Quasiperiodic systems are aperiodic but deterministic, so their critical behavior differs from that of clean systems as well as disordered ones. Quasiperiodic criticality was previously understood only in the special limit where the couplings follow discrete quasiperiodic sequences. Here we consider generic quasiperiodic modulations; we find, remarkably, that for a wide class of spin chains, generic quasiperiodic modulations flow to discrete sequences under a real-space renormalization group transformation. These discrete sequences are therefore fixed points of a \emph{functional} renormalization group. This observation allows for an asymptotically exact treatment of the critical points. We use this approach to analyze the quasiperiodic Heisenberg, Ising, and Potts spin chains, as well as a phenomenological model for the quasiperiodic many-body localization transition.
Quantum critical points in quasiperiodic magnets can realize new universality classes, with critical properties distinct from those of clean or disordered systems. Here, we study quantum phase transitions separating ferromagnetic and paramagnetic phases in the quasiperiodic $q$-state Potts model in $2+1d$. Using a controlled real-space renormalization group approach, we find that the critical behavior is largely independent of $q$, and is controlled by an infinite-quasiperiodicity fixed point. The correlation length exponent is found to be $ν=1$, saturating a modified version of the Harris-Luc…
We study a class of off-diagonal quasiperiodic hopping models described by one-dimensional Su-Schrieffer-Heeger chain with quasiperiodic modulations. We unveil a general dual-mapping relation in parameter space of the dimerization strength $λ$ and the quasiperiodic modulation strength $V$, regardless of the specific details of the quasiperiodic modulation. Moreover, we demonstrated semi-analytically and numerically that under the specific quasiperiodic modulation, quantum criticality can emerge and persist in a wide parameter space. These unusual properties provides a distinctive paradigm comp…
The effects of downfolding a Brillouin zone can open gaps and quench the kinetic energy by flattening bands. Quasiperiodic systems are extreme examples of this process, which leads to new phases and critical eigenstates. We analytically and numerically investigate these effects in a two dimensional topological insulator with a quasiperiodic potential and discover a complex phase diagram. We study the nature of the resulting eigenstate quantum phase transitions; a quasiperiodic potential can make a trivial insulator topological and induce topological insulator-to-metal phase transitions through…
Conduction through materials crucially depends on how ordered they are. Periodically ordered systems exhibit extended Bloch waves that generate metallic bands, whereas disorder is known to limit conduction and localize the motion of particles in a medium. In this context, quasiperiodic systems, which are neither periodic nor disordered, reveal exotic conduction properties, self-similar wavefunctions, and critical phenomena. Here, we explore the localization properties of waves in a novel family of quasiperiodic chains obtained when continuously interpolating between two paradigmatic limits: th…
We study the interplay of superconductivity and a wide spectrum of critical (multifractal) wave functions ("spectrum-wide quantum criticality," SWQC) in the one-dimensional Aubry-André and power-law random-banded matrix models with attractive interactions, using self-consistent BCS theory. We find that SWQC survives the incorporation of attractive interactions at the Anderson localization transition, while the pairing amplitude is maximized near this transition in both models. Our results suggest that SWQC, recently discovered in two-dimensional topological surface-state and nodal superconduct…
We provide a systematic comparison of the many-body localization transition in spin chains with nonrandom quasiperiodic vs. random fields. We find evidence that these belong to two separate universality classes: one dominated by "intrinsic" intra-sample randomness, and the second dominated by external inter-sample quenched randomness. We show that the effects of inter-sample variations are strongly growing, but not yet dominant, at the system sizes probed by exact-diagonalization studies on random models. Thus, the observed finite-size critical scaling collapses in such studies appear to be in…
We report a numerical analysis of the Anderson transition in a quantum-chaotic system, the quasiperiodic kicked rotor with three incommensurate frequencies. It is shown that this dynamical system exhibits the same critical phenomena as the truly random 3D-Anderson model. By taking proper account of systematic corrections to one-parameter scaling, the universality of the critical exponent is demonstrated. Our result $ν= 1.59 \pm 0.01$ is in perfect agreement with the value found for the Anderson model.
We study a one-dimensional lattice model subject to non-Hermitian quasiperiodic potentials. Firstly, we strictly demonstrate that there exists an interesting dual mapping relation between $|a|<1$ and $|a|>1$ with regard to the potential tuning parameter $a$. The localization property of $|a|<1$ can be directly mapping to that of $|a|>1$, the analytical expression of the mobility edge of $|a|>1$ is therefore obtained through spectral properties of $|a|<1$. More impressive, we prove rigorously that even if the phase $θ\neq 0$ in quasiperiodic potentials, the model becomes non-$\mathcal{PT}$ symm…
Quasiperiodic system is an intermediate state between periodic and disordered systems with unique delocalization-localization transition driven by the quasiperiodic potential (QP). One of the intriguing questions is whether the universality class of the Anderson transition (AT) driven by QP is similar to that of the AT driven by the random potential in the same symmetry class. Here, we study the critical behavior of the ATs driven by QP in the three-dimensional (3D) Anderson model, Peierls phase model, and Ando model, which belong to the Wigner-Dyson symmetry classes. The localization length a…
In this paper, we explore quantum criticality in the disordered Aubry-André (AA) model. For the pure AA model, it is well-known that it hosts a critical point separating an extended phase and a localized insulator phase by tuning the strength of the quasiperiodic potential. Here we unearth that the disorder strength $Δ$ contributes an independent relevant direction near the critical point of the AA model. Our scaling analyses show that the localization length $ξ$ scales with $Δ$ as $ξ\proptoΔ^{-ν_Δ}$ with $ν_Δ$ a new critical exponent, which is estimated to be $ν_Δ\approx0.46$. This value is r…
We consider a new class of unconventional critical phenomena that is characterized by singularities only in dynamical quantities and has no thermodynamic signatures. A possible example is the recently proposed many-body localization transition, in which transport coefficients vanish at a critical temperature. Describing this unconventional quantum criticality has been technically challenging as understanding the finite-temperature dynamics requires the knowledge of a large number of many-body eigenstates. Here we develop a real-space renormalization group method for excited state (RSRG-X), tha…
We investigate zero-field Ising models on periodic approximants of planar quasiperiodic tilings by means of partition function zeros and high-temperature expansions. These are obtained by employing a determinant expression for the partition function. The partition function zeros in the complex temperature plane yield precise estimates of the critical temperature of the quasiperiodic model. Concerning the critical behaviour, our results are compatible with Onsager universality, in agreement with the Harris-Luck criterion based on scaling arguments.
The low energy behavior of the $S=1/2$ antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chains with precious mean quasiperiodic exchange modulation is studied by the density matrix renormalization group method. Based on the scaling behavior of the energy gap distribution, it is found that the ground state of this model belongs to the universality class different from that of the XY chain for which the precious mean exchange modulation is marginal. This result is consistent with the recent bosonization analysis of Vidal et al.
We construct an example of a 1$d$ quasiperiodically driven spin chain whose edge states can coherently store quantum information, protected by a combination of localization, dynamics, and topology. Unlike analogous behavior in static and periodically driven (Floquet) spin chains, this model does not rely upon microscopic symmetry protection: Instead, the edge states are protected purely by emergent dynamical symmetries. We explore the dynamical signatures of this Emergent Dynamical Symmetry-Protected Topological (EDSPT) order through exact numerics, time evolving block decimation, and analytic…
We investigate the criticality of the jamming transition for overdamped shear-driven frictionless disks in two dimensions for two different models of energy dissipation: (i) Durian's bubble model with dissipation proportional to the velocity difference of particles in contact, and (ii) Durian's "mean-field" approximation to (i), with dissipation due to the velocity difference between the particle and the average uniform shear flow velocity. By considering velocity correlations, finite-size behavior of pressure, and the pressure analog of viscosity, we argue that these two models share the same…
Boundary Criticality at the Nishimori Multicritical Point
Institute for Advanced Study in Physics and School of Physics, Zhejiang University（浙江大学物理学院与高等研究院）；Institute for Advanced Study, Tsinghua University（清华大学高等研究院）；Department of Physics and Engineering Physics, Tulane University（杜兰大学物理与工程物理系）
Extensive simulations are made of link and spin overlaps in four and five dimensional Ising Spin Glasses (ISGs). Moments and moment ratios of the mean link overlap distributions (the variance, the kurtosis and the skewness) show clear critical behavior around the ISG ordering temperature. The link overlap measurements can be used to identify the ISG transition accurately; the link overlap is often a more efficient tool in this context than the spin overlap because the link overlap inter-sample variability is much weaker. Once the transition temperature is accurately established, critical expon…
We investigate the quantum criticality and universality in Aubry-André-Harper (AAH) model with $p$-wave superconducting pairing $Δ$ in terms of the generalized fidelity susceptibility (GFS). We show that the higher-order GFS is more efficient in spotlighting the critical points than lower-order ones, and thus the enhanced sensitivity is propitious for extracting the associated universal information from the finite-size scaling in quasiperiodic systems. The GFS obeys power-law scaling for localization transitions and thus scaling properties of the GFS provide compelling values of critical expon…
Motivated by two different types of disorder that occur in quantum systems with ubiquity, namely, the random and the quasiperiodic (QP) disorder, we have performed a systematic comparison of the emerging phase properties corresponding to these two cases for a system of interacting bosons in a two dimensional square lattice. Such a comparison is imperative as a random disorder at each lattice is completely uncorrelated, while a quasiperiodic disorder is deterministic in nature. Using a site decoupled mean-field approximation followed by a percolation analysis on a BoseHubbard model, several dif…
This paper outlines a methodological approach for designing adaptive agents driving themselves near points of criticality. Using a synthetic approach we construct a conceptual model that, instead of specifying mechanistic requirements to generate criticality, exploits the maintenance of an organizational structure capable of reproducing critical behavior. Our approach exploits the well-known principle of universality, which classifies critical phenomena inside a few universality classes of systems independently of their specific mechanisms or topologies. In particular, we implement an artifici…
An intriguing result of statistical mechanics is that a first-order phase transition can be rounded by disorder coupled to energy-like variables. In fact, even more intriguing is that the rounding may manifest itself as a critical point, quantum or classical. In general, it is not known, however, what universality classes, if any, such criticalities belong to. In order to shed light on this question we examine in detail the disordered three-color Ashkin-Teller model by Monte Carlo methods. Extensive analyses indicate that the critical exponents define a new universality class. We show that the…
The brain keeps its overall dynamics in a corridor of intermediate activity and it has been a long standing question what possible mechanism could achieve this task. Mechanisms from the field of statistical physics have long been suggesting that this homeostasis of brain activity could occur even without a central regulator, via self-organization on the level of neurons and their interactions, alone. Such physical mechanisms from the class of self-organized criticality exhibit characteristic dynamical signatures, similar to seismic activity related to earthquakes. Measurements of cortex rest a…
How does the percolation transition behave in the absence of quenched randomness? To address this question, we study two nonrandom self-dual quasiperiodic models of square-lattice bond percolation. In both models, the critical point has emergent discrete scale invariance, but none of the additional emergent conformal symmetry of critical random percolation. From the discrete sequences of critical clusters, we find fractal dimensions of $D_f=1.911943(1)$ and $D_f=1.707234(40)$ for the two models, significantly different from $D_f=91/48=1.89583...$ of random percolation. The critical exponents $…
The quantum kicked rotor (QKR) driven by $d$ incommensurate frequencies realizes the universality class of $d$-dimensional disordered metals. For $d>3$, the system exhibits an Anderson metal-insulator transition which has been observed within the framework of an atom optics realization. However, the absence of genuine randomness in the QKR reflects in critical phenomena beyond those of the Anderson universality class. Specifically, the system shows strong sensitivity to the algebraic properties of its effective Planck constant $\tilde h \equiv 4π/q$. For integer $q$, the system may be in a glo…
Spreading processes on networks are ubiquitous in both human-made and natural systems. Understanding their behavior is of broad interest; from the control of epidemics to understanding brain dynamics. While in some cases there exists a clear separation of time scales between the propagation of a single spreading cascade and the initiation of the next -- such that spreading can be modelled as directed percolation or a branching process -- there are also processes for which this is not the case, such as zoonotic diseases or spiking cascades in neural networks. For a large class of relevant netwo…
Two-dimensional (2D) Dirac fermions are a central paradigm of modern condensed matter physics, describing low-energy excitations in graphene, in certain classes of superconductors, and on surfaces of 3D topological insulators. At zero energy E=0, Dirac fermions with mass m are band insulators, with the Chern number jumping by unity at m=0. This observation lead Ludwig et al [Phys. Rev. B 50, 7526 (1994)] to conjecture that the transition in 2D disordered Dirac fermions (DDF) and the integer quantum Hall transition (IQHT) are controlled by the same fixed point and possess the same universal cri…
Eigenstate Transitions, Duality, and Anomalous Diffusion in a Quasiperiodic Qi-Wu-Zhang Chern Insulator
Center for Advanced Quantum Studies, School of Physics and Astronomy, Beijing Normal University（北京师范大学物理与天文学院先进量子研究中心）；Tsung-Dao Lee Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University（上海交通大学李政道研究所）；Key Laboratory of Multiscale Spin Physics, Ministry of Education（教育部多尺度自旋物理重点实验室）；Interdisciplinary Center for Theoretical Physics and Information Sciences, Fudan University（复旦大学理论物理与信息科学交叉中心）
We have investigated scaling properties near the quantum critical point between the extended phase and the critical phase in the Aubry-André-Harper model with p-wave pairing, which have rarely been exploited as most investigations focus on the localization transition from the critical phase to the localized phase. We find that the spectrum averaged entanglement entropy and the generalized fidelity susceptibility act as eminent universal order parameters of the corresponding critical point without gap closing. We introduce a Widom scaling ansatz for these criticality probes to develop a unified…
