Anomalous Quantum-Critical Scaling Corrections in Two-Dimensional Antiferromagnets

We study the Néel-paramagnetic quantum phase transition in two-dimensional dimerized S=1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnets using finite-size scaling of quantum Monte Carlo data. We resolve the long-standing issue of the role of cubic interactions arising in the bond-operator representation when the dimer pattern lacks a certain symmetry. We find nonmonotonic (monotonic) size dependence in the staggered (columnar) dimerized model, where cubic interactions are (are not) present. We conclude that there is a new irrelevant field in the staggered model, but, at variance with previous claims, it is not the leading irrelevant field. The new exponent is ω2≈1.25 and the prefactor of the correction L-ω2 is large and comes with a different sign from that of the conventional correction with ω1≈0.78. Our study highlights competing scaling corrections at quantum critical points.