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Romain Vasseur

Publications and source records attributed to Romain Vasseur.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
arXiv2017

Entanglement Entropy in Excited States of the Quantum Lifshitz Model

We investigate the entanglement properties of an infinite class of excited states in the quantum Lifshitz model (QLM). The presence of a conformal quantum critical point in the QLM makes it unusually tractable for a model above one spatial dimension, enabling the ground state entanglement entropy for an arbitrary domain to be expressed in terms of geometrical and topological quantities. Here we extend this result to excited states and find that the entanglement can be naturally written in terms of quantities which we dub "entanglement propagator amplitudes" (EPAs). EPAs are geometrical probabilities that we explicitly calculate and interpret. A comparison of lattice and continuum results demonstrates that EPAs are universal. This work shows that the QLM is an example of a 2+1d field theory where the universal behavior of excited-state entanglement may be computed analytically.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗
arXiv2017

Non-scalar operators for the Potts model in arbitrary dimension

We investigate the operator content of the Q-state Potts model in arbitrary dimension, using the representation theory of the symmetric group. In particular we construct all possible tensors acting on N spins, corresponding to given symmetries under $S_Q$ and $S_N$, in terms of representations involving any Young diagram. These operators transform non-trivially under the group of spatial rotations, with a definite conformal spin. The two-point correlation functions are then computed, and their physical interpretation is given in terms of Fortuin-Kasteleyn clusters propagating between two neighbourhoods of each N spins. In two dimensions, we obtain analytically the critical exponent corresponding to each operator. In the simplest and physically most relevant cases, we confirm the values of the critical exponent and the conformal spin by numerical measurements, using both Monte Carlo simulations and transfer matrix diagonalisations. Our classification partially provides the structure of Jordan cells of the dilatation operator in arbitrary dimensions, which in turn gives rise to logarithmic correlation functions.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗
arXiv2017

Healing of Defects in Random Antiferromagnetic Spin Chains

We study the effects of a weakened link in random antiferromagnetic spin chains. We show that healing occurs, and that homogeneity is restored at low energy, in a way that is qualitatively similar to the fate of impurities in clean ferromagnetic spin chains, or in Luttinger liquids with attractive interactions. Healing in the random case occurs even without interactions, and is characteristic of the random singlet phase. Using real space renormalization group and exact diagonalization methods, we characterize this universal healing crossover by studying the entanglement across the weak link. We identify a crossover healing length $L^*$ that separates a regime where the system is cut in half by the weak link from a fixed point where the spin chain is healed. Our results open the way to the study of impurity physics in disordered spin chains.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗
arXiv2017

Universal crossover from ground state to excited-state quantum criticality

We study the nonequilibrium properties of a nonergodic random quantum chain in which highly excited eigenstates exhibit critical properties usually associated with quantum critical ground states. The ground state and excited states of this system belong to different universality classes, characterized by infinite-randomness quantum critical behavior. Using strong-disorder renormalization group techniques, we show that the crossover between the zero and finite energy density regimes is universal. We analytically derive a flow equation describing the unitary dynamics of this isolated system at finite energy density from which we obtain universal scaling functions along the crossover.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗
arXiv2016

Symmetry constraints on many-body localization

We derive general constraints on the existence of many-body localized (MBL) phases in the presence of global symmetries, and show that MBL is not possible with symmetry groups that protect multiplets (e.g. all non-Abelian symmetry groups). Based on simple representation theoretic considerations, we derive general Mermin-Wagner-type principles governing the possible alternative fates of non-equilibrium dynamics in isolated, strongly disordered quantum systems. Our results rule out the existence of MBL symmetry protected topological phases with non-Abelian symmetry groups, as well as time-reversal symmetry protected electronic topological insulators, and in fact all fermion topological insulators and superconductors in the 10-fold way classification. Moreover, extending our arguments to systems with intrinsic topological order, we rule out MBL phases with non-Abelian anyons as well as certain classes of symmetry enriched topological orders.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗
arXiv2016

Nonequilibrium quantum dynamics and transport: from integrability to many-body localization

We review the non-equilibrium dynamics of many-body quantum systems after a quantum quench with spatial inhomogeneities, either in the Hamiltonian or in the initial state. We focus on integrable and many-body localized systems that fail to self-thermalize in isolation and for which the standard hydrodynamical picture breaks down. The emphasis is on universal dynamics, non-equilibrium steady states and new dynamical phases of matter, and on phase transitions far from thermal equilibrium. We describe how the infinite number of conservation laws of integrable and many-body localized systems lead to complex non-equilibrium states beyond the traditional dogma of statistical mechanics.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2016

Particle-hole symmetry, many-body localization, and topological edge modes

We study the excited states of interacting fermions in one dimension with particle-hole symmetric disorder (equivalently, random-bond XXZ chains) using a combination of renormalization group methods and exact diagonalization. Absent interactions, the entire many-body spectrum exhibits infinite-randomness quantum critical behavior with highly degenerate excited states. We show that though interactions are an irrelevant perturbation in the ground state, they drastically affect the structure of excited states: even arbitrarily weak interactions split the degeneracies in favor of thermalization (weak disorder) or spontaneously broken particle-hole symmetry, driving the system into a many-body localized spin glass phase (strong disorder). In both cases, the quantum critical properties of the non-interacting model are destroyed, either by thermal decoherence or spontaneous symmetry breaking. This system then has the interesting and counterintuitive property that edges of the many-body spectrum are less localized than the center of the spectrum. We argue that our results rule out the existence of certain excited state symmetry-protected topological orders.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗
arXiv2015

Expansion potentials for exact far-from-equilibrium spreading of particles and energy

The rates at which energy and particle densities move to equalize arbitrarily large temperature and chemical potential differences in an isolated quantum system have an emergent thermodynamical description whenever energy or particle current commutes with the Hamiltonian. Concrete examples include the energy current in the 1D spinless fermion model with nearest-neighbor interactions (XXZ spin chain), energy current in Lorentz-invariant theories or particle current in interacting Bose gases in arbitrary dimension. Even far from equilibrium, these rates are controlled by state functions, which we call ``expansion potentials'', expressed as integrals of equilibrium Drude weights. This relation between nonequilibrium quantities and linear response implies non-equilibrium Maxwell relations for the Drude weights. We verify our results via DMRG calculations for the XXZ chain.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2015

Multifractal Orthogonality Catastrophe in 1D Random Quantum Critical Points

We study the response of random singlet quantum critical points to local perturbations. Despite being insulating, these systems are dramatically affected by a local cut in the system, so that the overlap $G=\left|\langle Ψ_B |Ψ_A \rangle\right|$ of the groundstate wave functions with and without a cut vanishes algebraically in the thermodynamic limit. We analyze this Anderson orthogonality catastrophe in detail using a real-space renormalization group approach. We show that both the typical value of the overlap G and the disorder average of $G^α$ with $α>0$ decay as power-laws of the system size. In particular, the disorder average of $G^α$ shows a "multifractal" behavior, with a non-trivial limit $α\to \infty$ that is dominated by rare events. We also discuss the case of more generic local perturbations and generalize these results to local quantum quenches.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗
arXiv2015

Logarithmic Correlations in Quantum Hall Plateau Transitions

The critical behavior of quantum Hall transitions in two-dimensional disordered electronic systems can be described by a class of complicated, non-unitary conformal field theories with logarithmic correlations. The nature and the physical origin of these logarithmic correlation functions remain however mysterious. Using the replica trick and the underlying symmetries of these quantum critical points, we show here how to construct non-perturbatively disorder-averaged observables in terms of Green's functions that scale logarithmically at criticality. In the case of the spin quantum Hall transition, which may occur in disordered superconductors with spin-rotation symmetry and broken time reversal invariance, we argue that our results are compatible with an alternative approach based on supersymmetry. The generalization to the Integer quantum Hall plateau transition is also discussed.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗
arXiv2015

Universal properties of many-body delocalization transitions

We study the dynamical melting of "hot" one-dimensional many-body localized systems. As disorder is weakened below a critical value these non-thermal quantum glasses melt via a continuous dynamical phase transition into classical thermal liquids. By accounting for collective resonant tunneling processes, we derive and numerically solve an effective model for such quantum-to-classical transitions and compute their universal critical properties. Notably, the classical thermal liquid exhibits a broad regime of anomalously slow sub-diffusive equilibration dynamics and energy transport. The subdiffusive regime is characterized by a continuously evolving dynamical critical exponent that diverges with a universal power at the transition. Our approach elucidates the universal long-distance, low-energy scaling structure of many-body delocalization transitions in one dimension, in a way that is transparently connected to the underlying microscopic physics.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗
arXiv2015

Quantum criticality of hot random spin chains

We study the infinite-temperature properties of an infinite sequence of random quantum spin chains using a real-space renormalization group approach, and demonstrate that they exhibit non-ergodic behavior at strong disorder. The analysis is conveniently implemented in terms of SU(2)$_k$ anyon chains that include the Ising and Potts chains as notable examples. Highly excited eigenstates of these systems exhibit properties usually associated with quantum critical ground states, leading us to dub them "quantum critical glasses". We argue that random-bond Heisenberg chains self-thermalize and that the excited-state entanglement crosses over from volume-law to logarithmic scaling at a length scale that diverges in the Heisenberg limit $k\rightarrow\infty$. The excited state fixed points are generically distinct from their ground state counterparts, and represent novel non-equilibrium critical phases of matter.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗
arXiv2014

Exact overlaps in the Kondo problem

It is well known that the ground states of a Fermi liquid with and without a single Kondo impurity have an overlap which decays as a power law of the system size, expressing the Anderson orthogonality catastrophe. Ground states with two different values of the Kondo couplings have, however, a finite overlap in the thermodynamic limit. This overlap, which plays an important role in quantum quenches for impurity systems, is a universal function of the ratio of the corresponding Kondo temperatures, which is not accessible using perturbation theory nor the Bethe ansatz. Using a strategy based on the integrable structure of the corresponding quantum field theory, we propose an exact formula for this overlap, which we check against extensive density matrix renormalization group calculations.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2014

Edge Physics of the Quantum Spin Hall Insulator from a Quantum Dot Excited by Optical Absorption

The gapless edge modes of the Quantum Spin Hall insulator form a helical liquid in which the direction of motion along the edge is determined by the spin orientation of the electrons. In order to probe the Luttinger liquid physics of these edge states and their interaction with a magnetic (Kondo) impurity, we consider a setup where the helical liquid is tunnel-coupled to a semiconductor quantum dot which is excited by optical absorption, thereby inducing an effective quantum quench of the tunneling. At low energy, the absorption spectrum is dominated by a power-law singularity. The corresponding exponent is directly related to the interaction strength (Luttinger parameter) and can be computed exactly using boundary conformal field theory thanks to the unique nature of the Quantum Spin Hall edge.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2014

Universal entanglement crossover of coupled quantum wires

We consider the entanglement between two one-dimensional quantum wires (Luttinger Liquids) coupled by tunneling through a quantum impurity. The physics of the system involves a crossover between weak and strong coupling regimes characterized by an energy scale $T_B$, and methods of conformal field theory therefore cannot be applied. The evolution of the entanglement in this crossover has led to many numerical studies, but has remained little understood, analytically or even qualitatively. We argue in this Letter that the correct universal scaling form of the entanglement entropy $S$ (for an arbitrary interval of length $L$ containing the impurity) is $\partial S/\partial \ln L = f(L T_B)$. In the special case where the coupling to the impurity can be refermionized, we show how the universal function $f(L T_B)$ can be obtained analytically using recent results on form factors of twist fields and a defect massless-scattering formalism. Our results are carefully checked against numerical simulations.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2014

Operator content of the critical Potts model in d dimensions and logarithmic correlations

Using the symmetric group $S_Q$ symmetry of the $Q$-state Potts model, we classify the (scalar) operator content of its underlying field theory in arbitrary dimension. In addition to the usual identity, energy and magnetization operators, we find fields that generalize the $N$-cluster operators well-known in two dimensions, together with their subleading counterparts. We give the explicit form of all these operators -- up to non-universal constants -- both on the lattice and in the continuum limit for the Landau theory. We compute exactly their two- and three-point correlation functions on an arbitrary graph in terms of simple probabilities, and give the general form of these correlation functions in the continuum limit at the critical point. Specializing to integer values of the parameter $Q$, we argue that the analytic continuation of the $S_Q$ symmetry yields logarithmic correlations at the critical point in arbitrary dimension, thus implying a mixing of some scaling fields by the scale transformation generator. All these logarithmic correlation functions are given a clear geometrical meaning, which can be checked in numerical simulations. Several physical examples are discussed, including bond percolation, spanning trees and forests, resistor networks and the Ising model. We also briefly address the generalization of our approach to the $O(n)$ model.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗
arXiv2013

Entanglement in quantum impurity problems is non perturbative

We study the entanglement entropy of a region of length 2L with the remainder of an infinite one dimensional gapless quantum system in the case where the region is centered on a quantum impurity. The coupling to this impurity is not scale invariant, and the physics involves a crossover between weak and strong coupling regimes. While the impurity contribution to the entanglement has been computed numerically in the past, little is known analytically about it, since in particular the methods of conformal invariance cannot be applied because of the presence of a crossover length. We show in this paper that the small coupling expansion of the entanglement entropy in this problem is quite generally plagued by strong infrared divergences, implying a non-perturbative dependence on the coupling. The large coupling expansion turns out to be better behaved, thanks to powerful results from the boundary CFT formulation and, in some cases, the underlying integrability of the problem. However, it is clear that this expansion does not capture well the crossover physics. In the integrable case -- which includes problems such as an XXZ chain with a modified link, the interacting resonant level model or the anisotropic Kondo model -- a non perturbative approach is in principle possible using form-factors. We adapt in this paper the ideas of [1,2] to the gapless case and show that, in the rather simple case of the resonant level model, and after some additional renormalizations, the form factors approach yields remarkably accurate results for the entanglement all the way from short to large distances. This is confirmed by detailed comparison with numerical simulations. Both our form factor and numerical results are compatible with a non-perturbative form at short distance.

cond-mat.str-el↗