BKT scaling

Type: Concept

As of November 2026, BKT scaling has been mentioned in one podcast episode on Simons Foundation (Jan 2026). Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless scaling is mentioned in the context of slow RG flows near the end of the conformal window.

The Berezinskii–Kosterlitz–Thouless (BKT) transition is a phase transition of the two-dimensional (2-D) XY model in statistical physics. It is a transition from bound vortex-antivortex pairs at low temperatures to unpaired vortices and anti-vortices at some critical temperature. The transition is named for condensed matter physicists Vadim Berezinskii, John M. Kosterlitz and David J. Thouless. BKT transitions can be found in several 2-D systems in condensed matter physics that are approximated b