arXiv subjects

Massimo Moscolari

Publications and source records attributed to Massimo Moscolari.

17 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

On the magnetic perturbation theory for Chern insulators

The gauge covariant magnetic perturbation theory is tailored for one-body Schr\"odinger operators perturbed by long-range magnetic fields. In this work we present a self-contained exposition of the method, by outlining its technical foundations and discussing the physical heuristics behind the proofs. We apply it in order to prove the stability of spectral gaps and to study the location of the discrete spectrum. We also analyze the (lack of) continuity with respect to the magnetic field of spectral projections corresponding to finite spectral islands, which is a particularly important situation for systems modelling Chern insulators. Finally, we show how to construct approximate projections that have an explicit dependence with respect to the magnetic field parameter.

math-ph↗

arXiv2024

Computing the spectrum and pseudospectrum of infinite-volume operators from local patches

We show how the spectrum of normal discrete short-range infinite-volume operators can be approximated with two-sided error control using only data from finite-sized local patches. As a corollary, we prove the computability of the spectrum of such infinite-volume operators with the additional property of finite local complexity and provide an explicit algorithm. Such operators appear in many applications, e.g. as discretizations of differential operators on unbounded domains or as so-called tight-binding Hamiltonians in solid state physics. For a large class of such operators, our result allows for the first time to establish computationally also the absence of spectrum, i.e. the existence and the size of spectral gaps. We extend our results to the $\varepsilon$-pseudospectrum of non-normal operators, proving that also the pseudospectrum of such operators is computable.

math.SP↗

arXiv2024

Equality of magnetization and edge current for interacting lattice fermions at positive temperature

We prove that the magnetization is equal to the edge current in the thermodynamic limit for a large class of models of lattice fermions with finite-range interactions satisfying local indistinguishability of the Gibbs state, a condition known to hold for sufficiently high temperatures. Our result implies that edge currents in such systems are determined by bulk properties and are therefore stable against large perturbations near the boundaries. Moreover, the equality persists also after taking the derivative with respect to the chemical potential. We show that this form of bulk-edge correspondence is essentially a consequence of homogeneity in the bulk and locality of the Gibbs state. An important intermediate result is a new version of Bloch's theorem for two-dimensional systems, stating that persistent currents vanish in the bulk.

math-ph↗

arXiv2023

Ultra-generalized Wannier bases: Are they relevant to topological transport?

We generalize Prodan's construction of radially localized generalized Wannier bases [E. Prodan, On the generalized Wannier functions. J. Math. Phys. 56(11), 113511 (2015)] to gapped quantum systems without time-reversal symmetry, including in particular magnetic Schr\"odinger operators, and we prove some basic properties of such bases. We investigate whether this notion might be relevant to topological transport by considering the explicitly solvable case of the Landau operator.

math-ph↗

arXiv2023

From decay of correlations to locality and stability of the Gibbs state

We show that whenever the Gibbs state of a quantum spin system satisfies decay of correlations, then it is stable, in the sense that local perturbations affect the Gibbs state only locally, and it satisfies local indistinguishability, i.e. it exhibits local insensitivity to system size. These implications hold in any dimension, require only locality of the Hamiltonian, and are based on Lieb-Robinson bounds and on a detailed analysis of the locality properties of the quantum belief propagation for Gibbs states. To demonstrate the versatility of our approach, we explicitly apply our results to several physically relevant models in which the decay of correlations is either known to hold or is proved by us. These include Gibbs states of one-dimensional spin chains with polynomially decaying interactions at any temperature, and high-temperature Gibbs states of quantum spin systems with finite-range interactions in any dimension. We also prove exponential decay of correlations above a threshold temperature for Gibbs states of one-dimensional finite spin chains with translation-invariant and exponentially decaying interactions, and then apply our general results.

math-ph↗

arXiv2022

Bulk-edge correspondence for unbounded Dirac-Landau operators

We consider two-dimensional unbounded magnetic Dirac operators, either defined on the whole plane, or with infinite mass boundary conditions on a half-plane. Our main results use techniques from elliptic PDEs and integral operators, while their topological consequences are presented as corollaries of some more general identities involving magnetic derivatives of local traces of fast decaying functions of the bulk and edge operators. One of these corollaries leads to the so-called St\v{r}eda formula: if the bulk operator has an isolated compact spectral island, then the integrated density of states of the corresponding bulk spectral projection varies linearly with the magnetic field as long as the gaps between the spectral island and the rest of the spectrum are not closed, and the slope of this variation is given by the Chern character of the projection. The same bulk Chern character is related to the number of edge states which appear in the gaps of the bulk operator.

math-ph↗

arXiv2022

Finding spectral gaps in quasicrystals

We present an algorithm for reliably and systematically proving the existence of spectral gaps in Hamiltonians with quasicrystalline order, based on numerical calculations on finite domains. We apply this algorithm to prove that the Hofstadter model on the Ammann-Beenker tiling of the plane has spectral gaps at certain energies, and we are able to prove the existence of a spectral gap where previous numerical results were inconclusive. Our algorithm is applicable to more general systems with finite local complexity and eventually finds all gaps, circumventing an earlier no-go theorem regarding the computability of spectral gaps for general Hamiltonians.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2022

Regularity properties of bulk and edge current densities at positive temperature

We consider magnetic Schr\"odinger operators describing a quantum Hall effect setup both in the plane and in the half-plane. First, we study the structure and smoothness of the operator range of various powers of the half-plane resolvent. Second, we provide a complete analysis of the diamagnetic current density at positive temperature: we prove that bulk and edge current densities are smooth functions and we show that the edge current density converges to the bulk current density faster than any polynomial in the inverse distance from the boundary. Our proofs are based on gauge covariant magnetic perturbation theory and on a detailed analysis of the integral kernels of functions of magnetic Schr\"odinger operators on the half-plane.

math-ph↗

arXiv2021

From orbital magnetism to bulk-edge correspondence

By extending the gauge covariant magnetic perturbation theory to operators defined on half-planes, we prove that for $2d$ random ergodic magnetic Schr\"odinger operators, the zero-temperature bulk-edge correspondence can be obtained from a general bulk-edge duality at positive temperature involving the bulk magnetization and the total edge current. Our main result is encapsulated in a formula, which states that the derivative of a large class of bulk partition functions with respect to the external constant magnetic field, equals the expectation of a corresponding edge distribution function of the velocity component which is parallel to the edge. Neither spectral gaps, nor mobility gaps, nor topological arguments are required. The equality between the bulk and edge indices, as stated by the conventional bulk-edge correspondence, is obtained as a corollary of our purely analytical arguments by imposing a gap condition and by taking a ``zero-temperature" limit.

math-ph↗

arXiv2020

Localization of generalized Wannier bases implies Chern triviality in non-periodic insulators

We investigate the relation between the localization of generalized Wannier bases and the topological properties of two-dimensional gapped quantum systems of independent electrons in a disordered background, including magnetic fields, as in the case of Chern insulators and quantum Hall systems. We prove that the existence of a well-localized generalized Wannier basis for the Fermi projection implies the vanishing of the Chern character, which is proportional to the Hall conductivity in the linear response regime. Moreover, we state a localization dichotomy conjecture for general non-periodic gapped quantum systems.

math-ph↗

arXiv2020

St\v{r}eda formula for charge and spin currents

We consider a 2-dimensional Bloch--Landau--Pauli Hamiltonian for a spinful electron in a constant magnetic field subject to a periodic background potential. Assuming that the $z$-component of the spin operator is conserved, we compute the linear response of the associated spin density of states to a small change in the magnetic field, and identify it with the spin Hall conductivity. This response is in the form of a spin Chern marker, which is in general quantized to a half-integer, and to an integer under the further assumption of time-reversal symmetry. Our result is thus a generalization to the context of the quantum spin Hall effect to the well-known formula by St\v{r}eda, which is formulated instead for charge transport.

math-ph↗

arXiv2019

The Geometry of (non-Abelian) Landau levels

The purpose of this paper is threefold: First of all the topological aspects of the Landau Hamiltonian are reviewed in the light (and with the jargon) of theory of topological insulators. In particular it is shown that the Landau Hamiltonian has a generalized even time-reversal symmetry (TRS). Secondly, a new tool for the computation of the topological numbers associated with each Landau level is introduced. The latter is obtained by combining the Dixmier trace and the (resolvent of the) harmonic oscillator. Finally, these results are extended to models with non-Abelian magnetic fields. Two models are investigated in details: the Jaynes-Cummings model and the "Quaternionic" model.

math-ph↗

arXiv2019

The Haldane model and its localization dichotomy

Gapped periodic quantum systems exhibit an interesting Localization Dichotomy, which emerges when one looks at the localization of the optimally localized Wannier functions associated to the Bloch bands below the gap. As recently proved, either these Wannier functions are exponentially localized, as it happens whenever the Hamiltonian operator is time-reversal symmetric, or they are delocalized in the sense that the expectation value of $|\mathbf{x}|^2$ diverges. Intermediate regimes are forbidden. Following the lesson of our Maestro, to whom this contribution is gratefully dedicated, we find useful to explain this subtle mathematical phenomenon in the simplest possible model, namely the discrete model proposed by Haldane (Phys. Rev. Lett. 61, 2017 (1988)). We include a pedagogical introduction to the model and we explain its Localization Dichotomy by explicit analytical arguments. We then introduce the reader to the more general, model-independent version of the dichotomy proved in (Commun. Math. Phys. 359, 61-100 (2018)), and finally we announce further generalizations to non-periodic models.

math-ph↗

arXiv2019

Spectral and scattering theory of one-dimensional coupled photonic crystals

We study the spectral and scattering theory of light transmission in a system consisting of two asymptotically periodic waveguides, also known as one-dimensional photonic crystals, coupled by a junction. Using analyticity techniques and commutator methods in a two-Hilbert spaces setting, we determine the nature of the spectrum and prove the existence and completeness of the wave operators of the system.

math-ph↗

arXiv2019

Symmetry and localization for magnetic Schroedinger operators: Landau levels, Gabor frames and all that

We investigate the relation between broken time-reversal symmetry and localization of the electronic states, in the explicitly tractable case of the Landau model. We first review, for the reader's convenience, the symmetries of the Landau Hamiltonian and the relation of the latter with the Segal-Bargmann representation of Quantum Mechanics. We then study the localization properties of the Landau eigenstates by applying an abstract version of the Balian-Low Theorem to the operators corresponding to the coordinates of the centre of the cyclotron orbit in the classical theory. Our proof of the Balian-Low Theorem, although based on Battle's main argument, has the advantage of being representation-independent.

math-ph↗

arXiv2018

Beyond Diophantine Wannier diagrams: Gap labelling for Bloch-Landau Hamiltonians

It is well known that, given a $2d$ purely magnetic Landau Hamiltonian with a constant magnetic field $b$ which generates a magnetic flux $\varphi$ per unit area, then any spectral island $\sigma_b$ consisting of $M$ infinitely degenerate Landau levels carries an integrated density of states $\mathcal{I}_b=M \varphi$. Wannier later discovered a similar Diophantine relation expressing the integrated density of states of a gapped group of bands of the Hofstadter Hamiltonian as a linear function of the magnetic field flux with integer slope. We extend this result to a gap labelling theorem for any $2d$ Bloch-Landau operator $H_b$ which also has a bounded $\mathbb{Z}^2$-periodic electric potential. Assume that $H_b$ has a spectral island $\sigma_b$ which remains isolated from the rest of the spectrum as long as $\varphi$ lies in a compact interval $[\varphi_1,\varphi_2]$. Then $\mathcal{I}_b=c_0+c_1\varphi$ on such intervals, where the constant $c_0\in \mathbb{Q}$ while $c_1\in \mathbb{Z}$. The integer $c_1$ is the Chern marker of the spectral projection onto the spectral island $\sigma_b$. This result also implies that the Fermi projection on $\sigma_b$, albeit continuous in $b$ in the strong topology, is nowhere continuous in the norm topology if either $c_1\ne0$ or $c_1=0$ and $\varphi$ is rational. Our proofs, otherwise elementary, do not use non-commutative geometry but are based on gauge covariant magnetic perturbation theory which we briefly review for the sake of the reader. Moreover, our method allows us to extend the analysis to certain non-covariant systems having slowly varying magnetic fields.

math-ph↗

arXiv2017

Parseval frames of exponentially localized magnetic Wannier functions

Motivated by the analysis of gapped periodic quantum systems in presence of a uniform magnetic field in dimension $d \le 3$, we study the possibility to construct spanning sets of exponentially localized (generalized) Wannier functions for the space of occupied states. When the magnetic flux per unit cell satisfies a certain rationality condition, by going to the momentum-space description one can model $m$ occupied energy bands by a real-analytic and $\mathbb Z^{d}$-periodic family $\{P({\bf k})\}_{{\bf k} \in \mathbb R^{d}}$ of orthogonal projections of rank $m$. A moving orthonormal basis of $\mathrm{Ran} P({\bf k})$ consisting of real-analytic and $\mathbb Z^d$-periodic Bloch vectors can be constructed if and only if the first Chern number(s) of $P$ vanish(es). Here we are mainly interested in the topologically obstructed case. First, by dropping the generating condition, we show how to algorithmically construct a collection of $m-1$ orthonormal, real-analytic, and periodic Bloch vectors. Second, by dropping the linear independence condition, we construct a Parseval frame of $m+1$ real-analytic and periodic Bloch vectors which generate $\mathrm{Ran} P({\bf k})$. Both algorithms are based on a two-step logarithm method which produces a moving orthonormal basis in the topologically trivial case. A moving Parseval frame of analytic, periodic Bloch vectors corresponds to a Parseval frame of exponentially localized composite Wannier functions. We extend this construction to the case of magnetic Hamiltonians with an irrational magnetic flux per unit cell and show how to produce Parseval frames of exponentially localized generalized Wannier functions also in this setting. Our results are illustrated in crystalline insulators modelled by $2d$ discrete Hofstadter-like Hamiltonians, but apply to certain continuous models of magnetic Schr\"{o}dinger operators as well.

math-ph↗