Dynamical signature of fractionalization at a deconfined quantum critical point
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Authors
Ma, Nvsen
Sun, Guang-Yu
You, Yi-Zhuang
Xu, Cenke
Vishwanath, Ashvin
Sandvik, Anders W.
Meng, Zi Yang
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First author draft
OA Version
Citation
Nvsen Ma, Guang-Yu Sun, Yi-Zhuang You, Cenke Xu, Ashvin Vishwanath, Anders W Sandvik, Zi Yang Meng. "Dynamical signature of fractionalization at a deconfined quantum critical point." Physical Review B, Volume 98, Issue 17, https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.98.174421
Abstract
Deconfined quantum critical points govern continuous quantum phase transitions at which fractionalized (deconfined) degrees of freedom emerge. Here we study dynamical signatures of the fractionalized excitations in a quantum magnet (the easy-plane J-Q model) that realize a deconfined quantum critical point with emergent O(4) symmetry. By means of large-scale quantum Monte Carlo simulations and stochastic analytic continuation of imaginary-time correlation functions, we obtain the dynamic spin-structure factors in the
S
x
and
S
z
channels. In both channels, we observe broad continua that originate from the deconfined excitations. We further identify several distinct spectral features of the deconfined quantum critical point, including the lower edge of the continuum and its form factor on moving through the Brillouin zone. We provide field-theoretical and lattice model calculations that explain the overall shapes of the computed spectra, which highlight the importance of interactions and gauge fluctuations to explain the spectral-weight distribution. We make further comparisons with the conventional Landau O(2) transition in a different quantum magnet, at which no signatures of fractionalization are observed. The distinctive spectral signatures of the deconfined quantum critical point suggest the feasibility of its experimental detection in neutron scattering and nuclear magnetic resonance experiments.