Dirac Fermions with Competing Orders: Non-Landau Transition with Emergent Symmetry

We consider a model of Dirac fermions in 2+1 dimensions with dynamically generated, anticommuting SO(3) Néel and Z₂ Kekulé mass terms that permits sign-free quantum Monte Carlo simulations. The phase diagram is obtained from finite-size scaling and includes a direct and continuous transition between the Néel and Kekulé phases. The fermions remain gapped across the transition, and our data support an emergent SO(4) symmetry unifying the two order parameters. While the bare symmetries of our model do not allow for spinon-carrying Z₃ vortices in the Kekulé mass, the emergent SO(4) invariance permits an interpretation of the transition in terms of deconfined quantum criticality. The phase diagram also features a tricritical point at which the Néel, Kekulé, and semimetallic phases meet. The present sign-free approach can be generalized to a variety of other mass terms and thereby provides a new framework to study exotic critical phenomena.