arXiv subjects

Paul Fendley

Publications and source records attributed to Paul Fendley.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2019

Free fermions in disguise

I solve a quantum chain whose Hamiltonian is comprised solely of local four-fermi operators by constructing free-fermion raising and lowering operators. The free-fermion operators are both non-local and highly non-linear in the local fermions. This construction yields the complete spectrum of the Hamiltonian and an associated classical transfer matrix. The spatially uniform system is gapless with dynamical critical exponent z=3/2, while staggering the couplings gives a more conventional free-fermion model with an Ising transition. The Hamiltonian is equivalent to that of a spin-1/2 chain with next-nearest-neighbour interactions, and has a supersymmetry generated by a sum of fermion trilinears. The supercharges are part of a large non-abelian symmetry algebra that results in exponentially large degeneracies. The model is integrable for either open or periodic boundary conditions but the free-fermion construction only works for the former, while for the latter the extended symmetry is broken and the degeneracies split.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2018

Lattice supersymmetry and order-disorder coexistence in the tricritical Ising model

We introduce and analyze a quantum spin/Majorana chain with a tricritical Ising point separating a critical phase from a gapped phase with order-disorder coexistence. We show that supersymmetry is not only an emergent property of the scaling limit, but manifests itself on the lattice. Namely, we find explicit lattice expressions for the supersymmetry generators and currents. Writing the Hamiltonian in terms of these generators allows us to find the ground states exactly at a frustration-free coupling. These confirm the coexistence between two (topologically) ordered ground states and a disordered one in the gapped phase. Deforming the model by including explicit chiral symmetry breaking, we find the phases persist up to an unusual chiral phase transition where the supersymmetry becomes exact even on the lattice.

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arXiv2017

Prethermal Strong Zero Modes and Topological Qubits

We prove that quantum information encoded in some topological excitations, including certain Majorana zero modes, is protected in closed systems for a time scale exponentially long in system parameters. This protection holds even at infinite temperature. At lower temperatures the decay time becomes even longer, with a temperature dependence controlled by an effective gap that is parametrically larger than the actual energy gap of the system. This non-equilibrium dynamical phenomenon is a form of prethermalization, and occurs because of obstructions to the equilibriation of edge or defect degrees of freedom with the bulk. We analyze the ramifications for ordered and topological phases in one, two, and three dimensions, with examples including Majorana and parafermionic zero modes in interacting spin chains. Our results are based on a non-perturbative analysis valid in any dimension, and they are illustrated by numerical simulations in one dimension. We discuss the implications for experiments on quantum-dot chains tuned into a regime supporting end Majorana zero modes, and on trapped ion chains.

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arXiv2017

Deconfinement transitions in a generalised XY model

We find the complete phase diagram of a generalised XY model that includes half-vortices. The model possesses superfluid, pair-superfluid and disordered phases, separated by Kosterlitz-Thouless (KT) transitions for both the half-vortices and ordinary vortices, as well as an Ising-type transition. There also occurs an unusual deconfining phase transition, where the disordered to superfluid transition is of Ising rather than KT type. We show by analytical arguments and extensive numerical simulations that there is a point in the phase diagram where the KT transition line meets the deconfining Ising phase transition. We find that the latter extends into the disordered phase not as a phase transition, but rather solely as a deconfinement transition. It is best understood in the dual height model, where on one side of the transition height steps are bound into pairs while on the other they are unbound. We also extend the phase diagram of the dual model, finding both O(2) loop model and antiferromagnetic Ising transitions.

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arXiv2017

Long coherence times for edge spins

We show that in certain one-dimensional spin chains with open boundary conditions, the edge spins retain memory of their initial state for very long times. The long coherence times do not require disorder, only an ordered phase. In the integrable Ising and XYZ chains, the presence of a strong zero mode means the coherence time is infinite, even at infinite temperature. When Ising is perturbed by interactions breaking the integrability, the coherence time remains exponentially long in the perturbing couplings. We show that this is a consequence of an edge "almost" strong zero mode that almost commutes with the Hamiltonian. We compute this operator explicitly, allowing us to estimate accurately the plateau value of edge spin autocorrelator.

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arXiv2016

Condensation-Driven Phase Transitions in Perturbed String Nets

We develop methods to probe the excitation spectrum of topological phases of matter in two spatial dimensions. Applying these to the Fibonacci string nets perturbed away from exact solvability, we analyze a topological phase transition driven by the condensation of non-Abelian anyons. Our numerical results illustrate how such phase transitions involve the spontaneous breaking of a topological symmetry, generalizing the traditional Landau paradigm. The main technical tool is the characterization of the ground states using tensor networks and the topological properties using matrix-product-operator symmetries. The topological phase transition manifests itself by symmetry breaking in the entanglement degrees of freedom of the quantum transfer matrix.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Topological Defects on the Lattice I: The Ising model

In this paper and its sequel, we construct topologically invariant defects in two-dimensional classical lattice models and quantum spin chains. We show how defect lines commute with the transfer matrix/Hamiltonian when they obey the defect commutation relations, cousins of the Yang-Baxter equation. These relations and their solutions can be extended to allow defect lines to branch and fuse, again with properties depending only on topology. In this part I, we focus on the simplest example, the Ising model. We define lattice spin-flip and duality defects and their branching, and prove they are topological. One useful consequence is a simple implementation of Kramers-Wannier duality on the torus and higher genus surfaces by using the fusion of duality defects. We use these topological defects to do simple calculations that yield exact properties of the conformal field theory describing the continuum limit. For example, the shift in momentum quantization with duality-twisted boundary conditions yields the conformal spin 1/16 of the chiral spin field. Even more strikingly, we derive the modular transformation matrices explicitly and exactly.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2015

Strong zero modes and eigenstate phase transitions in the XYZ/interacting Majorana chain

I explicitly construct a strong zero mode in the XYZ chain or, equivalently, Majorana wires coupled via a four-fermion interaction. The strong zero mode is an operator that pairs states in different symmetry sectors, resulting in identical spectra up to exponentially small finite-size corrections. Such pairing occurs in the Ising/Majorana fermion chain and possibly in parafermionic systems and strongly disordered many-body localized phases. The proof here shows that the strong zero mode occurs in a clean interacting system, and that it possesses some remarkable structure -- despite being a rather elaborate operator, it squares to the identity. Eigenstate phase transitions separate regions with different types of pairing.

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arXiv2015

Topological phases with parafermions: theory and blueprints

We concisely review the recent evolution in the study of parafermions -- exotic emergent excitations that generalize Majorana fermions and similarly underpin a host of novel phenomena. First we illustrate the intimate connection between Z_3-symmetric "spin" chains and one-dimensional parafermion lattice models, highlighting how the latter host a topological phase featuring protected edge zero modes. We then tour several blueprints for the laboratory realization of parafermion zero modes -- focusing on quantum Hall/superconductor hybrids, quantum Hall bilayers, and two-dimensional topological insulators -- and describe striking experimental fingerprints that they provide. Finally, we discuss how coupled parafermion arrays in quantum Hall architectures yield topological phases that potentially furnish hardware for a universal, intrinsically decoherence-free quantum computer.

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arXiv2014

Stability of zero modes in parafermion chains

One-dimensional topological phases can host localized zero-energy modes that enable high-fidelity storage and manipulation of quantum information. Majorana fermion chains support a classic example of such a phase, having zero modes that guarantee two-fold degeneracy in all eigenstates up to exponentially small finite-size corrections. Chains of `parafermions'---generalized Majorana fermions---also support localized zero modes, but, curiously, only under much more restricted circumstances. We shed light on the enigmatic zero mode stability in parafermion chains by analytically and numerically studying the spectrum and developing an intuitive physical picture in terms of domain-wall dynamics. Specifically, we show that even if the system resides in a gapped topological phase with an exponentially accurate ground-state degeneracy, higher-energy states can exhibit a splitting that scales as a power law with system size---categorically ruling out exact localized zero modes. The transition to power-law behavior is described by critical behavior appearing exclusively within excited states.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2014

Parafermionic conformal field theory on the lattice

Finding the precise correspondence between lattice operators and the continuum fields that describe their long-distance properties is a largely open problem for strongly interacting critical points. Here we solve this problem essentially completely in the case of the three-state Potts model, which exhibits a phase transition described by a strongly interacting 'parafermion' conformal field theory. Using symmetry arguments, insights from integrability, and extensive simulations, we construct lattice analogues of nearly all the relevant and marginal physical fields governing this transition. This construction includes chiral fields such as the parafermion. Along the way we also clarify the structure of operator product expansions between order and disorder fields, which we confirm numerically. Our results both suggest a systematic methodology for attacking non-free field theories on the lattice and find broader applications in the pursuit of exotic topologically ordered phases of matter.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2014

Geometric mutual information at classical critical points

A practical use of the entanglement entropy in a 1d quantum system is to identify the conformal field theory describing its critical behavior. It is exactly $(c/3)\ln \ell$ for an interval of length $\ell$ in an infinite system, where $c$ is the central charge of the conformal field theory. Here we define the geometric mutual information, an analogous quantity for classical critical points. We compute this for 2d conformal field theories in an arbitrary geometry, and show in particular that for a rectangle cut into two rectangles, it is proportional to $c$. This makes it possible to extract $c$ in classical simulations, which we demonstrate for the critical Ising and 3-state Potts models.

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arXiv2014

Corner contribution to the entanglement entropy of an O(3) quantum critical point in 2+1 dimensions

The entanglement entropy for a quantum critical system across a boundary with a corner exhibits a sub-leading logarithmic scaling term with a scale-invariant coefficient. Using a Numerical Linked Cluster Expansion, we calculate this universal quantity for a square-lattice bilayer Heisenberg model at its quantum critical point. We find, for this 2+1 dimensional O(3) universality class, that it is thrice the value calculated previously for the Ising universality class. This relation gives substantial evidence that this coefficient provides a measure of the number of degrees of freedom of the theory, analogous to the central charge in a 1+1 dimensional conformal field theory.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2013

Fibonacci topological order from quantum nets

We analyze a model of quantum nets and show it has non-abelian topological order of doubled Fibonacci type. The ground state has the same topological behavior as that of the corresponding string-net model, but our Hamiltonian can be defined on any lattice, has less complicated interactions, and its excitations are dynamical, not fixed. This Hamiltonian includes terms acting on the spins around a face, around a vertex, and special "Jones-Wenzl" terms that serve to couple long loops together. We provide strong evidence for a gap by exact diagonalization, completing the list of ingredients necessary for topological order.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2013

Free parafermions

The spectrum of the quantum Ising chain can be found by expressing the spins in terms of free fermions. An analogous transformation exists for clock chains with $Z_n$ symmetry, but is of less use because the resulting parafermionic operators remain interacting. Nonetheless, Baxter showed that a certain non-hermitian (but PT-symmetric) clock Hamiltonian is "free", in the sense that the entire spectrum is found in terms of independent energy levels, with the striking feature that there are $n$ possibilities for occupying each level. Here I show this directly explicitly finding shift operators obeying a $Z_n$ generalization of the Clifford algebra. I also find higher Hamiltonians that commute with Baxter's and prove their spectrum comes from the same set of energy levels. This thus provides an explicit notion of a "free parafermion". A byproduct is an elegant method for the solution of the Ising/Kitaev chain with spatially varying couplings.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2013

Universal topological quantum computation from a superconductor/Abelian quantum Hall heterostructure

Non-Abelian anyons promise to reveal spectacular features of quantum mechanics that could ultimately provide the foundation for a decoherence-free quantum computer. A key breakthrough in the pursuit of these exotic particles originated from Read and Green's observation that the Moore-Read quantum Hall state and a (relatively simple) two-dimensional p+ip superconductor both support so-called Ising non-Abelian anyons. Here we establish a similar correspondence between the Z_3 Read-Rezayi quantum Hall state and a novel two-dimensional superconductor in which charge-2e Cooper pairs are built from fractionalized quasiparticles. In particular, both phases harbor Fibonacci anyons that---unlike Ising anyons---allow for universal topological quantum computation solely through braiding. Using a variant of Teo and Kane's construction of non-Abelian phases from weakly coupled chains, we provide a blueprint for such a superconductor using Abelian quantum Hall states interlaced with an array of superconducting islands. Fibonacci anyons appear as neutral deconfined particles that lead to a two-fold ground-state degeneracy on a torus. In contrast to a p+ip superconductor, vortices do not yield additional particle types yet depending on non-universal energetics can serve as a trap for Fibonacci anyons. These results imply that one can, in principle, combine well-understood and widely available phases of matter to realize non-Abelian anyons with universal braid statistics. Numerous future directions are discussed, including speculations on alternative realizations with fewer experimental requirements.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2013

Entanglement in gapless resonating valence bond states

We study resonating-valence-bond (RVB) states on the square lattice of spins and of dimers, as well as SU(N)-invariant states that interpolate between the two. These states are ground states of gapless models, although the SU(2)-invariant spin RVB state is also believed to be a gapped liquid in its spinful sector. We show that the gapless behavior in spin and dimer RVB states is qualitatively similar by studying the Rényi entropy for splitting a torus into two cylinders, We compute this exactly for dimers, showing it behaves similarly to the familiar one-dimensional log term, although not identically. We extend the exact computation to an effective theory believed to interpolate among these states. By numerical calculations for the SU(2) RVB state and its SU(N)-invariant generalizations, we provide further support for this belief. We also show how the entanglement entropy behaves qualitatively differently for different values of the Rényi index $n$, with large values of $n$ proving a more sensitive probe here, by virtue of exhibiting a striking even/odd effect.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2012

Exactly Solvable Lattice Models with Crossing Symmetry

We show how to compute the exact partition function for lattice statistical-mechanical models whose Boltzmann weights obey a special "crossing" symmetry. The crossing symmetry equates partition functions on different trivalent graphs, allowing a transformation to a graph where the partition function is easily computed. The simplest example is counting the number of nets without ends on the honeycomb lattice, including a weight per branching. Other examples include an Ising model on the Kagome' lattice with three-spin interactions, dimers on any graph of corner-sharing triangles, and non-crossing loops on the honeycomb lattice, where multiple loops on each edge are allowed. We give several methods for obtaining models with this crossing symmetry, one utilizing discrete groups and another anyon fusion rules. We also present results indicating that for models which deviate slightly from having crossing symmetry, a real-space decimation (renormalization-group-like) procedure restores the crossing symmetry.

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