arXiv subjects

Rintaro Masaoka

Publications and source records attributed to Rintaro Masaoka.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Frustration-free free fermions

We develop a general theory of frustration-free free-fermion systems and derive the necessary and sufficient conditions for such Hamiltonians. Assuming locality and translation invariance, we find that any band touching between the valence and the conduction bands is always quadratic or softer, which rules out the possibility of describing Dirac and Weyl semimetals using frustration-free local Hamiltonians. We further construct a frustration-free free-fermion model on the honeycomb lattice and show that its density fluctuations acquire an anomalous gap originating from the diverging quantum metric associated with the quadratic band-touching points. Nevertheless, an $O(1/L^2)$ finite-size scaling of the charge-neutral excitation gap can be verified even in the presence of interactions, consistent with the more general results we derive in an accompanying work [arXiv:2503.12879].

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2026

Frustration-free free fermions and beyond

Frustration-free Hamiltonians provide pivotal models for understanding quantum many-body systems. In this paper, we establish a general framework for frustration-free fermionic systems. First, we derive a necessary and sufficient condition for a free fermion model to be frustration-free. In the case of translation-invariant, noninteracting systems, we show that any band touching between the valence and conduction bands is at least quadratic. Furthermore, by extending the Gosset-Huang inequality to fermionic systems, we demonstrate that even in interacting and non-translation-invariant cases, the finite-size gap of gapless excitations scales as $O((\log L)^2/L^2)$, provided the ground-state correlation function exhibits a power-law decay. Our results provide a foundation for studying frustration-free fermionic systems, including flat-band ferromagnetism and $η$-pairing states.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2025

Rigorous lower bound on dynamical exponents in gapless frustration-free systems

This work rigorously establishes a universal lower bound $z\ge2$ for the dynamical exponent in frustration-free quantum many-body systems whose ground states exhibit power-law decaying correlations. The derivation relies on the Gosset-Huang inequality, providing a unified framework applicable across various lattice structures and spatial dimensions, independent of specific boundary conditions. Remarkably, our result can be applied to prove new bounds for dynamics of classical stochastic processes. Specifically, we utilize a well-established mapping from the time evolution of local Markov processes with detailed balance to that of frustration-free quantum Hamiltonians, known as Rokhsar-Kivelson Hamiltonians. This proves $z \ge 2$ for such Markov processes, which is an improvement over existing bounds. Beyond these applications, the quantum analysis of the $z\ge2$ bound is further broadened to include systems exhibiting hidden correlations, which may not be evident from purely local operators.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2025

$c=-2$ conformal field theory in quadratic band touching

Quadratic band touching in fermionic systems defines a universality class distinct from that of linear Dirac points, yet its characterization as a quantum critical point remains incomplete. In this work, I show that a $(d+1)$-dimensional free-fermion model with quadratic band touching exhibits spatial conformal invariance, and that its equal-time ground-state correlation functions are exactly captured by the $d$-dimensional symplectic fermion theory. I establish this correspondence by constructing explicit mappings between physical fermionic operators and the fields of the symplectic fermion theory. I further explore the implications of this correspondence in two spatial dimensions, where the symplectic fermion theory is a logarithmic conformal field theory with central charge $c=-2$. In the corresponding $(2+1)$-dimensional systems, I identify anyonic excitations originating from the underlying symplectic fermion theory, even though the Hamiltonian is gapless. Transporting these excitations along non-contractible loops generates transitions among topologically degenerate ground states, in close analogy with those in topologically ordered phases. Moreover, the action of a $2π$ rotation on these excitations is represented by a Jordan block, reflecting the logarithmic character of the associated conformal field theory.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2025

Rigorous lower bound of the dynamical critical exponent of the Ising model

We study the kinetic Ising model under Glauber dynamics and establish an upper bound on the spectral gap for finite systems. This bound implies the critical exponent inequality $z \geq 2$, thereby rigorously improving the previously known estimate $z \geq 2 - η$. Our proof relies on the mapping from stochastic processes to frustration-free quantum systems and leverages the Simon--Lieb and Gosset--Huang inequalities.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2024

Quadratic dispersion relations in gapless frustration-free systems

Recent case-by-case studies revealed that the dispersion of low energy excitations in gapless frustration-free Hamiltonians is often quadratic or softer. In this work, we argue that this is actually a general property of such systems. By combining a previous study by Bravyi and Gosset and the min-max principle, we prove this hypothesis for models with local Hilbert spaces of dimension two that contains only nearest-neighbor interactions on cubic lattice. This may be understood as a no-go theorem realizing gapless phases with linearly dispersive excitations in frustration-free Hamiltonians. We also provide examples of frustration-free Hamiltonians in which the plane-wave state of a single spin flip does not constitute low energy excitations.

cond-mat.str-el↗