Spin Path Integrals, Berry phase, and the Quantum Phase Transition in the sub-Ohmic Spin-boson Model

Details Spin Path Integrals, Berry phase, and the Quantum Phase Transition in the sub-Ohmic Spin-boson Model Spin Path Integrals, Berry phase, and the Quantum Phase Transition in the sub-Ohmic Spin-boson Model

2010-07-26

arxiv.org/abs/1007.4558v1

J. Low Temp. Phys. (2010) 161:282-298

Physics

Condensed Matter

Strongly Correlated Electrons

to be published in the special issue of JLTP on quantum criticality; 20 pages, 3 figures

Scientific paper

The quantum critical properties of the sub-Ohmic spin-1/2 spin-boson model and of the Bose-Fermi Kondo model have recently been discussed controversially. The role of the Berry phase in the breakdown of the quantum-to-classical mapping of quantum criticality in the spin-isotropic Bose-Fermi Kondo model has been discussed previously. In the present article, some of the subtleties underlying the functional integral representation of the spin-boson and related models with spin anisotropy are discussed. To this end, an introduction to spin coherent states and spin path integrals is presented with a focus on the spin-boson model. It is shown that, even for the Ising-anisotropic case as in the spin-boson model, the path integral in the continuum limit in the coherent state representation involves a Berry phase term. As a result, the effective action for the spin degrees of freedom does not assume the form of a Ginzburg-Landau-Wilson functional. The implications of the Berry-phase term for the quantum-critical behavior of the spin-boson model are discussed. The case of arbitrary spin is also considered.

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