Vortex lines in the three-dimensional XY model with random phase shifts

Abstract

The stability of the ordered phase of the three-dimensional XY-model with random phase shifts is studied by considering the roughening of a single stretched vortex line due to the disorder. It is shown that the vortex line may be described by a directed polymer Hamiltonian with an effective random potential that is long range correlated. A Flory argument estimates the roughness exponent to $\zeta=3/4$ and the energy fluctuation exponent to $\omega=1/2$, thus fulfilling the scaling relation $\omega=2\zeta-1$. The Schwartz-Edwards method as well as a numerical integration of the corresponding Burger's equation confirm this result. Since $\zeta<1$ the ordered phase of the original XY-model is stable.