Non-Fermi liquids at finite temperature: normal state and infrared singularities

Abstract

We analyze quantum criticality at finite temperature for a class of non-Fermi liquids with massless bosons. Finite temperature gives rise to new infrared singularities that invalidate standard perturbative treatments. We show how such divergences are resolved at a non-perturbative level, and obtain the resulting fermion self-energy. This leads to a new "thermal" non-Fermi liquid regime that extends over a wide range of frequencies, and which is absent from the zero temperature critical point. We analyze the resulting quantum critical region and properties of the retarded Green's function. More generally, such effects dominate in the nearly static limit and are expected to have a nontrivial impact on superconductivity and transport.