Quantum criticality near the Stoner transition in a two-dot with spin-orbit coupling

Abstract

We study a system of two tunnel-coupled quantum dots, with the first dot containing interacting electrons (described by the Universal Hamiltonian) not subject to spin-orbit coupling, whereas the second contains non-interacting electrons subject to spin-orbit coupling. We focus on describing the behavior of the system near the Stoner transition. Close to the critical point quantum fluctuations become important and the system enters a quantum critical regime. The large-$N$ approximation allows us to calculate physical quantitites reliably even in this strongly fluctuating regime. In particular, we find a scaling function to describe the crossover of the quasiparticle decay rate between the renormalized Fermi liquid regime and the quantum critical regime.

19 pages, 5 figures