arXiv subjects

Fabian H. L. Essler

Publications and source records attributed to Fabian H. L. Essler.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2017

Quantum-disentangled liquid in the half-filled Hubbard model

We investigate the existence of quantum disentangled liquid (QDL) states in the half-filled Hubbard model on bipartite lattices. In the one dimensional case we employ a combination of integrability and strong coupling expansion methods to argue that there are indeed finite energy-density eigenstates that exhibit QDL behaviour in the sense of J. Stat. Mech. P10010 (2014). The states exhibiting the QDL property are atypical in the sense that while their entropy density is non-zero, it is smaller than that of thermal states at the same energy density. We argue that for U >> t these latter thermal states exhibit a weaker form of the QDL property, which carries over to the higher dimensional case.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2017

Atypical energy eigenstates in the Hubbard chain and quantum disentangled liquids

We investigate the implications of integrability for the existence of quantum disentangled liquid (QDL) states in the half-filled one-dimensional Hubbard model. We argue that there exist finite energy-density eigenstates that exhibit QDL behaviour in the sense of J. Stat. Mech. P10010 (2014). These states are atypical in the sense that their entropy density is smaller than that of thermal states at the same energy density. Furthermore, we show that thermal states in a particular temperature window exhibit a weaker form of the QDL property, in agreement with recent results obtained by strong-coupling expansion methods in arXiv:1611.02075. This article is part of the themed issue `Breakdown of ergodicity in quantum systems: from solids to synthetics matter'.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2017

Finite temperature dynamics of the Mott insulating Hubbard chain

We study the dynamical response of the half-filled one-dimensional(1d) Hubbard model for a range of interaction strengths $U$ and temperatures $T$ by a combination of numerical and analytical techniques. Using time-dependent density matrix renormalization group (tDMRG) computations we find that the single-particle spectral function undergoes a crossover to a spin-incoherent Luttinger liquid regime at temperatures $T \sim J=4t^2/U$ for sufficiently large $U > 4t$. At smaller values of $U$ and elevated temperatures the spectral function is found to exhibit two thermally broadened bands of excitations, reminiscent of what is found in the Hubbard-I approximation. The dynamical density-density response function is shown to exhibit a finite temperature resonance at low frequencies inside the Mott gap, with a physical origin similar to the Villain mode in gapped quantum spin chains. We complement our numerical computations by developing an analytic strong-coupling approach to the low-temperature dynamics in the spin-incoherent regime.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2017

Spinon decay in the spin-1/2 Heisenberg chain with weak next nearest neighbour exchange

Integrable models support elementary excitations with infinite lifetimes. In the spin-1/2 Heisenberg chain these are known as spinons. We consider the stability of spinons when a weak integrability breaking perturbation is added to the Heisenberg chain in a magnetic field. We focus on the case where the perturbation is a next nearest neighbour exchange interaction. We calculate the spinon decay rate in leading order in perturbation theory using methods of integrability and identify the dominant decay channels. The decay rate is found to be small, which indicates that spinons remain well-defined excitations even though integrability is broken.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2017

Full counting statistics in the spin-1/2 Heisenberg XXZ chain

The spin-1/2 Heisenberg chain exhibits a quantum critical regime characterized by quasi long-range magnetic order at zero temperature. We quantify the strength of quantum fluctuations in the ground state by determining the probability distributions of the components of the (staggered) subsystem magnetization. Some of these exhibit scaling and the corresponding universal scaling functions can be determined by free fermion methods and by exploiting a relation with the boundary sine-Gordon model.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2017

Critical behavior of the extended Hubbard model with bond dimerization

Exploiting the matrix-product-state based density-matrix renormalization group (DMRG) technique we study the one-dimensional extended ($U$-$V$) Hubbard model with explicit bond dimerization in the half-filled band sector. In particular we investigate the nature of the quantum phase transition, taking place with growing ratio $V/U$ between the symmetry-protected-topological and charge-density-wave insulating states. The (weak-coupling) critical line of continuous Ising transitions with central charge $c=1/2$ terminates at a tricritical point belonging to the universality class of the dilute Ising model with $c=7/10$. We demonstrate that our DMRG data perfectly match with (tricritical) Ising exponents, e.g., for the order parameter $β=1/8$ (1/24) and correlation length $ν=1$ (5/9). Beyond the tricritical Ising point, in the strong-coupling regime, the quantum phase transition becomes first order.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Thermalization and light cones in a model with weak integrability breaking

We employ equation of motion techniques to study the non-equilibrium dynamics in a lattice model of weakly interacting spinless fermions. Our model provides a simple setting for analyzing the effects of weak integrability breaking perturbations on the time evolution after a quantum quench. We establish the accuracy of the method by comparing results at short and intermediate times to time-dependent density matrix renormalization group computations. For sufficiently weak integrability-breaking interactions we always observe prethermalization plateaux, where local observables relax to non-thermal values at intermediate time scales. At later times a crossover towards thermal behaviour sets in. We determine the associated time scale, which depends on the initial state, the band structure of the non-interacting theory, and the strength of the integrability breaking perturbation. Our method allows us to analyze in some detail the spreading of correlations and in particular the structure of the associated light cones in our model. We find that the interior and exterior of the light cone are separated by an intermediate region, the temporal width of which appears to scale with a universal power-law $t^{1/3}$.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2016

Exact Bethe ansatz spectrum of a tight-binding chain with dephasing noise

We construct an exact map between a tight-binding model on any bipartite lattice in presence of dephasing noise and a Hubbard model with imaginary interaction strength. In one dimension, the exact many-body Liouvillian spectrum can be obtained by application of the Bethe ansatz method. We find that both the non-equilibrium steady state and the leading decay modes describing the relaxation at late times are related to the eta-pairing symmetry of the Hubbard model. We show that there is a remarkable relation between the time-evolution of an arbitrary k-point correlation function in the dissipative system and k-particle states of the corresponding Hubbard model.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2016

Quantum quenches to the attractive one-dimensional Bose gas: exact results

We study quantum quenches to the one-dimensional Bose gas with attractive interactions in the case when the initial state is an ideal one-dimensional Bose condensate. We focus on properties of the stationary state reached at late times after the quench. This displays a finite density of multi-particle bound states, whose rapidity distribution is determined exactly by means of the quench action method. We discuss the relevance of the multi-particle bound states for the physical properties of the system, computing in particular the stationary value of the local pair correlation function $g_2$.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2016

Quench dynamics and relaxation in isolated integrable quantum spin chains

We review the dynamics after quantum quenches in integrable quantum spin chains. We give a pedagogical introduction to relaxation in isolated quantum systems, and discuss the description of the steady state by (gen- eralized) Gibbs ensembles. When then turn to general features in the time evolution of local observables after the quench, using a simple model of free fermions as an example. In the second part we present an overview of recent progress in describing quench dynamics in two key paradigms for quantum integrable models, the transverse field Ising chain and the anisotropic spin-1/2 Heisenberg chain.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2016

Ising tricriticality in the extended Hubbard model with bond dimerization

We explore the quantum phase transition between Peierls and charge-density-wave insulating states in the one-dimensional, half-filled, extended Hubbard model with explicit bond dimerization. We show that the critical line of the continuous Ising transition terminates at a tricritical point, belonging to the universality class of the tricritical Ising model with central charge $c=7/10$. Above this point, the quantum phase transition becomes first order. Employing a numerical matrix-product-state based (infinite) density-matrix renormalization group method we determine the ground-state phase diagram, the spin and two-particle charge excitations gaps, and the entanglement properties of the model with high precision. Performing a bosonization analysis we can derive a field description of the transition region in terms of a triple sine-Gordon model. This allows us to derive field theory predictions for the power-law (exponential) decay of the density-density (spin-spin) and bond-order-wave correlation functions, which are found to be in excellent agreement with our numerical results.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Mobile impurity approach to the optical conductivity in the Hubbard chain

We consider the optical conductivity in the one dimensional Hubbard model in the metallic phase close to half filling. In this regime most of the spectral weight is located at frequencies above an energy scale $E_{\rm opt}$ that tends towards the optical gap in the Mott insulating phase for vanishing doping. Using the Bethe Ansatz we relate $E_{\rm opt}$ to thresholds of particular kinds of excitations in the Hubbard model. We then employ a mobile impurity models to analyze the optical conductivity for frequencies slightly above these thresholds. This entails generalizing mobile impurity models to excited states that are not highest weight with regards to the SU(2) symmetries of the Hubbard chain, and that occur at a maximum of the impurity dispersion.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Optical conductivity of the Hubbard chain away from half filling

We consider the optical conductivity $σ_1(ω)$ in the metallic phase of the one-dimensional Hubbard model. Our results focus on the vicinity of half filling and the frequency regime around the optical gap in the Mott insulating phase. By means of a density-matrix renormalization group implementation of the correction-vector approach, $σ_1(ω)$ is computed for a range of interaction strengths and dopings. We identify an energy scale $E_{\rm opt}$ above which the optical conductivity shows a rapid increase. We then use a mobile impurity model in combination with exact results to determine the behavior of $σ_1(ω)$ for frequencies just above $E_{\rm opt}$ which is in agreement with our numerical data. As a main result, we find that this onset behavior is not described by a power law.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Multi-particle bound state formation following a quantum quench to the one-dimensional Bose gas with attractive interactions

We consider quantum quenches from an ideal Bose condensate to the Lieb-Liniger model with arbitrary attractive interaction strength. We focus on the properties of the non-equilibrium steady state reached at late times after the quench. Using recently developed methods based on integrability, we obtain an exact description of the stationary state for a large number of bosons. A distinctive feature of this state is the presence of a hierarchy of multi-particle bound states. We determine the dependence of their densities on interaction strength and obtain an exact expression for the stationary value of the local pair correlation $g_2$. We discuss ramifications of our results for cold atom experiments.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2015

Prethermalization and thermalization in models with weak integrability breaking

We study the effects of integrability breaking perturbations on the non-equilibrium evolution of many-particle quantum systems. We focus on a class of spinless fermion models with weak interactions. We employ equation of motion techniques that can be viewed as generalizations of quantum Boltzmann equations. We benchmark our method against time dependent density matrix renormalization group computations and find it to be very accurate as long as interactions are weak. For small integrability breaking, we observe robust prethermalization plateaux for local observables on all accessible time scales. Increasing the strength of the integrability breaking term induces a "drift" away from the prethermalization plateaux towards thermal behaviour. We identify a time scale characterizing this cross-over.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2015

Complete Generalized Gibbs Ensemble in an interacting Theory

In integrable many-particle systems, it is widely believed that the stationary state reached at late times after a quantum quench can be described by a generalized Gibbs ensemble (GGE) constructed from their extensive number of conserved charges. A crucial issue is then to identify a complete set of these charges, enabling the GGE to provide exact steady state predictions. Here we solve this long-standing problem for the case of the spin-1/2 Heisenberg chain by explicitly constructing a GGE which uniquely fixes the macrostate describing the stationary behaviour after a general quantum quench. A crucial ingredient in our method, which readily generalizes to other integrable models, are recently discovered quasi-local charges. As a test, we reproduce the exact post-quench steady state of the Neel quench problem obtained previously by means of the Quench Action method.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Quantum quench within the gapless phase of the spin-1/2 Heisenberg XXZ spin-chain

We consider an interaction quench in the critical spin-1/2 Heisenberg XXZ chain. We numerically compute the time evolution of the two-point correlation functions of spin operators in the thermodynamic limit and compare the results to predictions obtained in the framework of the Luttinger liquid approximation. We find that the transverse correlation function $\langle S^x_jS^x_{j+\ell}\rangle$ agrees with the Luttinger model prediction to a surprising level of accuracy. The agreement for the longitudinal two-point function $\langle S^z_jS^z_{j+\ell}\rangle$ is found to be much poorer. We speculate that this difference between transverse and longitudinal correlations has its origin in the locality properties of the respective spin operator with respect to the underlying fermionic modes.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2014

Real-time dynamics in the one-dimensional Hubbard model

We consider single-particle properties in the one-dimensional repulsive Hubbard model at commensurate fillings in the metallic phase. We determine the real-time evolution of the retarded Green's function by matrix-product state methods. We find that at sufficiently late times the numerical results are in good agreement with predictions of nonlinear Luttinger liquid theory. We argue that combining the two methods provides a way of determining the single-particle spectral function with very high frequency resolution.

cond-mat.str-el↗