Two Scenarios of the Quantum Critical Point

Abstract

Two different scenarios of the quantum critical point (QCP), a zero-temperature instability of the Landau state, related to the divergence of the effective mass, are investigated. Flaws of the standard scenario of the QCP, where this divergence is attributed to the occurrence of some second-order phase transition, are demonstrated. Salient features of a different {\it topological} scenario of the QCP, associated with the emergence of bifurcation points in equation $\epsilon(p)=\mu$ that ordinarily determines the Fermi momentum, are analyzed. The topological scenario of the QCP is applied to three-dimensional (3D) Fermi liquids with an attractive current-current interaction.