CondMat for Dummies: The BKT transition with and without long-range couplings
- Date
- Mar 20, 2026
- Time
- 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM
- Speaker
- Luis Walther
- Affiliation
- MPIPKS
- Language
- en
- Main Topic
- Physik
- Other Topics
- Physik
- Description
- The Berezinskii–Kosterlitz–Thouless (BKT) transition in the two-dimensional XY model stands as the first example of a topological phase transition outside of the celebrated Landau paradigm. In this talk, I will first introduce the XY model and provide an intuitive derivation of the BKT transition based on a Landau–Peierls–type argument. This perspective highlights how spin waves destabilize long-range order and how the decoupling of vortices drives a qualitatively new type of phase transition. Further, I will turn to a more realistic setting by incorporating long-range interactions, which are frequently encountered in experimental systems. I will analyze the effect of long-range interactions on the model and argue that the essential features of the BKT transition remain robust, persisting even in the presence of arbitrary long-range interactions.
Last modified: Mar 20, 2026, 7:37:31 AM
Location
Max-Planck-Institut für Physik komplexer SystemeNöthnitzer Straße3801187Dresden
- Phone
- + 49 (0)351 871 0
- MPI-PKS
- Homepage
- http://www.mpipks-dresden.mpg.de
Organizer
Max-Planck-Institut für Physik komplexer SystemeNöthnitzer Straße3801187Dresden
- Phone
- + 49 (0)351 871 0
- MPI-PKS
- Homepage
- http://www.mpipks-dresden.mpg.de
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