arXiv subjects

Anne E. B. Nielsen

Publications and source records attributed to Anne E. B. Nielsen.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2022

Escaping many-body localization in an exact eigenstate

Isolated quantum systems typically follow the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis, but there are exceptions, such as many-body localized (MBL) systems and quantum many-body scars. Here, we present the study of a weak violation of MBL due to a special state embedded in a spectrum of MBL states. The special state is not MBL since it displays logarithmic scaling of the entanglement entropy and of the bipartite fluctuations of particle number with subsystem size. In contrast, the bulk of the spectrum becomes MBL as disorder is introduced. We establish this by studying the entropy as a function of disorder strength and by observing that the level spacing statistics undergoes a transition from Wigner-Dyson to Poisson statistics as the disorder strength is increased.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2022

Single-shot determination of quantum phases via continuous measurements

We propose that weak continuous probing may be exploited to determine and define quantum phases of complex many-body systems based on the measurement record alone. We test the resulting phase criterion in numerical simulations of measurements on the Bose-Hubbard model and the quantum Ising chain. This yields a phase transition point in reasonable agreement with the quantum phase transition in the ground state of the closed system in the thermodynamic limit, despite the system being highly excited through the measurement dynamics. At high measurement strengths, the system's response enters a Zeno regime suppressing transitions between eigenstates of the measurement operator.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2022

Non-Abelian chiral spin liquid on spin-1 kagome lattice: truncation of an exact Hamiltonian and numerical optimization

We search for short-range Hamiltonians of finite spin-1 kagome systems, maximizing the overlaps with lattice Moore-Read states. Our starting point is an exact, long-range parent Hamiltonian for such a state on a finite plane, obtained from conformal field theory. A truncation procedure is applied to it, which retains only short-range terms and makes it easy to define the Hamiltonian on a torus. Finally, the remaining coefficients are optimized, to yield maximized overlaps between exact diagonalization results and model ground states. In the best cases, these overlaps exceed 0.9 and 0.8 for the three lowest states of 12- and 18-site systems, respectively, suggesting that the obtained Hamiltonians are good parent Hamiltonians for a non-Abelian topological order.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2022

Laughlin topology on fractal lattices without area law entanglement

Laughlin states have recently been constructed on fractal lattices, and the charge and braiding statistics of the quasiholes were used to confirm that these states have Laughlin type topology. Here, we investigate density, correlation, and entanglement properties of the states on a fractal lattice derived from a Sierpinski triangle with the purpose of identifying similarities and differences compared to two-dimensional systems and with the purpose of investigating whether various probes of topology work for fractal lattices. Similarly to two-dimensional systems, we find that the connected particle-particle correlation function decays roughly exponentially with the distance between the lattice sites measured in the two-dimensional plane, but the values also depend on the local environment. Contrary to two-dimensional systems, we find that the entanglement entropy does not follow the area law if one defines the area to be the number of nearest neighbor bonds that cross the edge of the selected subsystem. Considering bipartitions with two bonds crossing the edge, we find a close to logarithmic scaling of the entanglement entropy with the number of sites in the subsystem. This also means that the topological entanglement entropy cannot be extracted using the Kitaev-Preskill or the Levin-Wen methods. Studying the entanglement spectrum for different bipartitions, we find that the number of states below the entanglement gap is robust and the same as for Laughlin states on two-dimensional lattices.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2021

Topological Quantum Many-Body Scars in Quantum Dimer Models on the Kagome Lattice

We present a class of quantum dimer models on the kagome lattice with full translational invariance that feature a quantum many-body scar state of analytically known entanglement properties within their spectra. Using exact diagonalization on lattices of up to 60 sites, we show that non-scar states conform to the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis. Specifically, we show that energies are distributed according to the Gaussian ensemble expected of their respective symmetry sector, illustrate the existence of the scar from bipartite entanglement properties, and demonstrate revival phenomena in studies of fidelity dynamics.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2021

Bulk Localised Transport States in Infinite and Finite Quasicrystals via Magnetic Aperiodicity

Robust edge transport can occur when particles in crystalline lattices interact with an external magnetic field. This system is well described by Bloch's theorem, with the spectrum being composed of bands of bulk states and in-gap edge states. When the confining lattice geometry is altered to be quasicrystaline, then Bloch's theorem breaks down. However, we still expect to observe the basic characteristics of bulk states and current carrying edge states. Here, we show that for quasicrystals in magnetic fields, there is also a third option; the bulk localised transport states. These states share the in-gap nature of the well-known edge states and can support transport along them, but they are fully contained within the bulk of the system, with no support along the edge. We consider both finite and infinite systems, using rigorous error controlled computational techniques that are not prone to finite-size effects. The bulk localised transport states are preserved for infinite systems, in stark contrast to the normal edge states. This allows for transport to be observed in infinite systems, without any perturbations, defects, or boundaries being introduced. We confirm the in-gap topological nature of the bulk localised transport states for finite and infinite systems by computing common topological measures; namely the Bott index and local Chern marker. The bulk localised transport states form due to a magnetic aperiodicity arising from the interplay of length scales between the magnetic field and quasiperiodic lattice. Bulk localised transport could have interesting applications similar to those of the edge states on the boundary, but that could now take advantage of the larger bulk of the lattice. The infinite size techniques introduced here, especially the calculation of topological measures, could also be widely applied to other crystalline, quasicrystalline, and disordered models.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2021

Effect of coordination on topological phases on self-similar structures

Topologically non-trivial phases have recently been reported on self-similar structures. Here, we investigate the effect of local structure, specifically the role of the coordination number, on the topological phases on self-similar structures embedded in two dimensions. We study a geometry dependent model on two self-similar structures having different coordination numbers, constructed from the Sierpinski Gasket. For different non-spatial symmetries present in the system, we numerically study and compare the phases on both the structures. We characterize these phases by the localization properties of the single-particle states, their robustness to disorder, and by using a real-space topological index. We find that both the structures host topologically non-trivial phases and the phase diagrams are different on the two structures. This suggests that, in order to extend the present classification scheme of topological phases to non-periodic structures, one should use a framework which explicitly takes the coordination of sites into account.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Model wavefunctions for an interface between lattice Laughlin and Moore-Read states

We use conformal field theory to construct model wavefunctions for a gapless interface between lattice versions of a bosonic Laughlin state and a fermionic Moore-Read state, both at $ν=1/2$. The properties of the resulting model state, such as particle density, correlation function and Rényi entanglement entropy are then studied using the Monte Carlo approach. Moreover, we construct the wavefunctions also for anyonic excitations (quasiparticles and quasiholes). We study their density profile, charge and statistics. We show that, similarly to the Laughlin-Laughlin case studied earlier, some anyons (the Laughlin Abelian ones) can cross the interface, while others (the non-Abelian ones) lose their anyonic character in such a process. Also, we argue that, under an assumption of local particle exchange, multiple interfaces give rise to a topological degeneracy, which can be interpreted as originating from Majorana zero modes.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2021

Squeezing anyons for braiding on small lattices

Adiabatically exchanging anyons gives rise to topologically protected operations on the quantum state of the system, but the desired result is only achieved if the anyons are well separated, which requires a sufficiently large area. Being able to reduce the area needed for the exchange, however, would have several advantages, such as enabling a larger number of operations per area and allowing anyon exchange to be studied in smaller systems that are easier to handle. Here, we use optimization techniques to squeeze the charge distribution of Abelian anyons in lattice fractional quantum Hall models, and we show that the squeezed anyons can be exchanged within a smaller area with a close to ideal outcome. We first use a toy model consisting of a modified Laughlin trial state to show that one can shape the anyons without altering the exchange statistics under certain conditions. We then squeeze and braid anyons in the Kapit-Mueller model and an interacting Hofstadter model by adding suitable potentials. We consider a fixed system size, for which the charge distributions of the normal anyons overlap, and we find that the outcome of the exchange process is closer to the ideal value for the squeezed anyons. The time needed for the exchange is also important, and for a particular example we find that the duration needed for the process to be close to the adiabatic limit is about five times longer for the squeezed anyons when the path length is the same. Finally we show that the exchange outcome is robust with respect to small modifications of the potential away from the optimized value.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2021

Continuum limit of lattice quasielectron wavefunctions

Trial states describing anyonic quasiholes in the Laughlin state were found early on, and it is therefore natural to expect that one should also be able to create anyonic quasielectrons. Nevertheless, the existing trial wavefunctions for quasielectrons show behaviors that are not compatible with the expected topological properties or their construction involves ad hoc elements. It was shown, however, that for lattice fractional quantum Hall systems, it is possible to find a relatively simple quasielectron wavefunction that has all the expected properties [New J. Phys. 20, 033029 (2018)]. This naturally poses the question: what happens to this wavefunction in the continuum limit? Here we demonstrate that, although one obtains a finite continuum wavefunction when the quasielectron is on top of a lattice site, such a limit of the lattice quasielectron does not exist in general. In particular, if the quasielectron is put anywhere else than on a lattice site, the lattice wavefunction diverges when the continuum limit is approached. The divergence can be removed by projecting the state on the lowest Landau level, but we find that the projected state does also not have the properties expected for anyonic quasielectrons. We hence conclude that the lattice quasielectron wavefunction does not solve the difficulty of finding trial states for anyonic quasielectrons in the continuum.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2020

Non-Abelian quasiholes in lattice Moore-Read states and parent Hamiltonians

This work concerns Ising quasiholes in Moore-Read type lattice wave functions derived from conformal field theory. We commence with constructing Moore-Read type lattice states and then add quasiholes to them. By use of Metropolis Monte Carlo simulations, we analyze the features of the quasiholes, such as their size, shape, charge, and braiding properties. The braiding properties, which turn out to be the same as in the continuum Moore-Read state, demonstrate the topological attributes of the Moore-Read lattice states in a direct way. We also derive parent Hamiltonians for which the states with quasiholes included are ground states. One advantage of these Hamiltonians lies therein that we can now braid the quasiholes just by changing the coupling strengths in the Hamiltonian since the Hamiltonian is a function of the positions of the quasiholes. The methodology exploited in this article can also be used to construct other kinds of lattice fractional quantum Hall models containing quasiholes, for example investigation of Fibonacci quasiholes in lattice Read-Rezayi states.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2020

Quasielectrons in lattice Moore-Read models

Moore-Read states can be expressed as conformal blocks of the underlying rational conformal field theory, which provides a well explored description for the insertion of quasiholes. It is known, however, that quasielectrons are more difficult to describe in continuous systems, since the natural guess for how to construct them leads to a singularity. In this work, we show that the singularity problem does not arise for lattice Moore-Read states. This allows us to construct Moore-Read Pfaffian states on lattices for filling fraction 5/2 with both quasiholes and quasielectrons in a simple way. We investigate the density profile, charge, size and braiding properties of the anyons by means of Monte Carlo simulations. Further we derive an exact few-body parent Hamiltonian for the states. Finally, we compare our results to the density profile, charge and shape of anyons in the Kapit-Mueller model by means of exact diagonalization.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2020

Quasiparticles as Detector of Topological Quantum Phase Transitions

A number of tools have been developed to detect topological phase transitions in strongly correlated quantum systems. They apply under different conditions, but do not cover the full range of many-body models. It is hence desirable to further expand the toolbox. Here, we propose to use quasiparticle properties to detect quantum phase transitions. The approach is independent from the choice of boundary conditions, and it does not assume a particular lattice structure. The probe is hence suitable for, e.g., fractals and quasicrystals. The method requires that one can reliably create quasiparticles in the considered systems. In the simplest cases, this can be done by a pinning potential, while it is less straightforward in more complicated systems. We apply the method to several rather different examples, including one that cannot be handled by the commonly used probes, and in all the cases we find that the numerical costs are low. This is so, because a simple property, such as the charge of the anyons, is sufficient to detect the phase transition point. For some of the examples, this allows us to study larger systems and/or further parameter values compared to previous studies.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2020

Quantum many-body scars with chiral topological order in 2D and critical properties in 1D

We construct few-body, interacting, nonlocal Hamiltonians with a quantum scar state in an otherwise thermalizing many-body spectrum. In one dimension, the embedded state is a critical state, and in two dimensions, the embedded state is a chiral topologically ordered state. The models are defined on slightly disordered lattices, and the scar state appears independent of the precise realization of the disorder. A parameter allows the scar state to be placed at any position in the spectrum. We show that the level spacing distributions are Wigner-Dyson and that the entanglement entropies of the states in the middle of the spectrum are close to the Page value. Finally, we confirm the topological order in the scar state by showing that one can insert anyons into the state.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2020

Anyonic quasiparticles of hardcore anyons

Strongly interacting topologically ordered many-body systems consisting of fermions or bosons can host exotic quasiparticles with anyonic statistics. This raises the question whether many-body systems of anyons can also form anyonic quasiparticles. Here, we show that one can, indeed, construct many-anyon wavefunctions with anyonic quasiparticles. The braiding statistics of the emergent anyons are different from those of the original anyons. We investigate hole type and particle type anyonic quasiparticles in Abelian systems on a two-dimensional lattice and compute the density profiles and braiding properties of the emergent anyons by employing Monte Carlo simulations.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2020

Disordered Haldane-Shastry model

The Haldane-Shastry model is one of the most studied interacting spin systems. The Yangian symmetry makes it exactly solvable, and the model has semionic excitations. We introduce disorder into the Haldane-Shastry model by allowing the spins to sit at random positions on the unit circle and study the properties of the eigenstates. At weak disorder, the spectrum is similar to the spectrum of the clean Haldane-Shastry model. At strong disorder, the long-range interactions in the model do not decay as a simple power law. The eigenstates in the middle of the spectrum follow a volume law, but the coefficient is small, and the entropy is hence much less than for an ergodic system. In addition, the energy level spacing statistics is neither Poissonian nor of the Wigner-Dyson type. The behavior at strong disorder hence serves as an example of a non-ergodic phase, which is not of the many-body localized kind, in a model with long-range interactions and SU(2) symmetry.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2020

Few-particle dynamics of fractional quantum Hall lattice models

Considering lattice Hamiltonians designed using conformal field theory to have fractional quantum Hall states as ground states, we study the dynamics of one or two particles on such lattices. Examining the eigenspectrum and dynamics of the single-particle sector, we demonstrate that these Hamiltonians cannot be regarded as describing interacting particles placed on a Chern band, so that the physics is fundamentally different from fractional Chern insulators. The single-particle spectrum is shown to consist of eigenstates localized in shells which have larger radius for larger eigenenergies. This leads to chiral dynamics along reasonably well-defined orbits, both in the single-particle and in the two-particle sectors.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2020

Model wavefunctions for interfaces between lattice Laughlin states

We study the interfaces between lattice Laughlin states at different fillings. We propose a class of model wavefunctions for such systems constructed using conformal field theory. We find a nontrivial form of charge conservation at the interface, similar to the one encountered in the field theory works from the literature. Using Monte Carlo methods, we evaluate the correlation function and entanglement entropy at the border. Furthermore, we construct the wavefunction for quasihole excitations and evaluate their mutual statistics with respect to quasiholes originating at the same or the other side of the interface. We show that some of these excitations lose their anyonic statistics when crossing the interface, which can be interpreted as impermeability of the interface to these anyons. Contrary to most of the previous works on interfaces between topological orders, our approach is microscopic, allowing for a direct simulation of e.g. an anyon crossing the interface. Even though we determine the properties of the wavefunction numerically, the closed-form expressions allow us to study systems too large to be simulated by exact diagonalization.

cond-mat.str-el↗