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Commensurate-Incommensurate Mott Transition without Magnetic Field: Emergence of Nematic Luttinger Liquid in XXZ Chain

Julien Fitouchi1 and Natalia Chepiga2

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Phys. Rev. Lett. 137, 036503 – Published 14 July, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/5j3k-hztz

Abstract

We investigate the zero magnetization and ground state phase diagram of a spin-1/2 chain with competing ferromagnetic nearest-neighbor and antiferromagnetic next-nearest-neighbor exchange couplings in the strongly interacting regime. Using density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) simulations, we discover two successive commensurate-incommensurate transitions of the nonconformal Pokrovsky-Talapov universality class, occurring even at zero magnetic field. We argue that the first transition marks the proliferation of solitonic discommensurations (kink-antikink pairs) in a critical phase with central charge c=2, emerging from a period-4 gapped phase. At the second transition, an incommensurate quadrupolar (or nematic) Luttinger liquid forms out of a gapped phase separation, via the condensation of two-magnon bound pairs. In the strongly interacting limit, the location of the two Pokrovsky-Talapov transitions can be analytically predicted with degenerate perturbation theory. Our results demonstrate that frustration alone is sufficient to drive continuous commensurate-incommensurate transitions of Mott type and stabilize complex objects with incommensurate quasi–long-range order without doping.

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Phys. Rev. Lett. 137, 036503– Published 14 July, 2026
  • Received 18 October 2025
  • Revised 3 March 2026
  • Accepted 21 May 2026
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