arXiv subjects

Fabio Franchini

Publications and source records attributed to Fabio Franchini.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2021

Resilience of the topological phases to frustration

Recently it was highlighted that one-dimensional antiferromagnetic spin models with frustrated boundary conditions, i.e. periodic boundary conditions in a ring with an odd number of elements, may show very peculiar behavior. Indeed the presence of frustrated boundary conditions can destroy the local magnetic orders presented by the models when different boundary conditions are taken into account and induce novel phase transitions. Motivated by these results, we analyze the effects of the introduction of frustrated boundary conditions on several models supporting (symmetry protected) topological orders, and compare our results with the ones obtained with different boundary conditions. None of the topological order phases analyzed are altered by this change. This observation leads naturally to the conjecture that topological phases of one-dimensional systems are in general not affected by topological frustration.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2021

Effects of defects in the XY chain with frustrated boundary conditions

It has been recently proven that new types of bulk, local order can ensue due to frustrated boundary condition, that is, periodic boundary conditions with an odd number of lattice sites and anti-ferromagnetic interactions. For the quantum XY chain in zero external fields, the usual antiferromagnetic order has been found to be replaced either by a mesoscopic ferromagnet or by an incommensurate AFM order. In this work we examine the resilience of these new types of orders against a defect that breaks the translational symmetry of the model. We find that, while a ferromagnetic defect restores the traditional, staggered order, an AFM one stabilizes the incommensurate order. The robustness of the frustrated order to certain kinds of defects paves the way for its experimental observability.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2021

The fate of local order in topologically frustrated spin chains

It has been recently shown that the presence of topological frustration, induced by periodic boundary conditions in an antiferromagnetic $XY$ chain made of an odd number of spins, prevents the realization of a perfectly staggered local order. Starting from this result and exploiting a recently introduced approach which enables the direct calculation of the expectation value of any operator with support over a finite range of lattice sites, in this work we investigate the possible fates of local orders. We show that, regardless of the variety of possible situations, they can be all arranged in two different cases. A system admits a finite local order only if the ground state is degenerate, with at least two elements whose momenta differ, in the thermodynamic limit, by $π$, and this order breaks translational symmetry. In all other cases, any local order decays to zero, algebraically (or faster) in the chain length. Moreover, we show that, in some cases, which of the two possibilities is realized, may depend on the sequence of chain lengths with which the thermodynamic limit is reached. These results are established both analytically and by exact diagonalization and illustrated through examples.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2021

Topological Frustration can modify the nature of a Quantum Phase Transition

Ginzburg-Landau theory of continuous phase transitions implicitly assumes that microscopic changes are negligible in determining the thermodynamic properties of the system. In this work we provide an example that clearly contrasts with this assumption. We show that topological frustration can change the nature of a second order quantum phase transition separating two different ordered phases. Even more remarkably, frustration is triggered simply by a suitable choice of boundary conditions in a 1D chain. While with every other BC each of two phases is characterized by its own local order parameter, with frustration no local order can survive. We construct string order parameters to distinguish the two phases, but, having proved that topological frustration is capable of altering the nature of a system's phase transition, our results pose a clear challenge to the current understanding of phase transitions in complex quantum systems.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2020

Quantum Phase Transition induced by Topological Frustration

In quantum many-body systems with local interactions, the effects of boundary conditions are considered to be negligible, at least for sufficiently large systems. Here we show an example of the opposite. We consider a spin chain with two competing interactions, set on a ring with an odd number of sites. When only the dominant interaction is antiferromagnetic, and thus induces topological frustration, the standard antiferromagnetic order (expressed by the magnetization) is destroyed. When also the second interaction turns from ferro to antiferro, an antiferromagnetic order characterized by a site-dependent magnetization which varies in space with an incommensurate pattern, emerges. This modulation results from a ground state degeneracy, which allows to break the translational invariance. The transition between the two cases is signaled by a discontinuity in the first derivative of the ground state energy and represents a quantum phase transition induced by a special choice of boundary conditions.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2020

Asymptotic behavior of Toeplitz determinants with a delta function singularity

We find the asymptotic behaviors of Toeplitz determinants with symbols which are a sum of two contributions: one analytical and non-zero function in an annulus around the unit circle, and the other proportional to a Dirac delta function. The formulas are found by using the Wiener-Hopf procedure. The determinants of this type are found in computing the spin-correlation functions in low-lying excited states of some integrable models, where the delta function represents a peak at the momentum of the excitation. As a concrete example of applications of our results, using the derived asymptotic formulas we compute the spin-correlation functions in the lowest energy band of the frustrated quantum XY chain in zero field, and the ground state magnetization.

math-ph↗

arXiv2020

The Frustration of being Odd: How Boundary Conditions can destroy Local Order

A central tenant in the classification of phases is that boundary conditions cannot affect the bulk properties of a system. In this work, we show striking, yet puzzling, evidence of a clear violation of this assumption. We use the prototypical example of an XYZ chain with no external field in a ring geometry with an odd number of sites and both ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic interactions. In such a setting, even at finite sizes, we are able to calculate directly the spontaneous magnetizations that are traditionally used as order parameters to characterize the system's phases. When ferromagnetic interactions dominate, we recover magnetizations that in the thermodynamic limit lose any knowledge about the boundary conditions and are in complete agreement with standard expectations. On the contrary, when the system is governed by antiferromagnetic interactions, the magnetizations decay algebraically to zero with the system size and are not staggered, despite the AFM coupling. We term this behavior {\it ferromagnetic mesoscopic magnetization}. Hence, in the antiferromagnetic regime, our results show an unexpected dependence of a local, one--spin expectation values on the boundary conditions, which is in contrast with predictions from the general theory.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2020

Toward an invariant matrix model for the Anderson Transition

We consider invariant matrix models with log-normal (asymptotic) weight. It is known that their eigenvalue distribution is intermediate between Wigner-Dyson and Poissonian, which candidates these models for describing a system intermediate between the extended and localized phase. We show that they have a much richer energy landscape than expected, with their partition functions decomposable in a large number of equilibrium configurations, growing exponentially with the matrix rank. Within each of these saddle points, eigenvalues are uncorrelated and confined by a different potential felt by each eigenvalue. The equilibrium positions induced by the potentials differ in different saddles. Instantons connecting the different equilibrium configurations are responsible for the correlations between the eigenvalues. We argue that these instantons can be linked to the SU(2) components in which the rotational symmetry can be decomposed, paving the way to understand the conjectured critical breaking of U(N) symmetry in these invariant models.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2019

The Frustration of being Odd: Universal Area Law violation in local systems

At the core of every frustrated system, one can identify the existence of frustrated rings that are usually interpreted in terms of single--particle physics. We check this point of view through a careful analysis of the entanglement entropy of both models that admit an exact single--particle decomposition of their Hilbert space due to integrability and those for which the latter is supposed to hold only as a low energy approximation. In particular, we study generic spin chains made by an odd number of sites with short-range antiferromagnetic interactions and periodic boundary conditions, thus characterized by a weak, i.e. nonextensive, frustration. While for distances of the order of the correlation length the phenomenology of these chains is similar to that of the non-frustrated cases, we find that correlation functions involving a number of sites scaling like the system size follow different rules. We quantify the long-range correlations through the von Neumann entanglement entropy, finding that indeed it violates the area law, while not diverging with the system size. This behavior is well fitted by a universal law that we derive from the conjectured single--particle picture.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2017

An introduction to integrable techniques for one-dimensional quantum systems

This monograph introduces the reader to basic notions of integrable techniques for one-dimensional quantum systems. In a pedagogical way, a few examples of exactly solvable models are worked out to go from the coordinate approach to the Algebraic Bethe Ansatz, with some discussion on the finite temperature thermodynamics. The aim is to provide the instruments to approach more advanced books or to allow for a critical reading of research articles and the extraction of useful information from them. We describe the solution of the anisotropic XY spin chain; of the Lieb-Liniger model of bosons with contact interaction at zero and finite temperature; and of the XXZ spin chain, first in the coordinate and then in the algebraic approach. To establish the connection between the latter and the solution of two dimensional classical models, we also introduce and solve the 6-vertex model. Finally, the low energy physics of these integrable models is mapped into the corresponding conformal field theory. Through its style and the choice of topics, this book tries to touch all fundamental ideas behind integrability and is meant for students and researchers interested either in an introduction to later delve in the advance aspects of Bethe Ansatz or in an overview of the topic for broadening their culture.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2016

Hydrodynamics of local excitations after an interaction quench in 1D cold atomic gases

We discuss the hydrodynamic approach to the study of the time evolution -induced by a quench- of local excitations in one dimension. We focus on interaction quenches: the considered protocol consists in creating a stable localized excitation propagating through the system, and then operating a sudden change of the interaction between the particles. To highlight the effect of the quench, we take the initial excitation to be a soliton. The quench splits the excitation into two packets moving in opposite directions, whose characteristics can be expressed in a universal way. Our treatment allows to describe the internal dynamics of these two packets in terms of the different velocities of their components. We confirm our analytical predictions through numerical simulations performed with the Gross-Pitaevskii equation and with the Calogero model (as an example of long range interactions and solvable with a parabolic confinement). Through the Calogero model we also discuss the effect of an external trapping on the protocol. The hydrodynamic approach shows that there is a difference between the bulk velocities of the propagating packets and the velocities of their peaks: it is possible to discriminate the two quantities, as we show through the comparison between numerical simulations and analytical estimates. In the realizations of the discussed quench protocol in a cold atom experiment, these different velocities are accessible through different measurement procedures.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2016

Universal dynamics of a soliton after an interaction quench

We propose a new type of experimentally feasible quantum quench protocol in which a quantum system is prepared in a coherent, localized excited state of a Hamiltonian. During the evolution of this solitonic excitation, the microscopic interaction is suddenly changed. We study the dynamics of solitons after this interaction quench for a wide class of systems using a hydrodynamic approach. We find that the post-quench dynamics is universal at short times, i.e. it does not depend on the microscopic details of the physical system. Numerical support for these results is presented using generalized non-linear Schroedinger equation, relevant for the implementation of the proposed protocol with ultracold bosons, as well as for the integrable Calogero model in harmonic potential. Finally, it is shown that the effects of integrability breaking by a parabolic potential and by a power-law non-linearity do not change the universality of the short-time dynamics.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2015

On the Spontaneous Breaking of U(N) symmetry in invariant Matrix Models

Matrix Models are the most effective way to describe strongly interacting systems with many degrees of freedom. They have proven successful in describing very different settings, from nuclei spectra to conduction in mesoscopic systems, from holographic models to various aspects of mathematical physics. This success reflects the existence of a large universality class for all these systems, signaled by the Wigner-Dyson statistics for the matrix eigenvalues. These models are defined in a base invariant way and this rotational symmetry has traditionally been read to imply that they describe extended system. In this work we show that certain matrix models, which show deviations from the Wigner-Dyson distribution, can spontaneously break their rotational ($U(N)$) invariance and localize their eigenvectors on a portion of the Hilbert space. This conclusion establishes once more a direct connection between the eigenvalue and eigenvector distributions. Recognizing this loss of ergodicity discloses the power of non-perturbative techniques available for matrix models to the study of localization problems and introduces a novel spontaneous symmetry breaking mechanism. Moreover, it brings forth the overlooked role of eigenvectors in the study of matrix models and allows for the consideration of new types of observable.

hep-th↗

arXiv2014

Local convertibility and the quantum simulation of edge states in many-body systems

In some many-body systems, certain ground state entanglement (Renyi) entropies increase even as the correlation length decreases. This entanglement non-monotonicity is a potential indicator of non-classicality. In this work we demonstrate that such a phenomenon, known as non-local convertibility, is due to the edge state (de)construction occurring in the system. To this end, we employ the example of the Ising chain, displaying an order-disorder quantum phase transitions. Employing both analytical and numerical methods, we compute entanglement entropies for various system bipartitions (A|B) and consider ground states with and without Majorana edge states. We find that the thermal ground states, enjoying the Hamiltonian symmetries, show non-local convertibility if either A or B are smaller than, or of the order of, the correlation length. In contrast, the ordered (symmetry breaking) ground state is always locally convertible. The edge states behavior explains all these results and could disclose a paradigm to understand local convertibility in other quantum phases of matter. The connection we establish between convertibility and non-local, quantum correlations provides a clear criterion of which features a universal quantum simulator should possess to outperform a classical machine.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2013

Modular invariance in the gapped XYZ spin 1/2 chain

We show that the elliptic parametrization of the coupling constants of the quantum XYZ spin chain can be analytically extended outside of their natural domain, to cover the whole phase diagram of the model, which is composed of 12 adjacent regions, related to one another by a spin rotation. This extension is based on the modular properties of the elliptic functions and we show how rotations in parameter space correspond to the double covering PGL(2,Z)of the modular group, implying that the partition function of the XYZ chain is invariant under this group in parameter space, in the same way as a Conformal Field Theory partition function is invariant under the modular group acting in real space. The encoding of the symmetries of the model into the modular properties of the partition function could shed light on the general structure of integrable models.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2012

Approaching the RSOS critical points through entanglement: one model for many universalities

We analytically compute the Renyi entropies for the RSOS models, representing a wide class of exactly solvable models with multicritical conformal points described by unitary minimal models and $\mathbb{Z}_n$ parafermions. The exact expressions allow for an explicit comparison of the expansions around the critical points with the predictions coming from field theory. In this way it is possible to point out the nature of the so-called "unusual corrections", clarifying the link with the operator content, the role of the symmetries and the boundary conditions. By choosing different boundary conditions, we can single out the ground states as well as certain combinations of high energy states. We find that the {\it entanglement spectrum} is given by operators that are not present in the bulk Hamiltonian, although they belong to the same representation of a Virasoro Algebra. In the parafermionic case we observe unexpected logarithmic corrections.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2012

Correlation Length and Unusual Corrections to the Entanglement Entropy

We study analytically the corrections to the leading terms in the Renyi entropy of a massive lattice theory, showing significant deviations from naive expectations. In particular, we show that finite size and finite mass effects give rise to different contributions (with different exponents) and thus violate a simple scaling argument. In the specific, we look at the entanglement entropy of a bipartite XYZ spin-1/2 chain in its ground state. When the system is divided into two semi-infinite half-chains, we have an analytical expression of the Renyi entropy as a function of a single mass parameter. In the scaling limit, we show that the entropy as a function of the correlation length formally coincides with that of a bulk Ising model. This should be compared with the fact that, at criticality, the model is described by a c=1 Conformal Field Theory and the corrections to the entropy due to finite size effects show exponents depending on the compactification radius of the theory. We will argue that there is no contradiction between these statements. If the lattice spacing is retained finite, the relation between the mass parameter and the correlation length generates new subleading terms in the entropy, whose form is path-dependent in phase-space and whose interpretation within a field theory is not available yet. These contributions arise as a consequence of the existence of stable bound states and are thus a distinctive feature of truly interacting theories, such as the XYZ chain.

hep-th↗

arXiv2011

Essential singularity in the Renyi entanglement entropy of the one-dimensional XYZ spin-1/2 chain

We study the Renyi entropy of the one-dimensional XYZ spin-1/2 chain in the entirety of its phase diagram. The model has several quantum critical lines corresponding to rotated XXZ chains in their paramagnetic phase, and four tri-critical points where these phases join. Two of these points are described by a conformal field theory and close to them the entropy scales as the logarithm of its mass gap. The other two points are not conformal and the entropy has a peculiar singular behavior in their neighbors, characteristic of an essential singularity. At these non-conformal points the model undergoes a discontinuous transition, with a level crossing in the ground state and a quadratic excitation spectrum. We propose the entropy as an efficient tool to determine the discontinuous or continuous nature of a phase transition also in more complicated models.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗