Quantum Kasteleyn transition

Powell, Stephen

Abstract

Dimer models arise as effective descriptions in a variety of physical contexts, and provide paradigmatic examples of systems subject to strong local constraints. Here we present a quantum version of the venerable Kasteleyn model, which has an unusual phase transition from a dimer solid to a U(1) liquid. We show how the phase structure of the quantum model can be understood in terms of the quantum mechanics of one-dimensional strings and determine the exact value of the critical coupling. By constructing effective models to describe the properties of these strings, we calculate properties such as the dimer-dimer correlation function in the neighborhood of the transition. We also discuss the full phase structure of the model, in the ground state and at nonzero temperature.

Citation

Powell, S. (2022). Quantum Kasteleyn transition. Physical Review B, 105(6), Article 064413. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.105.064413

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 1, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Feb 9, 2022
• Publication Date: Feb 1, 2022
• Deposit Date: Feb 2, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 14, 2022
• Journal: Physical Review B
• Print ISSN: 2469-9950
• Electronic ISSN: 2469-9969
• Publisher: American Physical Society
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 105
• Issue: 6
• Article Number: 064413
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.105.064413
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/7373935
• Publisher URL: https://journals.aps.org/prb/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevB.105.064413