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Essay: Generalized Landau Paradigm for Quantum Phases and Phase Transitions.
1California Institute of Technology, Department of Physics and Institute for Quantum Information and Matter, Pasadena, California 91125, USA.
Physical Review Letters
|January 20, 2026
Summary
A new framework extends the Landau paradigm for quantum phases and phase transitions. It uses generalized symmetry and gauging to understand beyond-Landau phenomena in many-body systems.
Area of Science:
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Quantum Many-Body Systems
- Theoretical Physics
Background:
- The Landau paradigm is a foundational concept for understanding phase transitions in condensed matter.
- Existing quantum phases and transitions are known to exist beyond the scope of the traditional Landau framework.
- A need exists for a more general theoretical framework to systematically describe these phenomena.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose and discuss a generalized framework for understanding quantum phases and phase transitions.
- To extend the established Landau paradigm to encompass beyond-Landau phases and transitions.
- To outline the requirements for making this generalized framework practically applicable in research.
Main Methods:
- Utilizes the concepts of generalized symmetry and generalized gauging.
- Employs the symmetry topological field theory formalism to facilitate generalized gauging.
- Focuses on the breaking of generalized symmetries as a mechanism for new phases.
Main Results:
- Identifies generalized symmetry breaking as the source of beyond-Landau phases and transitions.
- Demonstrates how generalized gauging procedures can induce these symmetry breakings.
- Provides a conceptual pathway towards a unified understanding of quantum many-body phases.
Conclusions:
- The notions of generalized symmetry and gauging offer a promising extension to the Landau paradigm.
- This generalized Landau paradigm provides a systematic approach to classifying quantum phases.
- Further development is needed to fully realize the utility of this framework in condensed matter research.
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