Quantum criticality near the Stoner transition in a system of two tunnel-coupled quantum dots with spin-orbit coupling

We study a system of two tunnel-coupled quantum dots with the first dot containing interacting electrons (described by the universal Hamiltonian) not subject to spin-orbit coupling whereas the second contains noninteracting electrons subject to spin-orbit coupling. We focus on describing the behavior of the system near the Stoner transition. Close to the critical point quantum fluctuations become important and the system enters a quantum-critical regime. The large- N approximation allows us to calculate physical quantities reliably even in this strongly fluctuating regime. In particular, we find a scaling function to describe the crossover of the quasiparticle decay rate between the renormalized Fermi-liquid regime and the quantum-critical regime.