Paper detail

Common non-Fermi liquid phases in quantum impurity physics

We study correlated quantum impurity models which undergo a local quantum phase transition (QPT) from a strong coupling, Fermi liquid phase to a non-Fermi liquid phase with a globally doubly degenerate ground state. Our aim is to establish what can be shown exactly about such `local moment' (LM) phases; of which the permanent (zero-field) local magnetization is a hallmark, and an order parameter for the QPT. A description of the zero-field LM phase is shown to require two distinct self-energies, which reflect the broken symmetry nature of the phase and together determine the single self-energy of standard field theory. Distinct Friedel sum rules for each phase are obtained, via a Luttinger theorem embodied in the vanishing of appropriate Luttinger integrals. By contrast, the standard Luttinger integral is non-zero in the LM phase, but found to have universal magnitude. A range of spin susceptibilites are also considered; including that corresponding to the local order parameter, whose exact form is shown to be RPA-like, and to diverge as the QPT is approached. Particular attention is given to the pseudogap Anderson model, including the basic physical picture of the transition, the low-energy behavior of single-particle dynamics, the quantum critical point itself, and the rather subtle effect of an applied local field. A two-level impurity model which undergoes a QPT (`singlet-triplet') to an underscreened LM phase is also considered, for which we derive on general grounds some key results for the zero-bias conductance in both phases.