Charge, spin, and orbital degrees of freedom underlie the physics of transition metal compounds. Much work has revealed quantum critical points associated with spin and charge degrees of freedom in many of these systems. Here we illustrate that the simplest models that embody the orbital degrees of freedom - the two- and three-dimensional quantum orbital compass models - exhibit an exact quantum critical behavior on diluted square and cubic lattices (with a doping fraction of 1/4 and 1/2 respectively). This raises the possibility of quantum critical points triggered by the degradation of orbital order upon doping (or applying pressure to) such transition metal systems. We prove the existence of an orbital spin glass in several related systems in which the orbital couplings are made non-uniform. Moreover, a new orbital Larmor precession (i.e., a periodic change in the orbital state) is predicted when uniaxial pressure is applied.
We present neutron scattering measurements on powder samples of the spinel FeSc2S4 that reveal a previously unobserved magnetic ordering transition occurring at 11.8(2)~K. Magnetic ordering occurs subsequent to a subtle cubic-to-tetragonal structural transition which distorts Fe coordinating sulfur tetrahedra lifting the orbital degeneracy. The application of 1~GPa hydrostatic pressure appears to destabilize this Néel state, reducing the transition temperature to 8.6(8)~K and redistributing magnetic spectral weight to higher energies. The relative magnitudes of ordered $\langle m \rangle^2\!=\…
The spinel FeSc$_2$S$_4$ has been proposed to realize a near-critical spin-orbital singlet (SOS) state, where entangled spin and orbital moments fluctuate in a global singlet state on the verge of spin and orbital order. Here we report powder inelastic neutron scattering measurements that observe the full bandwidth of magnetic excitations and we find that spin-orbital triplon excitations of an SOS state can capture well key aspects of the spectrum in both zero and applied magnetic fields up to 8.5 T. The observed shift of low-energy spectral weight to higher energies upon increasing applied fi…
In FeSc2S4 spin-orbital exchange competes with strong spin-orbit coupling, suppressing long-range spin and orbital order and, hence, this material represents one of the rare examples of a spin-orbital liquid ground state. Moreover, it is close to a quantum-critical point separating the ordered and disordered regimes. Using THz and FIR spectroscopy we study low-lying excitations in FeSc2S4 and provide clear evidence for a spin-orbiton, an excitation of strongly entangled spins and orbitals. It becomes particularly well pronounced upon cooling, when advancing deep into the quantum-critical regim…
The extent to which quantum criticality drives the physics of iron pnictides is a central question in the field. Earlier theoretical considerations were based on an effective field theory, and the proposed realization in P-doped iron arsenides has received extensive experimental evidence. To connect the quantum critical behavior with the underlying electronic physics, it is important to analyze it within microscopic models. Here, we do so for a multi-orbital model containing both Hubbard and Hund's interactions, by a variational Monte Carlo method based on Jastrow-Slater wave functions that al…
We study quantum phase transitions induced by the on-site spin-orbit interaction lambda(L.S) in a toy model of vanadium chains. In the lambda->0 limit, the decoupled spin and orbital sectors are described by a Haldane and an Ising chain, respectively. The gapped ground state is composed of a ferro-orbital order and a spin liquid with finite correlation lengths. In the opposite limit, strong spin-orbital entanglement results in a simultaneous spin and orbital-moment ordering, which can be viewed as an orbital liquid. Using a combination of analytical arguments and density-matrix renormalization…
The twin issues of the nature of the normal state and competing order(s) in the iron arsenides are central to understanding their unconventional, high-Tc superconductivity. We use a combination of transport anisotropy measurements on detwinned Sr(Fe(1-x)Co(x))2As2 single crystals and local density approximation plus dynamical mean field theory (LDA + DMFT) calculations to revisit these issues. The peculiar resistivity anisotropy and its evolution with x are naturally interpreted in terms of an underlying orbital-selective Mott transition (OSMT) that gaps out the dxz or dyz states. Further, we …
Recent experiments have discovered multipolar orders in a variety of $d$-orbital Mott insulators. Motivated by uncovering the exchange interactions which underlie octupolar order proposed in the osmate double perovskites, we study a two-site model using exact diagonalization on a five-orbital Hamiltonian, incorporating spin-orbit coupling (SOC) and interactions, and including both intra-orbital and inter-orbital hopping. Using an exact Schrieffer-Wolff transformation, we then extract an effective pseudospin Hamiltonian for the non-Kramers doublets, uncovering dominant ferrooctupolar coupling d…
We study transitions between topological phases featuring emergent fractionalized excitations in two-dimensional models for Mott insulators with spin and orbital degrees of freedom. The models realize fermionic quantum critical points in fractionalized Gross-Neveu$^\ast$ universality classes in (2+1) dimensions. They are characterized by the same set of critical exponents as their ordinary Gross-Neveu counterparts, but feature a different energy spectrum, reflecting the nontrivial topology of the adjacent phases. We exemplify this in a square-lattice model, for which an exact mapping to a $t$-…
Motivated by the recent activities on the Ni-based diamond lattice antiferromagnet NiRh$_2$O$_4$, we theoretically explore on a general ground the unique spin and orbital physics for the Ni$^{2+}$ ions with a $3d^8$ electron configuration in the tetrahedral crystal field environment and on a diamond lattice Mott insulator. The superexchange interaction between the local moments usually favors magnetic orders. Due to the particular electron configuration of the Ni$^{2+}$ ion with a partially filled upper $t_{2g}$ level and a fully filled lower $e_g$ level, the atomic spin-orbit coupling becomes…
We report on ac magnetic susceptibility measurements under pressure of the Au-Al-Yb alloy, a crystalline approximant to the icosahedral quasicrystal that shows unconventional quantum criticality. In describing the susceptibility as $χ(T)^{-1} - χ(0)^{-1} \propto T^γ$, we find that $χ(0)^{-1}$ decreases with increasing pressure and vanishes to zero at the critical pressure $P_{\rm c} \simeq 2$ GPa, with $γ~ (\simeq 0.5)$ unchanged. We suggest that this quantum criticality emerges owing to critical valence fluctuations. Above $P_{\rm c}$, the approximant undergoes a magnetic transition at $T \si…
Motivated by the close correlation between transition temperature ($T_c$) and the tetrahedral bond angle of the As-Fe-As layer observed in the iron-based superconductors, we study the interplay between spin and orbital physics of an isolated iron-arsenide tetrahedron embedded in a metallic environment. Whereas the spin Kondo effect is suppressed to low temperatures by Hund's coupling, the orbital degrees of freedom are expected to quantum mechanically quench at high temperatures, giving rise to an overscreened, non-Fermi liquid ground-state. Translated into a dense environment, this critical s…
Geometrical frustration describes situations where interactions are incompatible with the lattice geometry and stabilizes exotic phases such as spin liquids. Whether geometrical frustration of magnetic interactions in metals can induce unconventional quantum critical points is an active area of research. We focus on the hexagonal heavy fermion metal CeRhSn where the Kondo ions are located on distorted kagome planes stacked along the c axis. Low-temperature specific heat, thermal expansion and magnetic Grüneisen parameter measurements prove a zero-field quantum critical point. The linear therma…
To reveal the origin of the "nematic electronic fluid phase" in Sr$_3$Ru$_2$O$_7$, we apply the self-consistent vertex correction analysis to the ($d_{xz},d_{yz}$)-orbital Hubbard model. It is found that the Aslamazov-Larkin type vertex correction causes the strong coupling between spin and orbital fluctuations, which corresponds to the Kugel-Khomskii spin-orbital coupling in the local picture. Due to this mechanism, orbital nematic order with $C_2$ symmetry is induced by the magnetic quantum criticality in multiorbital systems, while this mechanism is ignored in the random-phase-approximation…
We report detailed dc and ac magnetic susceptibilities, specific heat, and thermal conductivity measurements on the frustrated magnet ZnCr$_2$Se$_4$. At low temperatures, with increasing magnetic field, this spinel material goes through a series of spin state transitions from the helix spin state to the spiral spin state and then to the fully polarized state. Our results indicate a direct quantum phase transition from the spiral spin state to the fully polarized state. As the system approaches the quantum criticality, we find strong quantum fluctuations of the spins with the behaviors such as …
Using exact numerical techniques we investigate the nature of excitonic (electron-hole) bound states and the development of exciton coherence in the one-dimensional half-filled extended Falicov-Kimball model. The ground-state phase diagram of the model exhibits, besides band insulator and staggered orbital ordered phases, an excitonic insulator (EI) with power-law correlations. The criticality of the EI state shows up in the von Neumann entropy. The anomalous spectral function and condensation amplitude provide the binding energy and coherence length of the electron-hole pairs which, on their …
A quantum critical system described at low energy by a conformal field theory (CFT) and subjected to a time-periodic boundary drive displays multiple dynamical regimes depending on the drive frequency. We compute the behavior of quantities including the entanglement entropy and Loschmidt echo, confirming analytic predictions from field theory by exact numerics on the transverse field Ising model, and demonstrate universality by adding non-integrable perturbations. The dynamics naturally separate into three regimes: a slow-driving limit, which has an interpretation as multiple quantum quenches …
Two-dimensional spin-orbital magnets with strong exchange frustration have recently been predicted to facilitate the realization of a quantum critical point in the Gross-Neveu-SO(3) universality class. In contrast to previously known Gross-Neveu-type universality classes, this quantum critical point separates a Dirac semimetal and a long-range-ordered phase, in which the fermion spectrum is only partially gapped out. Here, we characterize the quantum critical behavior of the Gross-Neveu-SO(3) universality class by employing three complementary field-theoretical techniques beyond their leading …
We study the problem of partially ordered phases with periodically arranged disordered (paramagnetic) sites on the pyrochlore lattice, a network of corner-sharing tetrahedra. The periodicity of these phases is characterized by one or more wave vectors k=(1/2 1/2 1/2). Starting from a general microscopic Hamiltonian including anisotropic nearest-neighbor exchange, long-range dipolar interactions and second- and third-nearest neighbor exchange, we identify using standard mean-field theory (s-MFT) an extended range of interaction parameters that support partially ordered phases. We demonstrate th…
The strange metal behavior, usually characterized by a linear-in-temperature (T) resistivity, is a still unsolved mystery in solid-state physics. Usually it is associated with the proximity to a quantum critical point (a second order transition at temperature T = 0) focusing on the related divergent order parameter correlation length. Here, we propose a paradigmatic shift, focusing on a divergent characteristic time scale due to a divergent dissipation acting on the fluctuating critical modes, while their correlation length stays finite. To achieve a divergent dissipation, we propose a mechani…
We find that competition between random Kondo and random magnetic correlations results in a quantum phase transition from a local Fermi liquid to a spin liquid. The local charge susceptibility turns out to have exactly the same critical exponent as the local spin susceptibility, suggesting novel duality between the Kondo singlet phase and the critical local moment state beyond the Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson symmetry breaking framework. This leads us to propose an enhanced symmetry at the local quantum critical point, described by an O(4) vector for spin and charge. The symmetry enhancement serves …
Physics of quantum critical point is one of the most perplexing topics in current condensed-matter physics. Its conclusive understanding is forestalled by the scarcity of experimental systems displaying novel aspects of quantum criticality. We present a comprehensive experimental evidence of a magnetic field tuned tricritical point separating paramagnetic, antiferromagnetic and metamagnetic phases in novel compound CePtIn$_4$. Analyzing field variations of its magnetic susceptibility, magnetoresistance and specific heat at very low temperatures, we trace modifications of antiferromagnetic stru…
Progress in the understanding of quantum critical properties of itinerant electrons has been hindered by the lack of effective models which are amenable to controlled analytical and numerically exact calculations. Here we establish that the disorder driven semimetal to metal quantum phase transition of three dimensional massless Dirac fermions could serve as a paradigmatic toy model for studying itinerant quantum criticality, which is solved in this work by exact numerical and approximate field theoretic calculations. As a result, we establish the robust existence of a non-Gaussian universalit…
Using density functional theory we investigate the evolution of the magnetic ground state of NbFe$_{2}$ due to doping by Nb-excess and Fe-excess. We find that non-rigid-band effects, due to the contribution of Fe-\textit{d} states to the density of states at the Fermi level are crucial to the evolution of the magnetic phase diagram. Furthermore, the influence of disorder is important to the development of ferromagnetism upon Nb doping. These findings give a framework in which to understand the evolution of the magnetic ground state in the temperature-doping phase diagram. We investigate the ma…
When a classical system is driven through a continuous phase transition, its nonequilibrium response is universal and exhibits Kibble-Zurek scaling. We explore this dynamical scaling in the novel context of a three-dimensional topological magnet with fractionalized excitations, namely the liquid-gas transition of the emergent mobile magnetic monopoles in dipolar spin ice. Using field-mixing and finite-size scaling techniques, we place the critical point of the liquid-gas line in the three-dimensional Ising universality class. We then demonstrate Kibble-Zurek scaling for sweeps of the magnetic …
We determine the effect of an in-plane current flow on the critical properties of a 2d itinerant electron system near a ferromagnetic-paramagnetic quantum critical point. We study a model in which a nonequilibrium steady state is established as a result of exchange of particles and energy with an underlying substrate. the current $\vec{j}$ gives rise not only to an effective temperature equal to the voltage drop over a distance of order the mean free path, but also to symmetry breaking terms of the form $\vec{j}\cdot \vec{nabla}$ in the effective action. The effect of the symmetry breaking on …
We study dynamical phase transitions from antiferromagnetic to paramagnetic states driven by an interaction quench in the fermionic Hubbard model using the nonequilibrium dynamical mean-field theory. We identify two dynamical transition points where the relaxation behavior qualitatively changes: one corresponds to the thermal phase transition at which the order parameter decays critically slowly in a power law $\propto t^{-1/2}$, and the other is connected to the existence of nonthermal antiferromagnetic order in systems with effective temperature above the thermal critical temperature. The fr…
We study transitions between distinct phases of one-dimensional periodically driven (Floquet) systems. We argue that these are generically controlled by infinite-randomness fixed points of a strong-disorder renormalization group procedure. Working in the fermionic representation of the prototypical Floquet Ising chain, we leverage infinite randomness physics to provide a simple description of Floquet (multi)criticality in terms of a new type of domain wall associated with time-translational symmetry-breaking and the formation of `Floquet time crystals'. We validate our analysis via numerical s…
Strong coupling effects on the upper critical fields $H_{c2}$ along the c-axis in the noncentrosymmetric heavy fermion superconductors near quantum criticality CeRhSi$_3$ and CeIrSi$_3$ are examined. For sufficiently large spin-orbit interactions due to the lack of inversion symmetry, $H_{c2}$ is mainly determined by the orbital depairing effects. From microscopic calculations taking into account the strong spin fluctuations, we show that $H_{c2}$ is extremely enhanced as the system approaches the quantum critical point, resulting in $H_{c2}\sim 30$T even in the case with the low transition te…
Motivated by recent experimental realizations of polar metals with broken inversion symmetry, we explore the emergence of strong correlations driven by criticality when the polar transition temperature is tuned to zero. Overcoming previously discussed challenges, we demonstrate a robust mechanism for coupling between the critical mode and electrons in multiband metals. We identify and characterize several novel interacting phases, including non-Fermi liquids, when band crossings are close to the Fermi level and present their experimental signatures for three generic types of band crossings.
We present a correlated {\it ab initio} description of the paramagnetic phase of Tl$_2$Mn$_2$O$_7$, employing a combined local density approximation (LDA) with multiorbital dynamical mean field theory (DMFT) treatment. We show that the insulating state observed in this colossal magnetoresistance (CMR) pyrochlore is determined by strong Mn intra- and inter-orbital local electron-electron interactions. Hybridization effects are reinforced by the correlation-induced spectral weight transfer. Our result coincides with optical conductivity measurements, whose low energy features are remarkably acco…
Quantum criticality of strongly attractive Fermi gas with $SU(3)$ symmetry in one dimension is studied via the thermodynamic Bethe ansatz (TBA) equations.The phase transitions driven by the chemical potential $μ$, effective magnetic field $H_1$, $H_2$ (chemical potential biases) are analyzed at the quantum criticality. The phase diagram and critical fields are analytically determined by the thermodynamic Bethe ansatz equations in zero temperature limit. High accurate equations of state, scaling functions are also obtained analytically for the strong interacting gases. The dynamic exponent $z=2…
Dynamically driven interacting quantum many-body systems have the potential to exhibit properties that defy the laws of equilibrium statistical mechanics. A widely studied model is the impulsively driven antiferromagnetic Mott insulator, which is predicted to realize exotic transient phenomena including dynamical phase transitions into thermally forbidden states and highly non-thermal magnon distributions. However such far-from-equilibrium regimes, where conventional time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau descriptions fail, are experimentally challenging to prepare and to probe especially in solid sta…
We derive exact expressions for the local entanglement entropy E in the ground state of the one-dimensional Hubbard model at a quantum phase transition driven by a change in magnetic field h or chemical potential u. The leading divergences of dE/dh and dE/du are shown to be directly related to those of the zero-temperature spin and charge susceptibilities. Logarithmic corrections to scaling signal a change in the number of local states accessible to the system as it undergoes the transition.
The phase diagram of the one-dimensional Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model of spinless fermions coupled to quantum phonons is determined by quantum Monte Carlo simulations. It differs significantly from previous work. In addition to Luttinger liquid and bond-order-wave (BOW) phases, we find an extended charge-density-wave (CDW) phase. Because of different broken symmetries, BOW and CDW phases are connected by a retardation-driven phase transition. Our results are consistent with the theory of the frustrated $XXZ$ chain, including unconventional power-law exponents at criticality, and an interpretatio…
The topological phase transitions in static and periodically driven Kitaev chains are investigated by means of a renormalization group (RG) approach. These transitions, across which the numbers of static or Floquet Majorana edge modes change, are accompanied by divergences of the relevant Berry connections. These divergences at certain high symmetry points in momentum space form the basis of the RG approach, through which topological phase boundaries are identified as a function of system parameters. We also introduce several aspects to characterize the quantum criticality of the topological p…
We study the two-orbital Hubbard model in the limit of vanishing kinetic energy. The phase diagram in the $V-J$ plane, with $V$ and $J$ denoting the interorbital hybridization and exchange coupling respectively, at half filling is obtained. A singlet(dimer)-triplet transition is found for a critical value of the ratio $V/J.$ The entropy of formation, both in the mode and in the particle picture, presents a jump as the same critical line in conformity with the suggested relation between criticality and entanglement.
We investigate the metallic transport in the organic superconductor (TMTSF)2PF6 under pressure within the framework of the spin density wave theory in the proximity of a Peierls quantum critical point (QCP). We use a simple transport model of hot and cold regions around the Fermi surface, driven by the proximity to the QCP in order to provide a template to fit the experimental results. Successful agreement with the data comforts the interpretation of extended criticality around the antiferromagnetic QCP in the normal phase of quasi one-dimensional organic superconductors.
Dipolar-driven mean-field criticality in the ferrimagnet Eu$_2$MnSi$_2$O$_7$
Tohoku University（东北大学）；Tokyo Metropolitan University（东京都立大学）；Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation（澳大利亚中子散射中心，澳大利亚核科学与技术组织）；School of Chemistry, The University of Sydney（悉尼大学化学学院）；Institute for Integrated Radiation and Nuclear Science, Kyoto University（京都大学辐射与核科学综合研究所）；FOREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency（日本科学技术厅 FOREST）
FeF$_3$, with its half-filled Fe$^{3+}$ $3d$ orbital, hence zero orbital angular momentum and $S=5/2$, is often put forward as a prototypical highly-frustrated classical Heisenberg pyrochlore antiferromagnet. By employing {\it ab initio} density functional theory (DFT), we obtain an effective spin Hamiltonian for this material. This Hamiltonian contains nearest-neighbor antiferromagnetic Heisenberg, bi-quadratic and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions as dominant terms and we use Monte Carlo simulations to investigate the nonzero temperature properties of this minimal model. We find that upon d…
We examine the exchange Hamiltonian for magnetic adatoms in graphene with localized inner shell states. On symmetry grounds, we predict the existence of a class of orbitals that lead to a distinct class of quantum critical points in graphene, where the Kondo temperature scales as $T_{K}\propto|J-J_{c}|^{1/3}$ near the critical coupling $J_{c}$, and the local spin is effectively screened by a \emph{super-ohmic} bath. For this class, the RKKY interaction decays spatially with a fast power law $\sim1/R^{7}$. Away from half filling, we show that the exchange coupling in graphene can be controlled …
Motivated by the nematic electronic fluid phase in Sr_{3}Ru_{2}O_{7}, we develop a combined scheme of the renormalization-group method and the random-phase-approximation-type method, and analyze orbital susceptibilities of the (d_{xz},d_{yz})-orbital Hubbard model with high accuracy. It is confirmed that the present model exhibits a ferro-orbital instability near the magnetic or superconducting quantum criticality, due to the Aslamazov-Larkin-type vertex corrections. This mechanism of orbital nematic order presents a natural explanation for the nematic order in Sr_{3}Ru_{2}O_{7}, and is expect…
Magnetic correlations in all four phases of pure and doped vanadium sesquioxide V_2O_3 have been examined by magnetic thermal neutron scattering. While the antiferromagnetic insulator can be accounted for by a Heisenberg localized spin model, the long range order in the antiferromagnetic metal is an incommensurate spin-density-wave, resulting from a Fermi surface nesting instability. Spin dynamics in the strongly correlated metal are dominated by spin fluctuations in the Stoner electron-hole continuum. Furthermore, our results in metallic V_2O_3 represent an unprecedentedly complete characteri…
Pyrochlore systems ($A_{2}B_{2}O_{7}$) with $A$-site rare-earth local moments and $B$-site $5d$ conduction electrons offer excellent material platforms for the discovery of exotic quantum many-body ground states. Notable examples include U(1) quantum spin liquid of the local moments and semimetallic non-Fermi liquid of the conduction electrons. Here we investigate emergent quantum phases and their transitions driven by the Kondo lattice coupling between such highly entangled quantum ground states. Using the renormalization group method, it is shown that weak Kondo lattice coupling is irrelevan…
The fluctuations-driven continuous quantum criticality has sparked tremendous interest in condensed matter physics. It has been verified that the gapless fermions fluctuations can change the nature of phase transition at criticality. In this paper, we study the fermionic quantum criticality with enlarged Ising$\times$Ising fluctuations in honeycomb lattice materials. The Gross-Neveu-Yukawa theory for the multicriticality between the semimetallic phase and two ordered phases that break Ising symmetry is investigated by employing perturbative renormalization group approach. We first determine th…
A general understanding of quantum phase transitions in strongly correlated materials is still lacking. By exploiting a cutting-edge quantum many-body approach, the dynamical vertex approximation, we make an important progress, determining the quantum critical properties of the antiferromagnetic transition in the fundamental model for correlated electrons, the Hubbard model in three dimensions. In particular, we demonstrate that -in contradiction to the conventional Hertz-Millis-Moriya theory- its quantum critical behavior is driven by the Kohn anomalies of the Fermi surface, even when electro…
We discuss how the quantum-critical-point scenario for high-T_c superconductors with density-driven charge order or stripe formation finds support from recent EXAFS experiments. Our phase diagram has the interesting feature, which is also suggested by the EXAFS experiments, that some cuprates may not show well-formed stripe phase. We also consider the extensions of the scenario to include the interesting possibility of first-order transitions which call for further experimental and theoretical investigation.
Quantum electrodynamics in 2+1 dimensions is an effective gauge theory for the so called algebraic quantum liquids. A new type of such a liquid, the algebraic charge liquid, has been proposed recently in the context of deconfined quantum critical points [R. K. Kaul {\it et al.}, Nature Physics {\bf 4}, 28 (2008)]. In this context, we show by using the renormalization group in $d=4-ε$ spacetime dimensions, that a deconfined quantum critical point occurs in a SU(2) system provided the number of Dirac fermion species $N_f\geq 4$. The calculations are done in a representation where the Dirac fermi…
