Quantum superconductor-insulator transition: Implications of BKT-critical behavior

Abstract

We explore the implications of Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) critical behavior on the two dimensional (2D) quantum superconductor-insulator (QSI) transition driven by the tuning parameter x. Concentrating on the sheet resistance R(x) BKT behavior implies: an explicit quantum scaling function for R(x) along the superconducting branch ending at the nonuniversal critical value R_c=R(x_c); a BKT-transition line T_c(x) that is proportional to (x-x_c)^(z*nu) where z is the dynamic and nu the exponent of the zero temperature correlation length; independent estimates of z*nu, z and nu from the x dependence of the nonuniversal parameters entering the BKT expression for the sheet resistance. To illustrate the potential and the implications of this scenario we analyze data of Bollinger et al. taken on gate voltage tuned epitaxial films of La_(2-x)Sr_xCuO_4 that are one unit cell thick. The resulting estimates z=2.35 and nu=0.63 point to a 2D-QSI critical point where hyperscaling, the proportionality between d/\lambda^2(0) and T_c, and the correspondence between quantum phase transitions in D and classical ones in (D+z) dimensions are violated and disorder is relevant.