Superconductivity and non-Fermi liquid behavior near a nematic quantum critical point

Abstract

Using determinantal quantum Monte Carlo, we compute the properties of a lattice model with spin 1/2 itinerant electrons tuned through a quantum phase transition to an Ising nematic phase. The nematic fluctuations induce superconductivity with a broad dome in the superconducting T[subscript c] enclosing the nematic quantum critical point. For temperatures above T[subscript c], we see strikingly non- Fermi liquid behavior, including a "nodal-antinodal dichotomy" reminiscent of that seen in several transition metal oxides. In addition, the critical fluctuations have a strong effect on the lowfrequency optical conductivity, resulting in behavior consistent with "bad metal" phenomenology. Keywords: superconductivity; non-Fermi liquid; quantum criticality