English

On the landscape of scale invariance in quantum mechanics

High Energy Physics - Theory 2018-10-17 v2 Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics Mathematical Physics math.MP Quantum Physics

Abstract

We consider the most general scale invariant radial Hamiltonian allowing for anisotropic scaling between space and time. We formulate a renormalisation group analysis of this system and demonstrate the existence of a quantum phase transition from a continuous scale invariant phase to a discrete scale invariant phase. Close to the critical point, the discrete scale invariant phase is characterised by an isolated, closed, attracting trajectory in renomalisation group space (a limit cycle). Moving in appropriate directions in the parameter space of couplings this picture is altered to one controlled by a quasi periodic attracting trajectory (a limit torus) or fixed points. We identify a direct relation between the critical point, the renormalisation group picture and the power laws characterising the zero energy wave functions.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1804.10213,
  title  = {On the landscape of scale invariance in quantum mechanics},
  author = {Daniel K. Brattan and Omrie Ovdat and Eric Akkermans},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1804.10213},
  year   = {2018}
}

Comments

7 pages, 5 figures + 3 pages supplementary material; v2: refs added, images clarified, minor typos corrected including fig. 4 labels