English

Parafermionic and decoupled multicritical points in a frustrated $\mathbb{Z}_6$ clock chain

Strongly Correlated Electrons 2026-05-06 v1 Statistical Mechanics High Energy Physics - Theory

Abstract

We introduce a generalised six-state clock chain that interpolates between the clock and Potts models via a multicritical point described by decoupled Ising and three-state Potts models. We find that this decoupling extends into stable phases that break only Z2\mathbb{Z}_2 or Z3\mathbb{Z}_3 symmetry. We also use boundary CFT analysis and level spectroscopy to conclusively identify a Z6\mathbb{Z}_6 parafermion multicritical point terminating the clock model Luttinger-liquid phase. Our work shows that parafermions emerge far from integrability, even in systems with intertwined Ising and three-state Potts orders.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2605.03001,
  title  = {Parafermionic and decoupled multicritical points in a frustrated $\mathbb{Z}_6$ clock chain},
  author = {Andrea Kouta Dagnino and Attila Szabó},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2605.03001},
  year   = {2026}
}
R2 v1 2026-07-01T12:49:13.419Z