arXiv subjects

Anders W. Sandvik

Publications and source records attributed to Anders W. Sandvik.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2020

Monte Carlo Renormalization Flows in the Space of Relevant and Irrelevant Operators: Application to Three-Dimensional Clock Models

We present a way to visualize and quantify renormalization group flows in a space of observables computed using Monte Carlo simulations. We apply the method to classical three-dimensional clock models, i.e., the planar (XY) spin model perturbed by a $Z_q$ symmetric anisotropy field. The method performs significantly better than standard techniques for determining the scaling dimension $y_q$ of the $Z_q$ field at the critical point if it is irrelevant ($q\ge4$). Furthermore, we analyze all stages of the complex renormalization flow, including the cross-over from the U(1) Nambu-Goldstone fixed point to the ultimate $Z_q$ symmetry-breaking fixed point due to the relevance of the $Z_q$ field inside the ordered phase. We expect our method to be particularly useful in the context of quantum-critical points with inherent dangerously irrelevant operators that cannot be tuned away microscopically but whose renormalization flows can be analyzed exactly as we do here for the clock models.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2020

Hilbert Space Fragmentation and Ashkin-Teller Criticality in Fluctuation Coupled Ising Models

We discuss the effects of exponential fragmentation of the Hilbert space on phase transitions in the context of coupled ferromagnetic Ising models in arbitrary dimension with special emphasis on the one dimensional case. We show that the dynamics generated by quantum fluctuations is bounded within spatial partitions of the system and weak mixing of these partitions caused by global transverse fields leads to a zero temperature phase with ordering in the local product of both Ising copies but no long range order in either species. This leads to a natural connection with the Ashkin-Teller universality class for general lattices. We confirm this for the periodic chain using quantum Monte Carlo simulations. We also point out that our treatment provides an explanation for pseudo-first order behavior seen in the Binder cumulants of the classical frustrated $J_1-J_2$ Ising model and the $q=4$ Potts model in 2D.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2020

Valence-bond solids, vestigial order, and emergent SO(5) symmetry in a two-dimensional quantum magnet

We introduce a quantum spin-1/2 model with many-body correlated Heisenberg-type interactions on the 2D square lattice, designed to host a plaquette valence-bond solid (PVBS) ground state breaking $\mathbb{Z}_4$ symmetry. We carry out a detailed quantum Monte Carlo study of the quantum phase transition between the antiferromagnetic (AFM) and PVBS states. We find a first-order transition, in contrast to previously studied continuous 'deconfined' transitions between the AFM and columnar valence-bond solids. We show that the coexistence state at the AFM--PVBS transition is unexpectedly associated with SO(5) symmetry, which may indicate that the transition is connected to a deconfined critical point. We also discuss the first-order transition in the context of a recent proposal of spinons with fracton properties in the PVBS state, concluding that the fracton scenario is unlikely. Further, we discover a novel type of eight-fold degenerate VBS phase that breaks the remaining $\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry of the PVBS phase. The PVBS phase can then be regarded as an intermediate 'vestigial' phase, and we develop a general graph-theoretic approach to describe the two-stage discrete symmetry breaking. At finite temperature, we observe fluctuation-induced first-order transitions, which are hallmarks of vestigial phase transitions. We also mention possible connections to the SO(5) theory of high-T$_{\rm c}$ superconductivity.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2020

Deconfined quantum criticality in spin-1/2 chains with long-range interactions

We study spin-$1/2$ chains with long-range power-law decaying unfrustrated (bipartite) Heisenberg exchange $J_r \propto r^{-α}$ and multi-spin interactions $Q$ favoring a valence-bond solid (VBS) ground state. Employing quantum Monte Carlo techniques and Lanczos diagonalization, we analyze order parameters and excited-state level crossings to characterize quantum states and phase transitions in the $(α,Q)$ plane. For weak $Q$ and sufficiently slowly decaying Heisenberg interactions (small $α$), the system has a long-range-ordered antiferromagnetic (AFM) ground state, and upon increasing $α$ there is a continuous transition into a quasi long-range ordered (QLRO) critical state of the type in the standard Heisenberg chain. For rapidly decaying long-range interactions, there is transition between QLRO and VBS ground states of the same kind as in the frustrated $J_1$-$J_2$ Heisenberg chain. Our most important finding is a direct continuous quantum phase transition between the AFM and VBS states - a close analogy to the 2D deconfined quantum-critical point. In previous 1D analogies the ordered phases both have gapped fractional excitations, and the critical point is a conventional Luttinger Liquid. In our model the excitations fractionalize upon transitioning from the AFM state, changing from spin waves to deconfined spinons. We extract critical exponents at the AFM-VBS transition and use order-parameter distributions to study emergent symmetries. We find emergent O($4$) symmetry of the O($3$) AFM and scalar VBS order parameters. Thus, the order parameter fluctuations exhibit the covariance of a uniaxially deformed O($4$) sphere (an "elliptical" symmetry). This unusual quantum phase transition does not yet have any known field theory description, and our detailed results can serve to guide its construction. We discuss possible experimental realizations.

physics.comp-ph↗

arXiv2019

Comment on "Gapless spin liquid ground state of the spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ $J_1$-$J_2$ Heisenberg model on square lattices"

Liu et al. [Phys.Rev.B 98, 241109 (2018)] used Monte Carlo sampling of the physical degrees of freedom of a Projected Entangled Pair State (PEPS) type wave function for the $S=1/2$ frustrated $J_1$-$J_2$ Heisenberg model on the square lattice and found a non-magnetic state argued to be a gapless spin liquid when the coupling ratio $g=J_2/J_1$ is in the range $g \in [0.42,0.6]$. Here we show that their definition of the order parameter for another candidate ground state within this coupling window---a spontaneously dimerized state---is problematic. The order parameter as defined will not detect dimer order when lattice symmeties are broken due to open boundaries or asymmetries originating from the calculation itself. Thus, a dimerized phase for some range of $g$ cannot be excluded (and is likely based on several other recent works).

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2019

Pair hopping in systems of strongly interacting hard-core bosons

We have used the Stochastic Series Expansion quantum Monte Carlo method to study interacting hard-core bosons on the square lattice, with pair-hopping processes supplementing the standard single-particle hopping. Such pair hopping arises in effective models for frustrated quantum magnets. Our goal is to investigate the effects of the pair hopping process on the commonly observed superfluid, insulating (Mott), and super-solid ground-state phases in the standard hard-core boson model with various interaction terms. The model is specifically motivated by the observation of finite dispersion of 2-magnon bound states in neutron diffraction experiments SrCu$_2$(BO$_3$)$_2$. Our results show that the pair hopping has different effects on Mott phases at different filling fractions, "melting" them at different critical pair-hopping amplitudes. Thus, it appears that pair hopping may have an important role in determining which out of a potentially large number of Mott phases (stabilized by details of the charge-diagonal interaction terms) actually survive the totality of quantum fluctuations present.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2019

Stochastic Series Expansion Methods

The Stochastic Series Expansion (SSE) technique is a quantum Monte Carlo method that is especially efficient for many quantum spin systems and boson models. It was the first generic method free from the discretization errors affecting previous path integral based approaches. These lecture notes give a brief overview of the SSE method and its applications. In the introductory section, the representation of quantum statistical mechanics by the power series expansion of ${\rm e}^{-βH}$ will be compared with path integrals in discrete and continuous imaginary time. Extensions of the SSE approach to ground state projection and quantum annealing in imaginary time will also be briefly discussed. The later sections introduce efficient sampling schemes (loop and cluster updates) that have been developed for many classes of models. A summary of generic forms of estimators for important observables are also given. Applications are discussed in the last section.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2019

NMR relaxation in the spin-1 Heisenberg chain

We consider the isotropic $S=1$ Heisenberg chain with a finite Haldane gap $Δ$ and use state-of-the-art numerical techniques to investigate its dynamical properties at finite temperature, focusing on the nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate $1/T_1$ measured in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments for instance. In particular, we analyze the contributions from modes with momenta close to $q\approx 0$ and $q\approx π$ as a function of temperature. At high-temperature, we observe spin diffusion with a non-trivial exponent. At low-temperature, we argue that a simple activated behavior $1/T_1 \propto\exp(-Δ/T)$ can only be observed at temperatures much smaller than the gap $Δ$.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2019

Detecting signals of weakly first-order phase transitions in two-dimensional Potts models

We investigate the first-order phase transitions of the $q$-state Potts models with $q = 5, 6, 7$, and $8$ on the two-dimensional square lattice, using Monte Carlo simulations. At the very weakly first-order transition of the $q=5$ system, the standard data-collapse procedure for the order parameter, carried out with results for a broad range of system sizes, works deceptively well and produces non-trivial critical exponents different from the trivial values expected for first-order transitions. However, a more systematic study reveals significant drifts in the `pseudo-critical' exponents as a function of the system size. For this purpose, we employ two methods of analysis: the data-collapse procedure with narrow range of the system size, and the Binder-cumulant crossing technique for pairs of system sizes. In both methods, the estimates start to drift toward the trivial values as the system size used in the analysis exceeds a certain `cross-over' length scale. This length scale is remarkably smaller than the correlation length at the transition point for weakly first-order transitions, e.g., less than one tenth for $q=5$, in contrast to the naive expectation that the system size has to be comparable to or larger than the correlation length to observe the correct behavior. The results overall show that proper care is indispensable to diagnose the nature of a phase transition with limited system sizes.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2018

Symmetry enhanced first-order phase transition in a two-dimensional quantum magnet

Theoretical studies of quantum phase transitions have suggested critical points with higher symmetries than those of the underlying Hamiltonian. Here we demonstrate a surprising emergent symmetry of the coexistence state at a strongly discontinuous phase transition between two ordered ground states. We present a quantum Monte Carlo study of a two-dimensional $S=1/2$ quantum magnet hosting the antiferromagnetic (AFM) and plaquette-singlet solid (PSS) states recently detected in SrCu$_2$(BO$_3$)$_2$. We observe that the O(3) symmetric AFM order and the Z$_2$ symmetric PSS order form an O(4) vector at the transition. The control parameter $g$ (a coupling ratio) rotates the vector between the AFM and PSS sectors and there are no energy barriers between the two at the transition point $g_c$. This phenomenon may be observable in SrCu$_2$(BO$_3$)$_2$.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Dynamical Signature of Fractionalization at the Deconfined Quantum Critical Point

Deconfined quantum critical points govern continuous quantum phase transitions at which fractionalized (deconfined) degrees of freedom emerge. Here we study dynamical signatures of the fractionalized excitations in a quantum magnet (the easy-plane J-Q model) that realize a deconfined quantum critical point with emergent O(4) symmetry. By means of large-scale quantum Monte Carlo simulations and stochastic analytic continuation of imaginary-time correlation functions, we obtain the dynamic spin structure factors in the $S^{x}$ and $S^{z}$ channels. In both channels, we observe broad continua that originate from the deconfined excitations. We further identify several distinct spectral features of the deconfined quantum critical point, including the lower edge of the continuum and its form factor on moving through the Brillouin Zone. We provide field-theoretical and lattice model calculations that explain the overall shapes of the computed spectra, which highlight the importance of interactions and gauge fluctuations to explaining the spectral-weight distribution. We make further comparisons with the conventional Landau O(2) transition in a different quantum magnet, at which no signatures of fractionalization are observed. The distinctive spectral signatures of the deconfined quantum critical point suggest the feasibility of its experimental detection in neutron scattering and nuclear magnetic resonance experiments.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Random-Singlet Phase in Disordered Two-Dimensional Quantum Magnets

We study effects of disorder (randomness) in a 2D square-lattice $S=1/2$ quantum spin system, the $J$-$Q$ model with a 6-spin interaction $Q$ supplementing the Heisenberg exchange $J$. In the absence of disorder the system hosts antiferromagnetic (AFM) and columnar valence-bond-solid (VBS) ground states. The VBS breaks $Z_4$ symmetry, and in the presence of arbitrarily weak disorder it forms domains. Using QMC simulations, we demonstrate two kinds of such disordered VBS states. Upon dilution, a removed site leaves a localized spin in the opposite sublattice. These spins form AFM order. For random interactions, we find a different state, with no order but algebraically decaying mean correlations. We identify localized spinons at the nexus of domain walls between different VBS patterns. These spinons form correlated groups with the same number of spinons and antispinons. Within such a group, there is a strong tendency to singlet formation, because of spinon-spinon interactions mediated by the domain walls. Thus, no long-range AFM order forms. We propose that this state is a 2D analog of the well-known 1D random singlet (RS) state, though the dynamic exponent $z$ in 2D is finite. By studying the T-dependent magnetic susceptibility, we find that $z$ varies, from $z=2$ at the AFM--RS phase boundary and larger in the RS phase The RS state discovered here in a system without geometric frustration should correspond to the same fixed point as the RS state recently proposed for frustrated systems, and the ability to study it without Monte Carlo sign problems opens up opportunities for further detailed characterization of its static and dynamic properties. We also discuss experimental evidence of the RS phase in the quasi-two-dimensional square-lattice random-exchange quantum magnets Sr$_2$CuTe$_{1-x}$W$_x$O$_6$.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Anomalous quantum-critical scaling corrections in two-dimensional antiferromagnets

We study the Néel-paramagnetic quantum phase transition in two-dimensional dimerized $S=1/2$ Heisenberg antiferromagnets using finite-size scaling of quantum Monte Carlo data. We resolve the long standing issue of the role of cubic interactions arising in the bond-operator representation when the dimer pattern lacks a certain symmetry. We find non-monotonic (monotonic) size dependence in the staggered (columnar) dimerized model, where cubic interactions are (are not) present. We conclude that there is an irrelevant field in the staggered model that is not present in the columnar case, but, at variance with previous claims, it is not the leading irrelevant field. The new exponent is $ω_2 \approx 1.25$ and the prefactor of the correction $L^{-ω_2}$ is large and comes with a different sign from that of the formally leading conventional correction with exponent $ω_1 \approx 0.78$. Our study highlights the possibility of competing scaling corrections at quantum critical points.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Critical level crossings and gapless spin liquid in the square-lattice spin-$1/2$ $J_1$-$J_2$ Heisenberg antiferromagnet

We use the DMRG method to calculate several energy eigenvalues of the frustrated $S=1/2$ square-lattice $J_1$-$J_2$ Heisenberg model on $2L \times L$ cylinders with $L \le 10$. We identify excited-level crossings versus the coupling ratio $g=J_2/J_1$ and study their drifts with the system size $L$. The lowest singlet-triplet and singlet-quintuplet crossings converge rapidly (with corrections $\propto L^{-2}$) to different $g$ values, and we argue that these correspond to ground-state transitions between the Néel antiferromagnet and a gapless spin liquid, at $g_{c1} \approx 0.46$, and between the spin liquid and a valence-bond-solid at $g_{c2} \approx 0.52$. Previous studies of order parameters were not able to positively discriminate between an extended spin liquid phase and a critical point. We expect level-crossing analysis to be a generically powerful tool in DMRG studies of quantum phase transitions.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Metamagnetism and zero-scale-factor universality in the two-dimensional $J$-$Q$ model

Using a combination of quantum Monte Carlo and exact methods, we study the field-driven saturation transition of the two-dimensional $J$-$Q$ model, in which the antiferromagnetic Heisenberg exchange $(J)$ coupling competes with an additional four-spin interaction $(Q)$ that favors valence-bond solid order. For small values of $Q$, the saturation transition is continuous, and is expected to be governed by zero-scale-factor universality at its upper critical dimension, with a specific form of logarithmic corrections to scaling (first proposed by Sachdev \textit{et al.} [Phys. Rev. B \textbf{50}, 258 (1994)]). Our results conform to this expectation, but the logarithmic corrections to scaling do not match the form predicted by Sachdev \textit{et al.} We also show that the saturation transition becomes first order above a critical coupling ratio $(Q/J)_{\rm min}$ and is accompanied by magnetization jumps---metamagnetism. We obtain an exact solution for $(Q/J)_{\rm min}$ using a high magnetization expansion, and confirm the existence of the magnetization jumps beyond this value of coupling using quantum Monte Carlo simulations.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Typicality at quantum-critical points

We discuss the concept of typicality of quantum states at quantum-critical points, using projector Monte Carlo simulations of an $S=1/2$ bilayer Heisenberg antiferromagnet as an illustration. With the projection (imaginary) time $τ$ scaled as $τ=aL^z$, $L$ being the system length and $z$ the dynamic critical exponent (which takes the value $z=1$ in the bilayer model studied here), a critical point can be identified which asymptotically flows to the correct location and universality class with increasing $L$, independently of the prefactor $a$ and the initial state. Varying the proportionality factor $a$ and the initial state only changes the cross-over behavior into the asymptotic large-$L$ behavior. In some cases, choosing an optimal factor $a$ may also lead to the vanishing of the leading finite-size corrections. The observation of typicality can be used to speed up simulations of quantum criticality, not only within the Monte Carlo approach but also with other numerical methods where imaginary-time evolution is employed, e.g., tensor network states, as it is not necessary to evolve fully to the ground state but only for sufficiently long times to reach the typicality regime.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Dynamical properties of the $S=\frac{1}{2}$ random Heisenberg chain

We use numerical techniques to study dynamical properties at finite temperature ($T$) of the Heisenberg spin chain with random exchange couplings, which realizes the random singlet (RS) fixed point in the low-energy limit. Specifically, we study the dynamic spin structure factor $S(q,ω)$, which can be probed directly by inelastic neutron scattering experiments and, in the limit of small $ω$, in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments through the spin-lattice relaxation rate $1/T_1$. Our work combines three complementary methods: exact diagonalization, matrix-product-state algorithms, and stochastic analytic continuation of quantum Monte Carlo results in imaginary time. Unlike the uniform system, whose low-energy excitations at low $T$ are restricted to $q$ close to $0$ and $π$, our study reveals a continuous narrow band of low-energy excitations in $S(q,ω)$, extending throughout the Brillouin zone. Close to $q=π$, the scaling properties of these excitations are well captured by the RS theory, but we also see disagreements with some aspects of the predicted $q$-dependence further away from $q=π$. Furthermore we find spin diffusion effects close to $q=0$ that are not contained within the RS theory but give non-negligible contributions to the mean $1/T_1$. To compare with NMR experiments, we consider the distribution of the local $1/T_1$ values, which is broad, approximately described by a stretched exponential. The mean value first decreases with $T$, but starts to increase and diverge below a crossover temperature. Although a similar divergent behavior has been found for the static uniform susceptibility, this divergent behavior of $1/T_1$ has never been seen in experiments. Our results show that the divergence of the mean $1/T_1$ is due to rare events in the disordered chains and is concealed in experiments, where the typical $1/T_1$ value is accessed.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Numerical Investigations of SO(4) Emergent Extended Symmetry in Spin-1/2 Heisenberg Antiferromagnetic Chains

The antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chain is expected to have an extended symmetry, [SU(2)xSU(2)]/Z 2 , in the infrared limit, whose physical interpretation is that the spin and dimer order parameters form the components of a common 4-dimensional vector. Here we numerically in- vestigate this emergent symmetry using quantum Monte Carlo simulations of a modified Heisenberg chain (the J-Q model) in which the logarithmic scaling corrections of the conventional Heisenberg chain can be avoided. We show how the two- and three-point spin and dimer correlation func- tions approach their forms constrained by conformal field theory as the system size increases and numerically confirm the expected effects of the extended symmetry on various correlation functions.

cond-mat.str-el↗