Tensor renormalization group study of (1 + 1)-dimensional U(1) gauge-Higgs model at θ = π with Lüscher’s admissibility condition

We investigate the phase structure of the (1+1)-dimensional U(1) gauge-Higgs model with a θ term, where the U(1) gauge action is constructed with Lüscher’s admissibility condition. Using the tensor renormalization group, both the complex action problem and topological freezing problem in the standard Monte Carlo simulation are avoided. We find the first-order phase transition with sufficiently large Higgs mass at θ = π, where the ℤ₂ charge conjugation symmetry is spontaneously broken. On the other hand, the symmetry is restored with a sufficiently small mass. We determine the critical endpoint as a function of the Higgs mass parameter and show the critical behavior is in the two-dimensional Ising universality class.