2008/03/31 by Stephen Powell, J. T. Chalker · 34 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Condensed Matter Physics #Condensed matter physics #Coulomb #Electron #Frustration #Landau theory #Magnetic field #Magnetic monopole #Phase transition #Physics #Physics of Superconductivity and Magnetism #Quantum mechanics #Quantum phase transition #Spin (aerodynamics) #Spin glass #Spin ice #Statistical physics #Theoretical and Computational Physics #cond-mat.stat-mech
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevb.78.024422
published in Physical Review B 78(2) (American Physical Society) · 15 pages, 4 figures; to be published in Phys. Rev. B; v2: added comments about thermal fluctuations out of spin ice states
arxiv created 2008/05/22 · openalex publication_date 2008/07/21 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Certain classical statistical systems with strong local constraints are known to exhibit Coulomb phases, where long-range correlation functions have power-law forms. Continuous transitions from these into ordered phases cannot be described by a na"\ive application of the Landau--Ginzburg--Wilson theory since neither phase is thermally disordered. We present an alternative approach to a critical theory for such systems, based on a mapping to a quantum problem in one fewer spatial dimensions. We apply this method to spin-ice, a magnetic material with geometrical frustration, which exhibits a Coulomb phase and a continuous transition to an ordered state in the presence of a magnetic field applied in the [100] direction.