arXiv · 2003.01722
Confinement transition in the QED$_3$-Gross-Neveu-XY universality class
Abstract
The coupling between fermionic matter and gauge fields plays a fundamental role in our understanding of nature, while at the same time posing a challenging problem for theoretical modeling. In this situation, controlled information can be gained by combining different complementary approaches. Here, we study a confinement transition in a system of $N_f$ flavors of interacting Dirac fermions charged under a U(1) gauge field in 2+1 dimensions. Using Quantum Monte Carlo simulations, we investigate a lattice model that exhibits a continuous transition at zero temperature between a gapless deconfined phase, described by three-dimensional quantum electrodynamics, and a gapped confined phase, in which the system develops valence-bond-solid order. We argue that the quantum critical point is in the universality class of the QED$_3$-Gross-Neveu-XY model. We study this field theory within a $1/N_f$ expansion in fixed dimension as well as a renormalization group analysis in $4-\epsilon$ space-time dimensions. The consistency between numerical and analytical results is revealed from large to intermediate flavor number.
Explore related subjects
Keep this discovery
Lukas Janssen, Wei Wang, Michael M. Scherer, Zi Yang Meng, Xiao Yan Xu. 2020-03-03. Confinement transition in the QED$_3$-Gross-Neveu-XY universality class. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.101.235118
Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.