Fluctuation effects at the onset of the 2k(F) density wave order with one pair of hot spots in two-dimensional metals

We analyze quantum fluctuation effects at the onset of charge or spin density wave order in two-dimensional metals with an incommensurate 2k(F) wave vector connecting a single pair of hot spots on the Fermi surface. We compute the momentum and frequency dependence of the fermion self-energy near the hot spots to leading order in a fluctuation expansion (one loop). Non-Fermi liquid behavior with anomalous frequency scaling and a vanishing quasiparticle weight is obtained. The momentum dependence yields a divergent renormalization of the Fermi velocity and a flattening of the Fermi surface near the hot spots. Going beyond the leading-order calculation, we find that the one-loop result is not self-consistent. We show that any momentum-independent self-energy with a non-Fermi liquid frequency exponent wipes out the peak of the polarization function at the 2k(F) wave vector, and thus destroys the mechanism favoring 2k(F) density waves over those with generic wave vectors. However, a 2k(F) density wave quantum critical point might survive in presence of a sufficiently flat renormalized Fermi surface.