arXiv subjects

Harsh Nigam

Publications and source records attributed to Harsh Nigam.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Topological phases of bosons with local parity coupling on a dimerized lattice

Symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases in interacting bosonic systems have been widely explored, with many realizations emerging from the interplay of interactions, lattice geometry, and occupancy constraints. Here we investigate a dimerized bosonic lattice model with a local parity coupling and demonstrate that it supports a rich phase diagram containing topological phases at various fillings. Using density matrix renormalization group simulations, we identify two distinct topological regimes absent in the purely dimerized limit: an SPT phase at half filling stabilized by positive parity coupling and a paired-boson topological phase at unit filling, stabilized by negative parity coupling. While the latter is adiabatically connected to a trivial phase and is not symmetry protected in the conventional sense, it exhibits nontrivial topological signatures associated with paired bosons in the constrained Hilbert space. Our results establish local parity coupling as a useful framework for understanding and characterizing topological phases in one-dimensional bosonic systems.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2025

{\guillemotleft}Anticommuting{\guillemotright} $\mathbb{Z}_2$ quantum spin liquids

We discuss a class of lattice $S=\frac{1}{2}$ quantum Hamiltonians with bond-dependent Ising couplings and a mutually {\guillemotleft}anticommuting{\guillemotright} algebra of extensively many local $\mathbb{Z}_2$ conserved charges that was explicated in [arXiv:2407.06236]. This mutual algebra is reminiscent of the spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ Pauli matrix algebra but encoded in the structure of \emph{local conserved charges}. These models have finite residual entropy density in the ground state with a simple but non-trivial degeneracy counting and concomitant quantum spin liquidity as proved in [arXiv:2407.06236]. The spin liquidity relies on a geometrically site-interlinked character of the local conserved $\mathbb{Z}_2$ charges that is rather natural in presence of an {\guillemotleft}anticommuting{\guillemotright} structure, as opposed to for example the bond-interlinked character of the local conserved $\mathbb{Z}_2$ hexagonal plaquette charges of the Kitaev honeycomb spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ model which leads to a mutually commuting local algebra. In this work, we make several exact statements on the many-body order that can be present within the class of {\guillemotleft}anticommuting{\guillemotright} quantum spin liquids. We elucidate the differences between the many-body order in these models and that found in some gapped quantum spin liquids with mutually commuting local algebras, e.g. the Kitaev toric code or Levin-Wen models. We also point out a mutually commuting algebra with local support that are naturally expressed as multi-linear Majorana forms in the Kitaev representation of these quantum spin liquids. They capture non-trivial quantum resonances throughout the lattice in these {\guillemotleft}anticommuting{\guillemotright} $\mathbb{Z}_2$ quantum spin liquid Hamiltonians.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

Phases and phase transitions in a dimerized spin-$\mathbf{\frac{1}{2}}$ XXZ chain

We revisit the phase diagram of the dimerized XXZ spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ chain with nearest-neighbor couplings which was studied numerically in Phys. Rev. B 106, L201106 (2022). The model has isotropic $XY$ couplings which have a uniform value and $ZZ$ couplings which have a dimerized form, with strengths $J_a$ and $J_b$ on alternate bonds. We find a rich phase diagram in the region of positive $J_a, ~J_b$. We provide a detailed understanding of the different phases and associated quantum phase transitions using a combination of mean-field theory, low-energy effective Hamiltonians, renormalization group calculations employing the technique of bosonization, and numerical calculations using the density-matrix renormalization group (DMRG) method. The phase diagram consists of two Ising paramagnetic phases called IPM$_0$ and IPM$_\pi$, and a phase with Ising Neel order called IN; all these phases are gapped. The phases IPM$_0$ and IPM$_\pi$ are separated by a gapless phase transition line given by $0 \le J_a = J_b \le 1$ which is described by a conformal field theory with central charge $c=1$. There are two gapless phase transition lines separating IPM$_0$ from IN and IPM$_\pi$ from IN; these are described by conformal field theories with $c=\frac{1}{2}$ corresponding to quantum Ising transitions. The $c=1$ line bifurcates into the two $c=\frac{1}{2}$ lines at the point $J_a = J_b = 1$; the shape of the bifurcation is found analytically using RG calculations. A symmetry analysis shows that IPM$_0$ is a topologically trivial phase while IPM$_\pi$ is a time-reversal symmetry-protected topological phase (SPT) with spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ states at the two ends of an open system. The numerical results obtained by the DMRG method are in good agreement with the analytical results. Finally we propose experimental platforms for testing our results.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

Variational wave-functions for correlated metals

We study a set of many-body wave-functions of Fermions that are naturally written using momentum space basis and allow for quantum superposition of Fermion occupancy, $\{n_{\bf k}\}$. This {enables} us to capture the fluctuations of the Fermi-surface {(FS)} -- the singularly most important signature of a metal. We bench-mark our results in one spatial dimensions (1D) to show that these wave-functions allow for quantitative understanding of the Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid (TLL); computations of certain correlators using them can in fact be extended to larger systems sizes compared to conventional exact diagonalization (ED) allowing for a more systematic comparison with bosonization techniques. Finally we show that this basis may be useful for obtaining fixed-point wave-function for strongly correlated metals {in dimensions greater that one}. In particular, we study the case of coherent (equal) superposition of elliptical FS {in continuum (2D) and on a} square lattice{. In case of the former, our variational wave-function systematically interpolates between the phenomenology of the Fermi liquid ground state, i.e., finite single-Fermion residue at a sharp FS, to a non-Fermi liquid (NFL) with zero residue. In the NFL the jump in $\langle n_{\bf k}\rangle$ at the FS is replaced by a point of inflection (similar to a 1D TLL) whose contour is consistent with the Luttinger Theorem. In case of the square lattice, we} find highly anisotropic distribution of the quasi-particle residue, which, at finite resolution has an uncanny resemblance to the Fermi-arcs{, albeit at zero temperature,} seen in the pseudo-gap state of the cuprates.

cond-mat.str-el↗