Ajesh Kumar, UT-Austin

"Fractons and two-dimensional quantum crystal melting"

Abstract: Fractons are particles that cannot move in one or more directions without paying energy proportional to their displacement. In this talk, I will discuss how the fractonic property of dislocation defects in the presence of global particle number conservation, alters the structure of quantum melting phase transitions of a 2d crystal. I will introduce the recently developed dual rank-2 tensor gauge description of elasticity, and describe zero temperature quantum melting, where an intervening super-solid phase is favored between the crystal and the nematic phases; a significant departure from the classic Halperin-Nelson thermal melting scenario.