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Infinite-randomness quantum critical points induced by dissipation

Thomas Vojta, Chetan Kotabage, and José A. Hoyos
Phys. Rev. B 79, 024401 – Published 5 January 2009
Physics logo See Viewpoint: The universal behavior of a disordered system

Abstract

We develop a strong-disorder renormalization group to study quantum phase transitions with continuous O(N) symmetry order parameters under the influence of both quenched disorder and dissipation. For Ohmic dissipation, as realized in Hertz’s theory of the itinerant antiferromagnetic transition or in the superconductor-metal transition in nanowires, we find the transition to be governed by an exotic infinite-randomness fixed point in the same universality class as the (dissipationless) random transverse-field Ising model. We determine the critical behavior and calculate key observables at the transition and in the associated quantum Griffiths phase. We also briefly discuss the cases of super-Ohmic and sub-Ohmic dissipations.

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  • Received 19 September 2008

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.79.024401

©2009 American Physical Society

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The universal behavior of a disordered system

Published 5 January 2009

The presence of disorder in a quantum many-body system may appear to make an already difficult problem nearly impossible to solve. However, scientists show that the details of the disorder often do not matter, allowing them to describe realistic systems from magnets to superconductors.

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Authors & Affiliations

Thomas Vojta1, Chetan Kotabage1, and José A. Hoyos1,2

  • 1Department of Physics, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, Missouri 65409, USA
  • 2Department of Physics, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA

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Issue

Vol. 79, Iss. 2 — 1 January 2009

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