Fractons in effective field theories for spontaneously broken translations

We study the concomitant breaking of spatial translations and dilatations in Ginzburg-Landau-like models, where the dynamics responsible for the symmetry breaking is described by an effective Mexican hat potential for spatial gradients. We show that there are fractonic modes with either subdimensional propagation or no propagation altogether, namely, immobility. Such a class of effective field theories encompasses instances of helical superfluids and metafluids, where fractons can be connected to an emergent symmetry under higher-moment charges, leading in turns to the trivialization of some elastic coefficients. The introduction of a finite-charge density alters the mobility properties of fractons and leads to a competition between the chemical potential and the superfluid velocity in determining the gap of the dilaton. The mobility of fractons can also be altered at zero density upon considering additional higher-derivative terms.

Automated summary

The study reveals the existence of fractonic modes with subdimensional propagation or immobility in Ginzburg-Landau-like models, and shows that these modes can be connected to an emergent symmetry under higher-moment charges in effective field theories. Additionally, the introduction of a finite-charge density alters the mobility properties of fractons, leading to a competition between the chemical potential and superfluid velocity in determining the dilaton gap.