arXiv subjects

Björn Sbierski

Publications and source records attributed to Björn Sbierski.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Finite-temperature spin diffusion in the two-dimensional XY model

We present a combined theory-experiment study to quantify spin diffusion in the square lattice quantum spin-1/2 XY model at finite temperature. On the theory side, we leverage a recently developed dynamical high-temperature expansion method to faithfully capture the long spatiotemporal scales of the hydrodynamic regime. Experimental results are obtained from an optical lattice hard-core boson quantum simulator. The excellent agreement of spin diffusion constants marks a breakthrough in spin-transport beyond one dimension and for the quantitative validation of state-of-the-art quantum simulation platforms. We also provide theory predictions for future experiments on dynamic spin conductivity or anisotropy-induced integrability breaking.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2026

Thermometry for a Kagome Lattice Dipolar Rydberg Simulator

We propose an accurate thermometry approach for Rydberg atom tweezer arrays combining data from correlation and local susceptibility measurements with a theoretical high-temperature expansion method for dynamic spin correlations. We apply our approach to a recent quantum simulation experiment [Bornet et al., arXiv 2602.14323] realizing an anti-ferromagnetic dipolar spin-1/2 XY model on the Kagome lattice. We obtain T=0.55J and S/N=0.67 ln2 for temperature and entropy respectively, showing that further experimental efforts are required to reach the putative quantum spin liquid regime.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2026

High-temperature series expansion of the dynamic Matsubara spin correlator

The high-temperature series expansion for quantum spin models is a well-established tool to compute thermodynamic quantities and equal-time spin correlations, in particular for frustrated interactions. We extend the scope of this expansion to the dynamic Matsubara spin-spin correlator and develop an algorithm that yields exact expansion coefficients in the form of rational numbers. We focus on Heisenberg models with a single coupling constant J and spin lengths S=1/2,1. The expansion coefficients up to 12th order in J/T are precomputed on all possible $\sim 10^6$ graphs embeddable in arbitrary lattices and are provided in a repository. This enables calculation of static momentum-resolved susceptibilities for arbitrary site-pairs or wavevectors. We test our results for the antiferromagnetic S=1/2 chain and triangular lattice model. An important application that we discuss in a companion letter is the calculation of real-frequency dynamic structure factors. This is achieved by identifying the high-frequency expansion coefficients of the Matsubara correlator with frequency moments of the spectral function.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2026

Dynamic correlations of frustrated quantum spins from high-temperature expansion

For quantum spin systems in equilibrium, the dynamic structure factor (DSF) is among the most feature-packed experimental observables. However, from a theory perspective it is often hard to simulate in an unbiased and accurate way, especially for frustrated and high-dimensional models at intermediate temperature. To address this challenge, we compute the DSF from a dynamic extension of the high-temperature expansion to frequency moments. We focus on nearest-neighbor Heisenberg models with spin-lengths S=1/2 and 1. We provide comprehensive benchmarks and consider a variety of frustrated two- and three-dimensional antiferromagnets as applications. In particular we shed new light on the anomalous intermediate temperature regime of the S=1/2 triangular lattice model and reproduce the DSF measured recently for the S=1 pyrochlore material NaCaNi2F7. An open-source numerical implementation for arbitrary lattice geometries is also provided.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2026

Collective cluster nucleation dynamics in quantum magnets

Strongly interacting many-body systems exhibit collective properties that emerge from complex correlations among microscopic degrees of freedom. These cooperative phenomena govern the non-equilibrium response of quantum systems, with relevance ranging from condensed matter physics to quantum field theories describing fundamental aspects of our universe. Understanding such emergent dynamics from first principles remains one of the central challenges in quantum many-body physics. Here we report on the observation of collective cluster nucleation dynamics following quenches in 2D ferromagnetic quantum Ising systems implemented in an atomic Rydberg array. Our experiments reveal two distinct regimes: In the confined regime, we observe an energy-dependent cluster size, revealing large collective clusters exceeding ten spins. In contrast, the deconfined regime is characterized by kinetically constrained, avalanche-like nucleation dynamics involving the entire system. Our findings establish a new frontier for quantum simulations with Rydberg arrays, enabling controlled exploration of non-equilibrium phenomena previously out of reach. Beyond advancing experimental capabilities, they provide fundamental insights into highly correlated processes with implications that reach from quantum magnetism and glassy dynamics to cosmological models of the early universe.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2025

Taming spin susceptibilities in frustrated quantum magnets: Mean-field form and approximate nature of the quantum-to-classical correspondence

In frustrated magnetism, the empirically found quantum-to-classical correspondence (QCC) matches the real-space static susceptibility pattern of a quantum spin-$1/2$ model with its classical counterpart computed at a certain elevated temperature. This puzzling relation was observed via bold line diagrammatic Monte Carlo simulations in dimensions two and three. The matching was within error bars and seemed valid down to the lowest accessible temperatures $T$ about an order of magnitude smaller than the exchange coupling $J$. Here, we employ resummed spin diagrammatic perturbation theory to show analytically that the QCC breaks weakly at fourth order in $J/T$ and provide the approximate mapping between classical and quantum temperatures. Our treatment further reveals that QCC is an indication of the surprising accuracy with which static correlators can be approximated by a simple renormalized mean-field form. We illustrate this for all models discussed in the context of QCC so far, including a recent example of the $S=1$ material $\mathrm{K}_2\mathrm{Ni}_2(\mathrm{SO}_4)_3$. The success of the mean-field form is traced back to partial diagrammatic cancellations.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2025

Pseudo-Majorana functional renormalization for frustrated XXZ spin-1/2 models with field or magnetization along the spin-Z direction at finite temperature

The numerical study of high-dimensional frustrated quantum magnets remains a challenging problem. Here we present an extension of the pseudo-Majorana functional renormalization group to spin-1/2 XXZ type Hamiltonians with field or magnetization along spin-Z direction at finite temperature. We consider a $U(1)$ symmetry-adapted fermionic spin representation and derive the diagrammatic framework and its renormalization group flow equations. We discuss benchmark results and application to two anti-ferromagnetic triangular lattice materials recently studied in experiments with applied magnetic fields: First, we numerically reproduce the magnetization data measured for CeMgAl$_{11}$O$_{19}$ confirming model parameters previously estimated from inelastic neutron spectrum in high fields. Second, we showcase the accuracy of our method by studying the thermal phase transition into the spin solid up-up-down phase of Na$_2$BaCo(PO$_4$)$_2$ in good agreement with experiment.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

Dipolar ordering transitions in many-body quantum optics: Analytical diagrammatic approach to equilibrium quantum spins

Quantum spin models with a large number of interaction partners per spin are frequently used to describe modern many-body quantum optical systems like arrays of Rydberg atoms, atom-cavity systems or trapped ion crystals. For theoretical analysis the mean-field (MF) ansatz is routinely applied. However, besides special cases of all-to-all or strong long range interactions, the MF ansatz provides only approximate results. Here we present a systematic correction to MF theory based on diagrammatic perturbation theory for quantum spin correlators in thermal equilibrium. Our analytic results are universally applicable for any lattice geometry and spin-length S. We provide pre-computed and easy-to-use building blocks for Ising, Heisenberg and transverse field Ising models in the symmetry-unbroken regime. We showcase the quality and simplicity of the method by computing magnetic phase boundaries and excitations gaps. We also treat the Dicke-Ising model of ground-state superradiance where we show that corrections to the MF phase boundary vanish.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2024

Pseudo-fermion functional renormalization group for spin models

For decades, frustrated quantum magnets have been a seed for scientific progress and innovation in condensed matter. As much as the numerical tools for low-dimensional quantum magnetism have thrived and improved in recent years due to breakthroughs inspired by quantum information and quantum computation, higher-dimensional quantum magnetism can be considered as the final frontier, where strong quantum entanglement, multiple ordering channels, and manifold ways of paramagnetism culminate. At the same time, efforts in crystal synthesis have induced a significant increase in the number of tangible frustrated magnets which are generically three-dimensional in nature, creating an urgent need for quantitative theoretical modeling. We review the pseudo-fermion (PF) and pseudo-Majorana (PM) functional renormalization group (FRG) and their specific ability to address higher-dimensional frustrated quantum magnetism. First developed more than a decade ago, the PFFRG interprets a Heisenberg model Hamiltonian in terms of Abrikosov pseudofermions, which is then treated in a diagrammatic resummation scheme formulated as a renormalization group flow of $m$-particle pseudofermion vertices. The article reviews the state of the art of PFFRG and PMFRG and discusses their application to exemplary domains of frustrated magnetism, but most importantly, it makes the algorithmic and implementation details of these methods accessible to everyone. By thus lowering the entry barrier to their application, we hope that this review will contribute towards establishing PFFRG and PMFRG as the numerical methods for addressing frustrated quantum magnetism in higher spatial dimensions.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

Magnetism in the two-dimensional dipolar XY model

Motivated by a recent experiment on a square-lattice Rydberg atom array realizing a long-range dipolar XY model [Chen et al., Nature (2023)], we numerically study the model's equilibrium properties. We obtain the phase diagram, critical properties, entropies, variance of the magnetization, and site-resolved correlation functions. We consider both ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic interactions and apply quantum Monte Carlo and pseudo-Majorana functional renormalization group techniques, generalizing the latter to a U(1) symmetric setting. Our simulations perform extensive thermometry for the first time in dipolar Rydberg atom arrays and establish conditions for adiabaticity and thermodynamic equilibrium. On the ferromagnetic side of the experiment, we determine the entropy per particle S/N~0.5, close to the one at the critical temperature, S_c/N = 0.585(15). The simulations suggest the presence of an out-of-equilibrium plateau at large distances in the correlation function, thus motivating future studies on the non-equilibrium dynamics of the system.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2023

Temperature flow in pseudo-Majorana functional renormalization for quantum spins

We implement the temperature flow scheme first proposed by Honerkamp and Salmhofer in Phys.~Rev.~B 64, 184516 (2001) into the pseudo-Majorana functional renormalization group method for quantum spin systems. Since the renormalization group parameter in this approach is a physical quantity -- the temperature $T$ -- the numerical efficiency increases significantly compared to more conventional renormalization group parameters, especially when computing finite temperature phase diagrams. We first apply this method to determine the finite temperature phase diagram of the $J_1$-$J_2$ Heisenberg model on the simple cubic lattice where our findings support claims of a vanishingly small nonmagnetic phase around the high frustration point $J_2=0.25J_1$. Perhaps most importantly, we find the temperature flow scheme to be advantageous in detecting finite temperature phase transitions as, by construction, a phase transition is never encountered at an artificial, unphysical cutoff parameter. Finally, we apply the temperature flow scheme to the dipolar XXZ model on the square lattice where we find a rich phase diagram with a large non-magnetic regime down to the lowest accessible temperatures. Wherever a comparison with error-controlled (quantum) Monte Carlo methods is applicable, we find excellent quantitative agreement with less than $5\%$ deviation from the numerically exact results.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2023

Spectral representation of Matsubara n-point functions: Exact kernel functions and applications

In the field of quantum many-body physics, the spectral (or Lehmann) representation simplifies the calculation of Matsubara n-point correlation functions if the eigensystem of a Hamiltonian is known. It is expressed via a universal kernel function and a system- and correlator-specific product of matrix elements. Here we provide the kernel functions in full generality, for arbitrary n, arbitrary combinations of bosonic or fermionic operators and an arbitrary number of anomalous terms. As an application, we consider bosonic 3- and 4-point correlation functions for the fermionic Hubbard atom and a free spin of length S, respectively.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2023

Taming pseudo-fermion functional renormalization for quantum spins: Finite-temperatures and the Popov-Fedotov trick

The pseudo-fermion representation for $S=1/2$ quantum spins introduces unphysical states in the Hilbert space which can be projected out using the Popov-Fedotov trick. However, state-of-the-art implementation of the functional renormalization group method for pseudo-fermions have so far omitted the Popov-Fedotov projection. Instead, restrictions to zero temperature were made and absence of unphysical contributions to the ground-state was assumed. We question this belief by exact diagonalization of several small-system counterexamples where unphysical states do contribute to the ground state. We then introduce Popov-Fedotov projection to pseudo-fermion functional renormalization, enabling finite temperature computations with only minor technical modifications to the method. At large and intermediate temperatures, our results are perturbatively controlled and we confirm their accuracy in benchmark calculations. At lower temperatures, the accuracy degrades due to truncation errors in the hierarchy of flow equations. Interestingly, these problems cannot be alleviated by switching to the parquet approximation. We introduce the spin projection as a method-intrinsic quality check. We also show that finite temperature magnetic ordering transitions can be studied via finite-size scaling.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2022

Identifying Majorana vortex modes via non-local transport

The combination of two-dimensional Dirac surface states with s-wave superconductivity is expected to generate localized topological Majorana zero modes in vortex cores. Putative experimental signatures of these modes have been reported for heterostructures of proximitized topological insulators, iron-based superconductors or certain transition metal dichalcogenides. Despite these efforts, the Majorana nature of the observed excitation is still under debate. We propose to identify the presence of Majorana vortex modes using a nonlocal transport measurement protocol originally employed for one-dimensional settings. In the case of an isolated subgap state, the protocol provides a spatial map of the ratio of local charge- and probability-density which offers a clear distinction between Majorana and ordinary fermionic modes. We show that these distinctive features survive in the experimentally relevant case of hybridizing vortex core modes.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2022

Quantitative functional renormalization for three-dimensional quantum Heisenberg models

We employ a recently developed variant of the functional renormalization group method for spin systems, the so-called pseudo Majorana functional renormalization group, to investigate three-dimensional spin-1/2 Heisenberg models at finite temperatures. We study unfrustrated and frustrated Heisenberg systems on the simple cubic and pyrochlore lattices. Comparing our results with other quantum many-body techniques, we demonstrate a high quantitative accuracy of our method. Particularly, for the unfrustrated simple cubic lattice antiferromagnet ordering temperatures obtained from finite-size scaling of one-loop data deviate from error controlled quantum Monte Carlo results by $\sim5\%$ and we further confirm the established values for the critical exponent $ν$ and the anomalous dimension $η$. As the PMFRG yields results in good agreement with QMC, but remains applicable when the system is frustrated, we next treat the pyrochlore Heisenberg antiferromagnet as a paradigmatic magnetically disordered system and find nearly perfect agreement of our two-loop static homogeneous susceptibility with other methods. We further investigate the broadening of pinch points in the spin structure factor as a result of quantum and thermal fluctuations and confirm a finite width in the extrapolated limit $T\rightarrow0$. While extensions towards higher loop orders $\ell$ seem to systematically improve our approach for magnetically disordered systems we also discuss subtleties when increasing $\ell$ in the presence of magnetic order. Overall, the pseudo Majorana functional renormalization group is established as a powerful many-body technique in quantum magnetism with a wealth of possible future applications.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2021

Frustrated Quantum Spins at finite Temperature: Pseudo-Majorana functional RG approach

The pseudofermion functional renormalization group (PFFRG) method has proven to be a powerful numerical approach to treat frustrated quantum spin systems. In its usual implementation, however, the complex fermionic representation of spin operators introduces unphysical Hilbert space sectors which renders an application at finite temperatures inaccurate. In this work, we formulate a general functional renormalization group approach based on Majorana fermions to overcome these difficulties. We, particularly, implement spin operators via an $SO(3)$ symmetric Majorana representation which does not introduce any unphysical states and, hence, remains applicable to quantum spin models at finite temperatures. We apply this scheme, dubbed pseudo Majorana functional renormalization group (PMFRG) method, to frustrated Heisenberg models on small spin clusters as well as square and triangular lattices. Computing the finite temperature behavior of spin correlations and thermodynamic quantities such as free energy and heat capacity, we find good agreement with exact diagonalization and the high-temperature series expansion down to moderate temperatures. We, particularly, observe a significantly enhanced accuracy of the PMFRG compared to the PFFRG at finite temperatures. More generally, we conclude that the development of functional renormalization group approaches with Majorana fermions considerably extends the scope of applicability of such methods.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2021

Criticality of two-dimensional disordered Dirac fermions in the unitary class and universality of the integer quantum Hall transition

Two-dimensional (2D) Dirac fermions are a central paradigm of modern condensed matter physics, describing low-energy excitations in graphene, in certain classes of superconductors, and on surfaces of 3D topological insulators. At zero energy E=0, Dirac fermions with mass m are band insulators, with the Chern number jumping by unity at m=0. This observation lead Ludwig et al [Phys. Rev. B 50, 7526 (1994)] to conjecture that the transition in 2D disordered Dirac fermions (DDF) and the integer quantum Hall transition (IQHT) are controlled by the same fixed point and possess the same universal critical properties. Given the far-reaching implications for the emerging field of the quantum anomalous Hall effect, modern condensed matter physics and our general understanding of disordered critical points, it is surprising that this conjecture has never been tested numerically. Here, we report the results of extensive numerics on the phase diagram and criticality of 2D-DDF in the unitary class. We find a critical line at m=0, with energy-dependent localization length exponent. At large energies, our results for the DDF are consistent with state-of-the-art numerical results ν_IQH = 2.56 - 2.62 from models of the IQHT. At E=0 however, we obtain ν_0 =2.30-2.36 incompatible with ν_IQH. This result challenges conjectured relations between different models of the IQHT, and several interpretations are discussed.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Disorder correction to the minimal conductance of a nodal-point semimetal

We consider the disorder-induced correction to the minimal conductance of an anisotropic two-dimensional Dirac node or a three-dimensional Weyl node. An analytical expression is derived for the correction $δG$ to the conductance of a finite-size sample by an arbitrary potential, without taking the disorder average, in second-order perturbation theory. Considering a generic model of a short-range disorder potential, this result is used to compute the probability distribution $P(δG)$, which is compared to the numerically exact distribution obtained using the scattering matrix approach. We show that $P(δG)$ is Gaussian when the sample has a large width-to-length ratio, and study how the expectation value, the standard deviation, and the probability of finding $δG < 0$ depend on the anisotropy of the dispersion.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗