Quantum phase transitions

Quantum phase transitions occur at zero temperature when some non-thermal control-parameter like pressure or chemical composition is changed. They are driven by quantum rather than thermal fluctuations. In this review we first give a pedagogical introduction to quantum phase transitions and quantum critical behavior emphasizing similarities with and differences to classical thermal phase transitions. We then illustrate the general concepts by discussing a few examples of quan...

This article first gives a concise introduction to quantum phase transitions, emphasizing similarities with and differences to classical thermal transitions. After pointing out the computational challenges posed by quantum phase transitions, a number of successful computational approaches is discussed. The focus is on classical and quantum Monte Carlo methods, with the former being based on the quantum-to classical mapping while the latter directly attack the quantum problem....

Phase transitions which occur at zero temperature when some non-thermal parameter like pressure, chemical composition or magnetic field is changed are called quantum phase transitions. They are caused by quantum fluctuations which are a consequence of Heisenberg's uncertainty principle. These lecture notes give a pedagogical introduction to quantum phase transitions. After collecting a few basic facts about phase transitions and critical behavior we discuss the importance of ...

These are notes for lectures delivered at the NATO ASI on Dynamics in Leiden, The Netherlands, in July 1998. The main concepts relating to quantum phase transitions are explained, using the paramagnet-to-ferromagnet transition of itinerant electrons as the primary example. Some aspects of metal-insulator transitions are also briefly discussed. The exposition is strictly pedagogical in nature, with no ambitions with respect to completeness or going into technical details. The ...

Zero-temperature or quantum phase transitions in itinerant electronic systems both with and without quenched disordered are discussed. Phase transitions considered include, the ferromagnetic transition, the antiferromagnetic transition, the superconductor-metal transition, and various metal-insulator transitions. Emphasis is placed on how to determine the universal properties that characterize these quantum phase transitions. For the first three of the phase transitions liste...

I survey theoretical advances in our understanding of the quantum phases and phase transitions of Mott insulators, and of allied conducting systems obtained by doping charge carriers. A number of new experimental examples of Mott insulators have appeared in recent years, and I critically compare their observed properties with the theoretical expectations.

I begin with a proposed global phase diagram of the cuprate superconductors as a function of carrier concentration, magnetic field, and temperature, and highlight its connection to numerous recent experiments. The phase diagram is then used as a point of departure for a pedagogical review of various quantum phases and phase transitions of insulators, superconductors, and metals. The bond operator method is used to describe the transition of dimerized antiferromagnetic insulat...

Small changes in an external parameter can often lead to dramatic qualitative changes in the lowest energy quantum mechanical ground state of a correlated electron system. In anisotropic crystals, such as the high temperature superconductors where electron motion occurs primarily on a two-dimensional square lattice, the quantum critical point between two such lowest energy states has non-trivial emergent excitations which control the physics over a significant portion of the ...

This article is aimed at a pedagogical introduction to the physics of quantum phase transitions that is unique to metallic systems. It has been recognized for some time that quantum criticality can result in a breakdown of Landau's Fermi liquid theory. Its converse, however, has not been appreciated until very recently: non-Fermi liquid behavior can in turn lead to new classes of quantum phase transition. A concrete example is provided by ``local quantum critical points''. I ...

Quantum theory provides an extensive framework for the description of the equilibrium properties of quantum matter. Yet experiments in quantum simulators have now opened up a route towards generating quantum states beyond this equilibrium paradigm. While these states promise to show properties not constrained by equilibrium principles such as the equal a priori probability of the microcanonical ensemble, identifying general properties of nonequilibrium quantum dynamics remain...