Topological Phase Transition

2015-21326

Presented in the Condensed Matter Physics class

Motivation for this presentation

Extra study of phase transition
- We learned about the 1st order & 2nd order phase transition, which is related to
the discontinuity of the physical state.
- Several phase transitions called infinite order phase transition or topological
phase transition exist
- Lets figure out what it is and how it works!

2016 Nobel Prize Physics.

David J. Thouless, F. Duncan M. Haldane, and J. Michael Kosterlitz
for theoretical discoveries of topological phase transitions and topological phases of matter

What is a phase transition?

Definition of phase transition
- A sudden rapid variation of the physical state because of the change of the
external condition (i.e. P, T, etc.)

- Classification of phase transition ( stability cond.)

= + 0 for a stable equilibrium
i) (1) 0 : 1st order phase transition
-> Continuous minimized G, but discontinuity
at 1st derivative

i) (2) 0 : 2nd order phase transition

-> Continuous 1st derivative but discontinuity
at 2nd derivative
2
2
/ =

Topological phase transition

Infinite order phase transition
- Phase transition with no discontinuity, no symmetry breaking
- Intrinsic deviation from quasi-ordered state to disordered state
Kosterlitz - Thouless transition
- What we are looking for.
- First theoretical approach of the topological phase transition
- 2D system phase transition with paired vortices, so called
vortex unbinding transition

What is Vortex???

Vortex : a swirling structure

Common definition
- Vortex is a structure in which the component flow
rotates around an axis.

- In the mean field theory, vortex is a field which shows

a kink with spontaneous symmetry breaking.
=

at x

Topological object
- When a symmetry is broken in the system, one can find the creation of charges
which corresponds to the symmetry (Noethers theorem)

- In a topological view, these are presented as a configuration of the field excitation.

ex) massless Goldstone mode for the Mexican hat potential
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Vortex : logarithmic potential

Energy of the field at a vortex
- Using the Heisenberg model to understand the 2D field,
= 0 + 1 , 1 =

<>

- when considering a single vortex on the continuously varying field, it can be

described as continuum model,
1 =

<>

- For a polar system with system size L and vortex size a, the energy of the
vortex field is, (single vortex)
1

1 = 2 a 2 = /a
Unstable and diverges for large L -> No single vortex in 2D, exists with anti-vortex
which has counterwise direction turns.
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Ordered phase & Spontaneous symmetry breaking

- When the material is crystalized, its phase has a characteristics of the aligned
crystal symmetry, to which the continuous symmetry is broken.
- Interesting thing is that the symmetry of the ground state can be broken with

the invariance of symmetry transformation, so called spontaneous symmetry

breaking.
- Without spontaneous symmetry breaking, it is impossible to select the specific
ordered phase.
Ex) ferromagnet & antiferromagnet;
SSB of rotational symm.
< > =

.
.

Ordered phase & Spontaneous symmetry breaking

- For 2D field configuration, the researches show that there is no spontaneously
broken symmetry at finite temperature because of the divergence of the

propagator. It shows that thermal fluctuations make low-D system get

disordered, even at zero temperature.

Mermin-Wagner theorem

- However, when it comes to the 2D vortex field, which is not ordered along a
common direction but creates a regular mode, it has a possibility to make a
phase transition!

Kosterlitz Thouless transition

Schematic picture of KT transition

Vortex unbinding
- One can estimate the free energy of the single vortex as a simple model.
Here, the entropy is estimated from the possible number of locations of vortex.
i.e. = 2 /a2

= = 0 + 2 /a
i) For < /2 , the free energy will diverge as
ii) For > /2 , the energy gets lower by producing vortices ( )
- Using this heuristic approach, one can explain the competition between the
entropy and the energy so that there is a phase transition at a certain
temperature ~ /2 .

- In reality, large paired vortices are induced and as the temperature goes high,
they are separated to each single vortex.
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2D XY model with vortex

2D Poisson equation of the vortex configuration
- Expanding from the local infinite minimum (i.e. = ), the angle is separated
as two parts, one the angular distribution of the spin on the local minimum and

() = () + ()

the other the infinitesimal deviation.

- Using the vortex turn number = 2 which is a conserved quantity,

one can construct the 2D divergence equation of this potential-like function,

2 = 2 , =

- The energy of the system in a given configuration is described in terms of

0 = 2

+2

4 2

2 2

2 2 |/0 |

Spin wave propagation energy

Interaction energy of the vortices

[Kosterlitz-Thouless, J. Phys. C (73)]

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Spin Spin correlation & long-range ordering

- Correlation function for the n-dimensional system
(for the long distance behavior; 0 )

. > 2

= 2
< 0 > = < 0
>

= 1
2a
- Correlation is algebraic and no order parameter exists (No discontinuity).
- At high temperature where J goes to zero, lattice system can be expressed with
the classical partition function. Using this, the leading order term of the
correlation function can be generated as an exponential, showing the possibility
of the phase transition at the finite temperature
< 0 > ~ exp

, = ln 2/

- The details of the transition is related to the renormalization group analysis.

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Renormalization group analysis

Renormalization group : classification of physics in the subrange of the length
scale to verify whats going on in each group.
RG equation of the 2D model with logarithmic potential

2 1
~

2 , ~ ln /0

- Characteristics of the paired vortex is related to the dielectric , which comes

from the analogy of the dipole in 2D Coulomb gas model.
i) For : 0 > 0, has a continuous function.
ii) For : Solution around critical temperature is
1

~ exp ln

discontinuous at =

[Kosterlitz-Thouless, J. Phys. C (73)]

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Reference
Wikipedia, KT transition, Mermin-Wagner theorem.
Charles Kittel, Introduction to Solid State Physics, Wiley, 2004.

Alexander Atland & Ben Simons, Condensed Matter Field Theory, Cambridge.
Tom Lancaster & Stephen J. Blundell, Quantum Field Theory for the Gifted

amateurs, Oxford.
J. M. Kosterlitz and D. J. Thouless, Ordering, metastability and phase transitions
in two-dimensional systems, J. Phys. C : Solid State Phys., Vol.6, 1973.
2016 Nobel Prize introductory.

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