Deconfined quantum critical points in fermionic systems with spin-charge separation

Abstract: Deconfined quantum critical points are exotic transition points not predicted by the Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson symmetry-breaking paradigm. They are associated to a one-point gap closing between distinct locally ordered phases, thus to a continuous phase transition. Because of this intrinsic criticality, at deconfined quantum critical points algebraic decay of all the correlation functions is expected. Here, we show that it is possible to go beyond this assumption. Specifically, we consider one dimensional interacting fermions where the phenomenon of spin-charge separation arises. We first explore the low energy regimes where a sine-Gordon Hamiltonian can provide accurate results. By means of a field theory approach we find that continuous phase transitions between different locally ordered phases can occur. As a consequence of the decoupled spin and charge degrees of freedom, we find that in two cases only one gap vanishes while the other remains finite. We then derive a microscopic model where such phase transitions take place. By performing a numerical analysis, we unambiguously find that deconfined quantum critical points can indeed be further characterized by the long-range order of a parity operator signaling the presence of a finite gap. Our results provide new interesting insights on the widely investigated topic of quantum phase transitions.