Quantum melting of incommensurate domain walls in two dimensions
Abstract
Quantum fluctuations of periodic domain-wall arrays in two-dimensional incommensurate states at zero temperature are investigated using the elastic theory in the vicinity of the commensurate-incommensurate transition point. Both stripe and honeycomb structures of domain walls with short-range interactions are considered. It is revealed that the stripes melt and become a stripe liquid in a large-wall-spacing (low-density) region due to dislocations created by quantum fluctuations. This quantum melting transition is of second order and characterized by the three-dimensional XY universality class. Zero-point energies of the stripe and honeycomb structures are calculated. As a consequence of these results, phase diagrams of the domain-wall solid and liquid phases in adsorbed atoms on graphite are discussed for various domain-wall masses. Quantum melting of stripes in the presence of long-range interactions that fall off as power laws is also studied. These results are applied to incommensurate domain walls in two-dimensional adsorbed atoms on substrates and in doped antiferromagnets, e.g. cuprates and nickelates.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.cond-mat/0105131,
title = {Quantum melting of incommensurate domain walls in two dimensions},
author = {Tsutomu Momoi},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:cond-mat/0105131},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
11 pages, 5 figures