arXiv subjects

Francisco Pérez-Bernal

Publications and source records attributed to Francisco Pérez-Bernal.

28 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2021

Speck of Chaos

It has been shown that, despite being local, a perturbation applied to a single site of the one-dimensional XXZ model is enough to bring this interacting integrable spin-1/2 system to the chaotic regime. Here, we show that this is not unique to this model, but happens also to the Ising model in a transverse field and to the spin-1 Lai-Sutherland chain. The larger the system is, the smaller the amplitude of the local perturbation for the onset of chaos. We focus on two indicators of chaos, the correlation hole, which is a dynamical tool, and the distribution of off-diagonal elements of local observables, which is used in the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis. Both methods avoid spectrum unfolding and can detect chaos even when the eigenvalues are not separated by symmetry sectors.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2020

Signatures of excited state quantum phase transitions in quantum many body systems: Phase space analysis

Using the Husimi function, we investigate the phase space signatures of the excited state quantum phase transitions (ESQPTs) in the Lipkin and coupled top models. We show that the time evolution of the Husimi function exhibits distinct behaviors between the different phases of an ESQPT and the presence of an ESQPT is signaled by the particular dynamics of the Husimi function. We also evaluate the long time averaged Husimi function and its associated marginal distributions, and discuss how to identify the signatures of ESQPT from their properties. Moreover, by exploiting the second moment and Wherl entropy of the long-time averaged Husimi function, we estimate the critical points of ESQPTs, demonstrating a good agreement with the analytical results. We thus provide further evidence that the phase space methods is a valuable tool for the studies of phase transitions and also open a new way to detect ESQPTs.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2020

Excited state quantum phase transitions in the bending spectra of molecules

We present an extension of the Hamiltonian of the two dimensional limit of the vibron model encompassing all possible interactions up to four-body operators. We apply this Hamiltonian to the modeling of the experimental bending spectrum of fourteen molecules. The bending degrees of freedom of the selected molecular species include all possible situations: linear, bent, and nonrigid equilibrium structures; demonstrating the flexibility of the algebraic approach, that allows for the consideration of utterly different physical cases with a general formalism and a single Hamiltonian. For each case, we compute predicted term values used to depict the quantum monodromy diagram, the Birge-Sponer plot, the participation ratio. We also show the bending energy functional obtained using the coherent --or intrinsic-- state formalism.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2020

Self-averaging in many-body quantum systems out of equilibrium. II. Approach to the localized phase

The self-averaging behavior of interacting many-body quantum systems has been mostly studied at equilibrium. The present work addresses what happens out of equilibrium, as the increase of the strength of onsite disorder takes the system to the localized phase. We consider two local and two non-local quantities of great experimental and theoretical interest. In the delocalized phase, self-averaging depends on the observable and on the time scale, but the picture simplifies substantially when localization is reached. In the localized phase, the local observables become self-averaging at all times, while the non-local quantities are throughout non-self-averaging. These behaviors are explained and scaling analysis are provided using the $\ell$-bits model and a toy model.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2020

Self-averaging in many-body quantum systems out of equilibrium: Chaotic systems

Despite its importance to experiments, numerical simulations, and the development of theoretical models, self-averaging in many-body quantum systems out of equilibrium remains underinvestigated. Usually, in the chaotic regime, self-averaging is taken for granted. The numerical and analytical results presented here force us to rethink these expectations. They demonstrate that self-averaging properties depend on the quantity and also on the time scale considered. We show analytically that the survival probability in chaotic systems is not self-averaging at any time scale, even when evolved under full random matrices. We also analyze the participation ratio, Rényi entropies, the spin autocorrelation function from experiments with cold atoms, and the connected spin-spin correlation function from experiments with ion traps. We find that self-averaging holds at short times for the quantities that are local in space, while at long times, self-averaging applies for quantities that are local in time. Various behaviors are revealed at intermediate time scales.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2019

Probing excited-state quantum phase transition in a quantum many body system via out-of-time-ordered correlator

As a measure of information scrambling and quantum chaos, out-of-time-ordered correlator (OTOC) plays more and more important role in many different fields of physics. In this work, we verify that the OTOC can also be used as a prober of the excited-state quantum phase transition (ESQPT) in a quantum many body system. By using the exact diagonalization method, we examine the dynamical properties of OTOC in the Lipkin model, which undergoes an ESQPT. We demonstrate that the OTOC exhibits a remarkable distinct evolution behaviors in different phases of ESQPT. Therefore, the presence of an ESQPT in the quantum many body system can be clearly signaled by the different dynamical behaviors of the OTOC. In particular, we show that the steady state value of the OTOC serves as the order parameter of the ESQPT. Our results highlight the connections between the OTOC and ESQPT, which enable one to use OTOC for experimental tests ESQPTs in quantum many body systems.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2019

Calculation of Transition State Energies in the HCN-HNC Isomerization with an Algebraic Model

Recent works have shown that the spectroscopic access to highly-excited states provides enough information to characterize transition states in isomerization reactions. Here, we show that the transition state of the bond breaking HCN-HNC isomerization reaction can also be achieved with the two-dimensional limit of the algebraic vibron model. We describe the system's bending vibration with the algebraic Hamiltonian and use its classical limit to characterize the transition state. Using either the coherent state formalism or a recently proposed approach by Baraban et al. [ Science 2015 , 350 , 1338], we obtain an accurate description of the isomerization transition state. In addition, we show that the energy level dynamics and the transition state wave function structure indicate that the spectrum in the vicinity of the isomerization saddle point can be understood in terms of the formalism for excited state quantum phase transitions.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2016

Effects of excited state quantum phase transitions on system dynamics

This work is concerned with the excited state quantum phase transitions (ESQPTs) defined in Ann.Phys. 323, 1106 (2008). In many-body models that exhibit such transitions, the ground state quantum phase transition (QPT) occurs in parallel with a singularity in the energy spectrum that propagates to higher energies as the control parameter increases beyond the QPT critical point. The analysis of the spectrum has been a main tool for the detection of these ESQPTs. Studies of the effects of this transition on the system dynamics are more limited. Here, we extend our previous works and show that the evolution of an initial state with energy close to the ESQPT critical point may be extremely slow. This result is surprising, because it may take place in systems with long-range interactions, where the dynamics is usually expected to be very fast. A timely example is the one-dimensional spin-1/2 model with infinite-range Ising interaction studied in experiments with ion traps. Its Hamiltonian has a U(2) algebraic structure. More generally, the slow dynamics described here occurs in two-level bosonic or fermionic models with pairing interactions and a U(v+1) Hamiltonian exhibiting a QPT between its limiting U(v) and SO(v+1) dynamical symmetries. In this work, we compare the results for v=1, 2, and 3.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2016

Excited-state quantum phase transitions in many-body systems with infinite-range interaction: Localization, dynamics, and bifurcation

Excited state quantum phase transitions (ESQPTs) are generalizations of quantum phase transitions (QPTs) to excited levels. They are associated with local divergences in the density of states. Here, we investigate how the presence of an ESQPT can be detected from the analysis of the structure of the Hamiltonian matrix, the level of localization of the eigenstates, the onset of bifurcation, and the speed of the system evolution. Our findings are illustrated for a Hamiltonian with infinite-range Ising interaction in a transverse field. This is a version of the Lipkin-Meshkov-Glick (LMG) model and the limiting case of the one-dimensional spin-1/2 system with tunable interactions realized with ion traps. From our studies for the dynamics, we uncover similarities between the LMG and the noninteracting XX models.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2015

Structure of eigenstates and quench dynamics at an excited state quantum phase transition

We study the structure of the eigenstates and the dynamics of a system that undergoes an excited state quantum phase transition (ESQPT). The analysis is performed for two-level pairing models characterized by a U(n+1) algebraic structure. They exhibit a second order phase transition between two limiting dynamical symmetries represented by the U(n) and SO(n+1) subalgebras. They are, or can be mapped onto, models of interacting bosons. We show that the eigenstates with energies very close to the ESQPT critical point, E_{ESQPT}, are highly localized in the U(n)-basis. Consequently, the dynamics of a system initially prepared in a U(n)-basis vector with energy close to E_{ESQPT} may be extremely slow. Signatures of an ESQPT can therefore be found in the structures of the eigenstates and in the speed of the system evolution after a sudden quench. Our findings can be tested experimentally with trapped ions.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗