journal article·2020-01-13Open access

Generic “unnecessary” quantum critical points with minimal degrees of freedom

Chao-Ming Jian, Cenke Xu

Physical Review B· Volume 101· Issue 3

Abstract

We explore generic ``unnecessary'' quantum critical points with minimal degrees of freedom. These quantum critical points can be avoided with strong enough symmetry-allowed deformations of the Hamiltonian, but these deformations are irrelevant perturbations below certain threshold at the quantum critical point. These quantum critical points are hence unnecessary, but also unfine-tuned (generic). The previously known examples of such generic unnecessary quantum critical points involve at least eight Dirac fermions in both two and three spatial dimensions. In this work we seek for examples of generic unnecessary quantum critical points with minimal degrees of freedom. In particular, in three-dimensional space, we identify two examples of such generic unnecessary quantum critical points. The first example occurs in a $3d$ interacting topological insulator, and it is described by two $(3+1)d$ massless Dirac fermions in the infrared limit; the second example occurs in a $3d$ topological superconductor, and it is formally described by only one $(3+1)d$ massless Dirac fermion.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Topological Materials and Phenomena · Quantum many-body systems · Graphene research and applications

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Affiliations

Kavli Institute of Theoretical Physics, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA

Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA

Funding

Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation · National Science Foundation · David and Lucile Packard Foundation

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