphere, showing how shape fluctuations influence the transition.

Findings

Transition suppressed when $K_{A}/\kappa \\gg 1/2$

Transition possible when $K_{A}/\kappa \\ll 1/2$

Shape fluctuations lead to screening of disclination interactions

Abstract

We investigate the Kosterlitz-Thouless transition for hexatic order on a fluctuating spherical surface of genus zero and derive a Coulomb gas Hamiltonian to describe it. In the Coulomb gas Hamiltonian, charge densities arises from disclinations and from Gaussian curvature. There is an interaction coupling the difference between these two densities, whose strength is determined by the hexatic rigidity. We then convert it into the sine-Gordon Hamiltonian and find a linear coupling between a scalar field and the Gaussian curvature. After integrating over the shape fluctuations, we obtain the massive sine-Gordon Hamiltonian, which corresponds to a neutral Yukawa gas, and the interaction between the disclinations is screened. We find, for $K_{A}/\kappa \gg 1/2$ where $K_{A}$ and $\kappa$ are hexatic and bending rigidity, respectively, the transition is supressed altogether, much as the Kosterlitz-Thouless transition is supressed in an infinite 2D superconductor. If on the other hand $K_{A}/\kappa \ll 1/2$, there can be an effective transition.