Pinning quantum phase transition for a Luttinger liquid of strongly interacting bosons

Understand

One of the most remarkable results of quantum mechanics is the fact that many-body quantum systems may exhibit phase transitions even at zero temperature.

• Quantum fluctuations, deeply rooted in Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, and not thermal fluctuations, drive the system from one phase to another.
• Typically, the relative strength of two competing terms in the system's Hamiltonian is changed across a finite critical value.
• A well-known example is the Mott-Hubbard quantum phase transition from a superfluid to an insulating phase, which has been observed for weakly interacting bosonic atomic gases.