Coordinate (in)dependence and quantum inteference in quantum spin tunnelling

Abstract

We show how to calculate the amplitude for quantum spin tunneling with a $z$ easy axis. In this case, using the usual spherical polar angles to parametrize spin coherent states, typically the tunnelling variable is the polar angle $θ$, passing from 0 to $π$, while the azimuthal angle $ϕ$ is imaginary and constant. As the energy is constant along the tunnelling trajectory and normalized to vanish, and the Wess-Zumino term $S_{WZ} = is\int dτ\thinspace\dotϕ(1-\cosθ)$ also seems to vanish, it is difficult to see how we can obtain a non-zero contribution to the tunnelling amplitude. Indeed, the instanton trajectory gives zero contribution. We show how, the entire contribution to the tunnelling amplitude in fact comes from moving $ϕ$ from zero to its complex value at the beginning of the tunnelling trajectory at $θ=0$ and moving it back to zero at the end at $θ=π$. The Wess-Zumino term can also be expressed in a coordinate system independent manner as $S_{WZ} =is\int dτdξ\left[\hat n\cdot (\partial_τ\hat n\times\partial_ξ\hat n)\right]$, a format that does not appear to be well known or understood in the condensed matter literature. We show in detail how this expression corresponds exactly to the more familiar, coordinate system dependent expression, and how to obtain the tunnelling amplitude directly from it.