Universal relaxational dynamics near two-dimensional quantum-critical points

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the low-frequency, finite-temperature dynamics near two-dimensional quantum critical points, revealing a crossover from gapped quasiparticle modes to gapless relaxation modes, with implications for superconductors and quantum Hall systems.

Contribution

It introduces an effective classical wave model for 2D quantum critical dynamics and provides analytical and numerical results, including universal temperature dependencies and connections to experiments.

Findings

Crossover from amplitude to phase relaxation modes near criticality

Universal temperature dependence of superfluid density below Kosterlitz-Thouless transition

Relation of dynamic structure factor to neutron and light scattering experiments

Abstract

We describe the nonzero temperature (T), low frequency (\omega) dynamics of the order parameter near quantum critical points in two spatial dimensions (d), with a special focus on the regime \hbar\omega << k_B T. For the case of a `relativistic', O(n)-symmetric, bosonic quantum field theory we show that, for small \epsilon=3-d, the dynamics is described by an effective classical model of waves with a quartic interaction. We provide analytical and numerical analyses of the classical wave model directly in d=2. We describe the crossover from the finite frequency, "amplitude fluctuation", gapped quasiparticle mode in the quantum paramagnet (or Mott insulator), to the zero frequency "phase" (n >= 2) or "domain wall" (n=1) relaxation mode near the ordered state. For static properties, we show how a surprising, duality-like transformation allows an exact treatment of the strong-coupling limit for all n. For n=2, we compute the universal T dependence of the superfluid density below the Kosterlitz-Thouless temperature, and discuss implications for the high temperature superconductors. For n=3, our computations of the dynamic structure factor relate to neutron scattering experiments on La_{1.85}Sr_{0.15}CuO_4, and to light scattering experiments on double layer quantum Hall systems. We expect that closely related effective classical wave models will apply also to other quantum critical points in d=2.