Fermi surface as a quantum critical manifold: gaplessness, order parameter, and scaling in $d$-dimensions

Abstract: We study several models of $d$-dimensional fermions ($d=1,2,3$) with an emphasis on the properties of their gapless (metallic) phase. It occurs at $T = 0$ as a continuous transition when zeros of the partition function reach the real range of parameters. Those zeros define the $(d-1)$-manifold of quantum criticality (Fermi surface). Its appearance or restructuring correspond to the Lifshitz transition. Such $(d-1)$-membrane breaks the symmetry of the momentum space, leading to gapless excitations, a hallmark of metallic phase. To probe quantitatively the gapless phase we introduce the geometric order parameter as $d$-volume of the Fermi sea. From analysis of the chain, ladder, and free fermions with different spectra, this proposal is shown to be consistent with scaling near the Lifshitz points of other quantities: correlation length, oscillation wavelength, susceptibilities, and entanglement. All the (hyper)scaling relations are satisfied. Two interacting cases of the Tomonaga-Luttinger ($d=1$) and the Fermi ($d=2,3$) liquids are analysed, yielding the same universality classes as free fermions.