Bilayer Coulomb phase of two-dimensional dimer models: Absence of power-law columnar order.

Abstract

Using renormalization group (RG) analyses and Monte Carlo (MC) simulations, we study the fully packed dimer model on the bilayer square lattice with fugacity equal to z (1) for interlayer (intralayer) dimers, and intralayer interaction V between neighboring parallel dimers on any elementary plaquette in either layer. For a range of not-too-large z>0 and repulsive interactions 0<V<V_{s} (with V_{s}≈2.1), we demonstrate the existence of a bilayer Coulomb phase with purely dipolar two-point functions, i.e., without the power-law columnar order that characterizes the usual Coulomb phase of square and honeycomb lattice dimer models. The transition line z_{c}(V) separating this bilayer Coulomb phase from a large-z disordered phase is argued to be in the inverted Kosterlitz-Thouless universality class. Additionally, we argue for the possibility of a tricritical point at which the bilayer Coulomb phase, the large-z disordered phase and the large-V staggered phase meet in the large-z, large-V part of the phase diagram. In contrast, for the attractive case with V_{cb}<V≤0 (V_{cb}≈-1.2), we argue that any z>0 destroys the power-law correlations of the z=0 decoupled layers, and leads immediately to a short-range correlated state, albeit with a slow crossover for small |V|. For V_{c}<V<V_{cb} (V_{c}≈-1.55), we predict that any small nonzero z immediately gives rise to long-range bilayer columnar order although the z=0 decoupled layers remain power-law correlated in this regime; this implies a nonmonotonic z dependence of the columnar order parameter for fixed V in this regime. Further, our RG arguments predict that this bilayer columnar ordered state is separated from the large-z disordered state by a line of Ashkin-Teller transitions z_{AT}(V). Finally, for V<V_{c}, the z=0 decoupled layers are already characterized by long-range columnar order, and a small nonzero z leads immediately to a locking of the order parameters of the two layers, giving rise to the same bilayer columnar ordered state for small nonzero z.