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Spatial order parameters and broken symmetries

 

As we remarked earlier, these periodic elastic media are states of broken translational symmetry. There should, therefore, be order parameters distinguishing each low-temperature phase. To identify them, first note that in each case we can define a ``density'', which is the quantity which becomes periodic in the ordered phase. For the vortex lattice, this is the magnetic field, while for the CDW and Wigner crystal it is the electron (charge) density.





Leon Balents
Thu May 30 08:21:44 PDT 1996