Evidence for spontaneous breaking of a continuous symmetry at a non-conformal quantum critical point in one dimension
The study numerically investigated a spin-1 chain at a quantum critical point separating two phases with different discrete symmetries. The results show that spontaneous breaking of a continuous U(1) symmetry occurs precisely at this critical point, suggesting a new physical mechanism. Critical behavior yields specific exponents, including $z=1.50 ext{ to } 1.54$, which matches the 1D Kardar-Parisi-Zhang exponent.