arXiv subjects

Frank Pollmann

Publications and source records attributed to Frank Pollmann.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources

arXiv2019

Many-body topological invariants from randomized measurements

The classification of symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases in one dimension has been recently achieved, and had a fundamental impact in our understanding of quantum phases in condensed matter physics. In this framework, SPT phases can be identified by many-body topological invariants, which are quantized non-local correlators for the many-body wavefunction. While SPT phases can now be realized in interacting synthethic quantum systems, the direct measurement of quantized many-body topological invariants has remained so far elusive. Here, we propose measurement protocols for many-body topological invariants for all types of protecting symmetries of one-dimensional interacting bosonic systems. Our approach relies on randomized measurements implemented with local random unitaries, and can be applied to any spin system with single-site addressability and readout. Our scheme thus provides a versatile toolbox to experimentally classify interacting SPT phases.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2019

Emergent Glassy Dynamics in a Quantum Dimer Model

We consider the quench dynamics of a two-dimensional quantum dimer model and determine the role of its kinematic constraints. We interpret the non-equilibrium dynamics in terms of the underlying equilibrium phase transitions consisting of a BKT-transition between a columnar ordered valence bond solid (VBS) and a valence bond liquid (VBL), as well as a first order transition between a staggered VBS and the VBL. We find that quenches from a columnar VBS are ergodic and both order parameters and spatial correlations quickly relax to their thermal equilibrium. By contrast, the staggered side of the first order transition does not display thermalization on numerically accessible timescales. Based on the model's kinematic constraints, we uncover a mechanism of relaxation that rests on emergent, highly detuned multi-defect processes in a staggered background, which gives rise to slow, glassy dynamics at low temperatures even in the thermodynamic limit.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2019

Stable Luttinger liquids and emergent $U(1)$ symmetry in constrained quantum chains

We explore the effect of local constraints on one-dimensional bosonic and fermionic ground state phases. Motivated by recent experiments on Rydberg chains, we constrain the occupation of neighboring sites in known phases of matter. Starting from Kitaev's topological superconductor wire, we find that a soft constraint induces a stable gapless Luttinger liquid phase. While Luttinger and Fermi liquids are usually unstable to superconducting proximity effects, the constraint suppresses pair creations, allowing for an emergent $U(1)$ symmetry and gaplessness. We substantiate this intuitive picture using field theoretical and Bethe ansatz methods. In particular, in the hard constraint limit, the model is explicitly $U(1)$-symmetric and integrable. For the corresponding spin-$1/2$ chains related by a Jordan-Wigner transformation, the Luttinger liquid is stabilized by the $\mathbb Z_2$ spin flip symmetry. Longer-range constraints stabilize gapless phases even without $\mathbb Z_2$ symmetry, connecting to the seminal work by Fendley, Sengupta and Sachdev [Physical Review B 69, 075106 (2004)], clarifying how the gapless floating phase observed therein can be vastly extended.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2019

Machine learning of quantum phase transitions

Machine learning algorithms provide a new perspective on the study of physical phenomena. In this paper, we explore the nature of quantum phase transitions using multi-color convolutional neural-network (CNN) in combination with quantum Monte Carlo simulations. We propose a method that compresses $d+1$ dimensional space-time configurations to a manageable size and then use them as the input for a CNN. We test our approach on two models and show that both continuous and discontinuous quantum phase transitions can be well detected and characterized. Moreover we show that intermediate phases, which were not trained, can also be identified using our approach.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2019

Polarization Plateaus in Hexagonal Water Ice $I_h$

The protons in water ice are subject to so called \emph{ice rules} resulting in an extensive ground state degeneracy. We study how an external electric field reduces this ground state degeneracy in hexagonal water ice I$_h$ within a minimal model. We observe polarization plateaus when the field is aligned along the $[001]$ and $[010]$ directions. In each case, one plateau occurs at intermediate polarization with reduced but still extensive degeneracy. The remaining ground states can be mapped to dimer models on the honeycomb and the square lattice, respectively. Upon tilting the external field, we observe an order-disorder transition of Kasteleyn type into a plateau at saturated polarization and vanishing entropy. This transition is investigated analytically using the Kasteleyn matrix and numerically using a modified directed-loop Monte Carlo simulation. The protons in both cases exhibit algebraically decaying correlations. Moreover, the features of the static structure factor are discussed.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2019

Signatures of information scrambling in the dynamics of the entanglement spectrum

We examine the time evolution of the entanglement spectrum of a small subsystem of a non-integrable spin chain following a quench from a product state. We identify signatures in this entanglement spectrum of the distinct dynamical velocities (related to entanglement and operator spreading) that control thermalization. We show that the onset of level repulsion in the entanglement spectrum occurs on different timescales depending on the "entanglement energy", and that this dependence reflects the shape of the operator front. Level repulsion spreads across the entire entanglement spectrum on timescales close to when the mutual information between individual spins at the ends of the subsystem reaches its maximum; this timescale is much shorter than that for full thermalization of the subsystem. We provide an analytical understanding of this phenomenon and show supporting numerical data for both random unitary circuits and a microscopic Hamiltonian.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2019

Finding purifications with minimal entanglement

Purification is a tool that allows to represent mixed quantum states as pure states on enlarged Hilbert spaces. A purification of a given state is not unique and its entanglement strongly depends on the particular choice made. Moreover, in one-dimensional systems, the amount of entanglement is linked to how efficiently the purified state can be represented using matrix-product states (MPS). We introduce an MPS based method that allows to find the minimally entangled representation by iteratively minimizing the second Renyi entropy. First, we consider the thermofield double purification and show that its entanglement can be strongly reduced especially at low temperatures. Second, we show that a slowdown of the entanglement growth following a quench of an infinite temperature state is possible.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Dynamical and Topological Properties of the Kitaev Model in a [111] Magnetic Field

The Kitaev model exhibits a Quantum Spin Liquid hosting emergent fractionalized excitations. We study the Kitaev model on the honeycomb lattice coupled to a magnetic field along the [111] axis. Utilizing large scale matrix product based numerical models, we confirm three phases with transitions at different field strengths depending on the sign of the Kitaev exchange: a non-abelian topological phase at low fields, an enigmatic intermediate regime only present for antiferromagnetic Kitaev exchange, and a field-polarized phase. For the topological phase, we numerically observe the expected cubic scaling of the gap and extract the quantum dimension of the non-Abelian anyons. Furthermore, we investigate dynamical signatures of the topological and the field-polarized phase using a matrix product operator based time evolution method.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Efficient numerical simulations with Tensor Networks: Tensor Network Python (TeNPy)

Tensor product state (TPS) based methods are powerful tools to efficiently simulate quantum many-body systems in and out of equilibrium. In particular, the one-dimensional matrix-product (MPS) formalism is by now an established tool in condensed matter theory and quantum chemistry. In these lecture notes, we combine a compact review of basic TPS concepts with the introduction of a versatile tensor library for Python (TeNPy) [https://github.com/tenpy/tenpy]. As concrete examples, we consider the MPS based time-evolving block decimation and the density matrix renormalization group algorithm. Moreover, we provide a practical guide on how to implement abelian symmetries (e.g., a particle number conservation) to accelerate tensor operations.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Strong quantum interactions prevent quasiparticle decay

Quantum states of matter---such as solids, magnets and topological phases---typically exhibit collective excitations---phonons, magnons, anyons. These involve the motion of many particles in the system, yet, remarkably, act like a single emergent entity---a quasiparticle. Known to be long-lived at the lowest energies, common wisdom says that quasiparticles become unstable when they encounter the inevitable continuum of many-particle excited states at high energies. Whilst correct for weak interactions, we show that this is far from the whole story: strong interactions generically stabilise quasiparticles by pushing them out of the continuum. This general mechanism is straightforwardly illustrated in an exactly solvable model. Using state-of-the-art numerics, we find it at work also in the spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ triangular lattice Heisenberg antiferromagnet (TLHAF) near the isotropic point---this is surprising given the common expectation of magnon decay in this paradigmatic frustrated magnet. Turning to existing experimental data, we identify the detailed phenomenology of avoided decay in the TLHAF material Ba$_3$CoSb$_2$O$_9$, and even in liquid helium---one of the earliest instances of quasiparticle decay. Our work unifies various phenomena above the universal low-energy regime in a comprehensive description. This broadens our window of understanding of many-body excitations, and provides a new perspective for controlling and stabilising quantum matter in the strongly-interacting regime.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Quantum Dynamics of the Square-Lattice Heisenberg Model

Despite nearly a century of study of the $S=1/2$ Heisenberg model on the square lattice, there is still disagreement on the nature of its high-energy excitations. By tuning toward the Heisenberg model from the exactly soluble Ising limit, we find that the strongly attractive magnon interactions of the latter naturally account for a number of spectral features of the Heisenberg model. This claim is backed up both numerically and analytically. Using the density matrix renormalization group method, we obtain the dynamical structure factor for a cylindrical geometry, allowing us to continuously connect both limits. Remarkably, a semi-quantitative description of certain observed features arises already at the lowest non-trivial order in perturbation theory around the Ising limit. Moreover, our analysis uncovers that high-energy magnons are localized on a single sublattice, which is related to the entanglement properties of the ground state.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Charge excitation dynamics in bosonic fractional Chern insulators

The experimental realization of the Harper-Hofstadter model in ultra-cold atomic gases has placed fractional states of matter in these systems within reach---a fractional Chern insulator state (FCI) is expected to emerge for sufficiently strong interactions when half-filling the lowest band. The experimental setups naturally allow to probe the dynamics of this topological state, yet little is known about its out-of-equilibrium properties. We explore, using density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) simulations, the response of the FCI state to spatially localized perturbations. After confirming the static properties of the phase we show that the characteristic, gapless features are clearly visible in the edge dynamics. We find that a local edge perturbation in this model propagates chirally independent of the perturbation strength. This contrasts the behavior of single particle models with counter-propagating edge states, such as the non-interacting Harper-Hofstadter model, where the chirality is manifest only for weak perturbations. Additionally, our simulations show that there is inevitable density leakage from the first row of sites into the bulk, preventing a naive chiral Luttinger theory interpretation of the dynamics.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Quantum Spin Liquid with Even Ising Gauge Field Structure on Kagome Lattice

Employing large-scale quantum Monte Carlo simulations, we study the extended $XXZ$ model on the kagome lattice. A $\mathbb Z_2$ quantum spin liquid phase with effective even Ising gauge field structure emerges from the delicate balance among three symmetry-breaking phases including stripe solid, staggered solid and ferromagnet. This $\mathbb{Z}_2$ spin liquid is stabilized by an extended interaction related to the Rokhsar-Kivelson potential in the quantum dimer model limit. The phase transitions from the staggered solid to a spin liquid or ferromagnet are found to be first order and so is the transition between the stripe solid and ferromagnet. However, the transition between a spin liquid and ferromagnet is found to be continuous and belongs to the 3D $XY^*$ universality class associated with the condensation of spinons. The transition between a spin liquid and stripe solid appears to be continuous and associated with the condensation of visons.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Diffusive hydrodynamics of out-of-time-ordered correlators with charge conservation

The scrambling of quantum information in closed many-body systems, as measured by out-of-time-ordered correlation functions (OTOCs), has lately received considerable attention. Recently, a hydrodynamical description of OTOCs has emerged from considering random local circuits, aspects of which are conjectured to be universal to ergodic many-body systems, even without randomness. Here we extend this approach to systems with locally conserved quantities (e.g., energy). We do this by considering local random unitary circuits with a conserved U$(1)$ charge and argue, with numerical and analytical evidence, that the presence of a conservation law slows relaxation in both time ordered {\textit{and}} out-of-time-ordered correlation functions, both can have a diffusively relaxing component or "hydrodynamic tail" at late times. We verify the presence of such tails also in a deterministic, peridocially driven system. We show that for OTOCs, the combination of diffusive and ballistic components leads to a wave front with a specific, asymmetric shape, decaying as a power law behind the front. These results also explain existing numerical investigations in non-noisy ergodic systems with energy conservation. Moreover, we consider OTOCs in Gibbs states, parametrized by a chemical potential $μ$, and apply perturbative arguments to show that for $μ\gg 1$ the ballistic front of information-spreading can only develop at times exponentially large in $μ$ -- with the information traveling diffusively at earlier times. We also develop a new formalism for describing OTOCs and operator spreading, which allows us to interpret the saturation of OTOCs as a form of thermalization on the Hilbert space of operators.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2018

Detection and characterization of Many-Body Localization in Central Spin Models

We analyze a disordered central spin model, where a central spin interacts equally with each spin in a periodic one dimensional random-field Heisenberg chain. If the Heisenberg chain is initially in the many-body localized (MBL) phase, we find that the coupling to the central spin suffices to delocalize the chain for a substantial range of coupling strengths. We calculate the phase diagram of the model and identify the phase boundary between the MBL and ergodic phase. Within the localized phase, the central spin significantly enhances the rate of the logarithmic entanglement growth and its saturation value. We attribute the increase in entanglement entropy to a non-extensive enhancement of magnetization fluctuations induced by the central spin. Finally, we demonstrate that correlation functions of the central spin can be utilized to distinguish between MBL and ergodic phases of the 1D chain. Hence, we propose the use of a central spin as a possible experimental probe to identify the MBL phase.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2018

Detecting equilibrium and dynamical quantum phase transitions in Ising chains via out-of-time-ordered correlators

Out-of-time-ordered (OTO) correlators have developed into a central concept quantifying quantum information transport, information scrambling and quantum chaos. In this work we show that such OTO correlator can also be used to dynamically detect equilibrium as well as nonequilibrium phase transitions in Ising chains. We study OTO correlators of an order parameter both in equilibrium and after a quantum quench for different variants of transverse-field Ising models in one dimension, including the integrable one as well as non-integrable and long-range extensions. We find for all the studied models that the OTO correlator in ground states detects the quantum phase transition. After a quantum quench from a fully polarized state we observe numerically for the short-range models that the asymptotic long-time value of the OTO correlator signals still the equilibrium critical points and ordered phases. For the long-range extension, the OTO correlator instead determines a dynamical quantum phase transition in the model. We discuss how our findings can be observed in current experiments of trapped ions or Rydberg atoms.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Continuous easy-plane deconfined phase transition on the kagome lattice

We use large scale quantum Monte-Carlo simulations to study an extended Hubbard model of hardcore bosons on the kagome lattice. In the limit of strong nearest-neighbor interactions at 1/3 filling, the interplay between frustration and quantum fluctuations leads to a valence bond solid ground state. The system undergoes a quantum phase transition to a superfluid phase as the interaction strength is decreased. It is still under debate whether the transition is weakly first order or represents an unconventional continuous phase transition. We present a theory in terms of an easy-plane NCCP$^1$ gauge theory describing the phase transition at 1/3 filling. Utilizing large scale quantum Monte-Carlo simulations with parallel tempering in the canonical ensemble up to 15552 spins, we provide evidence that the phase transition is continuous at exactly 1/3 filling. A careful finite size scaling analysis reveals an unconventional scaling behavior hinting at deconfined quantum criticality.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Boson condensation and instability in the tensor network representation of string-net states

The tensor network representation of many-body quantum states, given by local tensors, provides a promising numerical tool for the study of strongly correlated topological phases in two dimension. However, tensor network representations may be vulnerable to instabilities caused by small perturbations of the local tensor, especially when the local tensor is not injective. For example, the topological order in tensor network representations of the toric code ground state has been shown to be unstable under certain small variations of the local tensor, if these small variations do not obey a local $Z_2$ symmetry of the tensor. In this paper, we ask the questions of whether other types of topological orders suffer from similar kinds of instability and if so, what is the underlying physical mechanism and whether we can protect the order by enforcing certain symmetries on the tensor. We answer these questions by showing that the tensor network representation of all string-net models are indeed unstable, but the matrix product operator (MPO) symmetries of the local tensor can help to protect the order. We find that, `stand-alone' variations that break the MPO symmetries lead to instability because they induce the condensation of bosonic quasi-particles and destroy the topological order in the system. Therefore, such variations must be forbidden for the encoded topological order to be reliably extracted from the local tensor. On the other hand, if a tensor network based variational algorithm is used to simulate the phase transition due to boson condensation, then such variation directions must be allowed in order to access the continuous phase transition process correctly.

cond-mat.str-el↗