Universal duality in a Luttinger liquid coupled to a generic environment

Abstract

We study a Luttinger liquid (LL) coupled to a generic environment consisting of bosonic modes with arbitrary density-density and current-current interactions. The LL can be either in the conducting phase and perturbed by a weak scatterer or in the insulating phase and perturbed by a weak link. The environment modes can also be scattered by the imperfection in the system with arbitrary transmission and reflection amplitudes. We present a general method of calculating correlation functions under the presence of the environment and prove the duality of exponents describing the scaling of the weak scatterer and of the weak link. This duality holds true for a broad class of models and is sensitive to neither interaction nor environmental modes details, thus it shows up as the universal property. It ensures that the environment cannot generate new stable fixed points of the renormalization group flow. Thus, the LL always flows toward either conducting or insulating phase. Phases are separated by a sharp boundary which is shifted by the influence of the environment. Our results are relevant, for example, for low-energy transport in (i) an interacting quantum wire or a carbon nanotube where the electrons are coupled to the acoustic phonons scattered by the lattice defect; (ii) a mixture of interacting fermionic and bosonic cold atoms where the bosonic modes are scattered due to an abrupt local change of the interaction; (iii) mesoscopic electric circuits.

Publication DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.90.115411
Divisions: College of Engineering & Physical Sciences > Systems analytics research institute (SARI)
Aston University (General)
Additional Information: ©2014 American Physical Society
Uncontrolled Keywords: Condensed Matter Physics,Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
Publication ISSN: 1550-235X
Last Modified: 05 Jan 2024 08:39
Date Deposited: 10 Feb 2020 13:32
Full Text Link:
Related URLs: http://www.scop ... tnerID=8YFLogxK (Scopus URL)
PURE Output Type: Article
Published Date: 2014-09-15
Authors: Yurkevich, Igor V. (ORCID Profile 0000-0003-1447-8913)
Yevtushenko, Oleg M.

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