Confinement transition of ℤ₂ gauge theories coupled to massless fermions: Emergent quantum chromodynamics and SO(5) symmetry.

ABSTRACT: We study a model of fermions on the square lattice at half-filling coupled to an Ising gauge theory that was recently shown in Monte Carlo simulations to exhibit [Formula: see text] topological order and massless Dirac fermion excitations. On tuning parameters, a confining phase with broken symmetry (an antiferromagnet in one choice of Hamiltonian) was also established, and the transition between these phases was found to be continuous, with coincident onset of symmetry breaking and confinement. While the confinement transition in pure gauge theories is well-understood in terms of condensing magnetic flux excitations, the same transition in the presence of gapless fermions is a challenging problem owing to the statistical interactions between fermions and the condensing flux excitations. T

SUBMITTER: Gazit S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6065040 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature