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S. -W. Tsai

Publications and source records attributed to S. -W. Tsai.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2025

Calculating the Luttinger liquid parameter for an interacting Kitaev chain quantum simulator

In this work, we introduce a solid-state platform for building quantum simulators using implanted spin centers in solid-state materials. We build upon the proposal for an $S=1$ chain of spin centers coupled through the magnetic dipole-dipole interaction and subjected to an external magnetic field as a quantum simulator for critical floating phases. We introduce another magnetic field and map the system to the interacting Kitaev chain. This setup, tunable through the applied fields and the orientation of the spin centers within the crystal, exhibits a variety of rich quantum behavior which notably includes floating phases, a $Z_2$ symmetry-breaking phase, and lines of both Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) and Pokrovsky-Talapov transitions. Furthermore, we employ several novel methods to calculate the Luttinger liquid parameter in our model with incommensurate correlations. We find that these methods provide a route to identify BKT transitions with less computational resources than utilizing entanglement entropy and central charge.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2024

Probing quantum floating phases in Rydberg atom arrays

The floating phase, a critical incommensurate phase, has been theoretically predicted as a potential intermediate phase between crystalline ordered and disordered phases. In this study, we investigate the different quantum phases that arise in ladder arrays comprising up to 92 neutral-atom qubits and experimentally observe the emergence of the quantum floating phase. We analyze the site-resolved Rydberg state densities and the distribution of state occurrences. The site-resolved measurement reveals the formation of domain walls within the commensurate ordered phase, which subsequently proliferate and give rise to the floating phase with incommensurate quasi-long-range order. By analyzing the Fourier spectra of the Rydberg density-density correlations, we observe clear signatures of the incommensurate wave order of the floating phase. Furthermore, as the experimental system sizes increase, we show that the wave vectors approach a continuum of values incommensurate with the lattice. Our work motivates future studies to further explore the nature of commensurate-incommensurate phase transitions and their non-equilibrium physics.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2024

Quantum simulation of spin-1/2 XYZ model using solid-state spin centers

In this work we propose a novel solid-state platform for creating quantum simulators based on implanted spin centers in semiconductors. We show that under the presence of an external magnetic field, an array of $S=1$ spin centers interacting through magnetic dipole-dipole interaction can be mapped into an effective spin-half system equivalent to the XYZ model in an external magnetic field. Interestingly, this system presents a wide range of quantum phases and critical behaviors that can be controlled via magnetic field and orientational arrangement of the spin centers. We demonstrate our interacting spin chain can be tuned to both isotropic Heisenberg model and transverse-field Ising universality class. Notably, our model contains a line where the system is in a critical floating phase that terminates at Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless and Pokrovsky-Talapov transition points. We propose this system as the first solid-state quantum simulator for the floating phase based on spin centers.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2020

Stroboscopic aliasing in long-range interacting quantum systems

We unveil a mechanism for generating oscillations with arbitrary multiplets of the period of a given external drive, in long-range interacting quantum many-particle spin systems. These oscillations break discrete time translation symmetry as in time crystals, but they are understood via two intertwined stroboscopic effects similar to the aliasing resulting from video taping a single fast rotating helicopter blade. The first effect is similar to a single blade appearing as multiple blades due to a frame rate that is in resonance with the frequency of the helicopter blades' rotation; the second is akin to the optical appearance of the helicopter blades moving in reverse direction. Analogously to other dynamically stabilized states in interacting quantum many-body systems, this stroboscopic aliasing is robust to detuning and excursions from a chosen set of driving parameters, and it offers a novel route for engineering dynamical $n$-tuplets in long-range quantum simulators, with potential applications to spin squeezing generation and entangled state preparation.

cond-mat.other↗
arXiv2020

Thermalization and its Breakdown for a Large Nonlinear Spin

By developing a semi-classical analysis based on the Eigenstate Thermalization Hypothesis, we determine the long time behavior of a large spin evolving with a nonlinear Hamiltonian. Despite integrable classical dynamics, we find the Eigenstate Thermalization Hypothesis for the diagonal matrix elements of observables is satisfied in the majority of eigenstates, and thermalization of long time averaged observables is generic. The exception is a novel mechanism for the breakdown of thermalization based on an unstable fixed point in the classical dynamics. Using the semi-classical analysis we derive how the equilibrium values of observables encode properties of the initial state. This analysis shows an unusual memory effect in which the remembered initial state property is not conserved in the integrable classical dynamics. We conclude with a discussion of relevant experiments and the potential generality of this mechanism for long time memory and the breakdown of thermalization.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2020

Quantum Joule Expansion of One-Dimensional Systems

We investigate the Joule expansion of nonintegrable quantum systems that contain bosons or spinless fermions in one-dimensional lattices. A barrier initially confines the particles to be in half of the system in a thermal state described by the canonical ensemble and is removed at time $t = 0$. We investigate the properties of the time-evolved density matrix, the diagonal ensemble density matrix and the corresponding canonical ensemble density matrix with an effective temperature determined by the total energy conservation using exact diagonalization. The weights for the diagonal ensemble and the canonical ensemble match well for high initial temperatures that correspond to negative effective final temperatures after the expansion. At long times after the barrier is removed, the time-evolved Rényi entropy of subsystems bigger than half can equilibrate to the thermal entropy with exponentially small fluctuations. The time-evolved reduced density matrix at long times can be approximated by a thermal density matrix for small subsystems. Few-body observables, like the momentum distribution function, can be approximated by a thermal expectation of the canonical ensemble with strongly suppressed fluctuations. The negative effective temperatures for finite systems go to nonnegative temperatures in the thermodynamic limit for bosons, but is a true thermodynamic effect for fermions, which is confirmed by finite temperature density matrix renormalization group calculations. We propose the Joule expansion as a way to dynamically create negative temperature states for fermion systems with repulsive interactions.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗
arXiv2018

Quantum simulation of the universal features of the Polyakov loop

Lattice gauge theories are fundamental to our understanding of high-energy physics. Nevertheless, the search for suitable platforms for their quantum simulation has proven difficult. We show that the Abelian Higgs model in 1+1 dimensions is a prime candidate for an experimental quantum simulation of a lattice gauge theory. To this end, we use a discrete tensor reformulation to smoothly connect the space-time isotropic version used in most numerical lattice simulations to the continuous-time limit corresponding to the Hamiltonian formulation. The eigenstates of the Hamiltonian are neutral for periodic boundary conditions, but we probe the nonzero charge sectors by either introducing a Polyakov loop or an external electric field. In both cases we obtain universal functions relating the mass gap, the gauge coupling, and the spatial size which are invariant under the deformation of the temporal lattice spacing. We propose to use a physical multi-leg ladder of atoms trapped in optical lattices and interacting with Rydberg-dressed interactions to quantum simulate the model and check the universal features. Our results provide a path to the analog quantum simulation of lattice gauge theories with atoms in optical lattices.

hep-lat↗
arXiv2017

Weak three-dimensional mediators of two-dimensional triplet pairing

Recent experiments demonstrate the ability to construct cold atom mixtures with species selective optical lattices. This allows for the possibility of a mixed-dimension system, where one fermionic atomic species is confined to a two dimensional lattice, while another species is confined to a three dimensional lattice that contains the two-dimensional one. We show that by tuning the density of an arbitrary number of three-dimensional atomic species, we can engineer an arbitrary, rotationally-symmetric, density-density, effective interaction for the two-dimensional particles. This possibility allows for an effective interaction that favours triplet pairing for two-dimensional, $SU(2)$ symmetric particles. Using a functional renormalization-group analysis for the two-dimensional particles, we derive and numerically confirm that the critical temperature for triplet pairing depends exponentially on the effective interaction strength. We then analyse how the stability of this phase is affected by the particle densities and the fine tuning of interaction parameters. We conclude by briefly discussing experimental considerations and the potential to study triplet pairing physics, including Majorana fermions and spin textures, with cold atoms on optical lattices.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗
arXiv2017

Estimating the central charge from the Rényi entanglement entropy

We calculate the von Neumann and Rényi bipartite entanglement entropy of the $O(2)$ model with a chemical potential on a 1+1 dimensional Euclidean lattice with open and periodic boundary conditions. We show that the Calabrese-Cardy conformal field theory predictions for the leading logarithmic scaling with the spatial size of these entropies are consistent with a central charge $c=1$. This scaling survives the time continuum limit and truncations of the microscopic degrees of freedom, modifications which allow us to connect the Lagrangian formulation to quantum Hamiltonians. At half-filling, the forms of the subleading corrections imposed by conformal field theory allow the determination of the central charge with an accuracy better than two percent for moderately sized lattices. We briefly discuss the possibility of estimating the central charge using quantum simulators.

hep-lat↗
arXiv2017

Probing the conformal Calabrese-Cardy scaling with cold atoms

We demonstrate that current experiments using cold bosonic atoms trapped in one-dimensional optical lattices and designed to measure the second-order Renyi entanglement entropy S_2, can be used to verify detailed predictions of conformal field theory (CFT) and estimate the central charge c. We discuss the adiabatic preparation of the ground state at half-filling where we expect a CFT with c=1. This can be accomplished with a very small hoping parameter J, in contrast to existing studies with density one where a much larger J is needed. We provide two complementary methods to estimate and subtract the classical entropy generated by the experimental preparation and imaging processes. We compare numerical calculations for the classical O(2) model with a chemical potential on a 1+1 dimensional lattice, and the quantum Bose-Hubbard Hamiltonian implemented in the experiments. S_2 is very similar for the two models and follows closely the Calabrese-Cardy scaling, (c/8)\ln(N_s), for N_s sites with open boundary conditions, provided that the large subleading corrections are taken into account.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗
arXiv2014

Progress towards quantum simulating the classical O(2) model

We connect explicitly the classical $O(2)$ model in 1+1 dimensions, a model sharing important features with $U(1)$ lattice gauge theory, to physical models potentially implementable on optical lattices and evolving at physical time. Using the tensor renormalization group formulation, we take the time continuum limit and check that finite dimensional projections used in recent proposals for quantum simulators provide controllable approximations of the original model. We propose two-species Bose-Hubbard models corresponding to these finite dimensional projections at strong coupling and discuss their possible implementations on optical lattices using a $^{87}$Rb and $^{41}$K Bose-Bose mixture.

hep-lat↗
arXiv2014

Orbital symmetry fingerprints for magnetic adatoms in graphene

In this paper, we describe the formation of local resonances in graphene in the presence of magnetic adatoms containing localized orbitals of arbitrary symmetry, corresponding to any given angular momentum state. We show that quantum interference effects which are naturally inbuilt in the honeycomb lattice in combination with the specific orbital symmetry of the localized state lead to the formation of fingerprints in differential conductance curves. In the presence of Jahn-Teller distortion effects, which lift the orbital degeneracy of the adatoms, the orbital symmetries can lead to distinctive signatures in the local density of states. We show that those effects allow scanning tunneling probes to characterize adatoms and defects in graphene.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2011

Renormalization group approach to spinor Bose-Fermi mixtures in a shallow optical lattice

We study a mixture of ultracold spin-half fermionic and spin-one bosonic atoms in a shallow optical lattice where the bosons are coupled to the fermions via both density-density and spin-spin interactions. We consider the parameter regime where the bosons are in a superfluid ground state, integrate them out, and obtain an effective action for the fermions. We carry out a renormalization group analysis of this effective fermionic action at low temperatures, show that the presence of the spinor bosons may lead to a separation of Fermi surfaces of the spin-up and spin-down fermions, and investigate the parameter range where this phenomenon occurs. We also calculate the susceptibilities corresponding to the possible superfluid instabilities of the fermions and obtain their possible broken-symmetry ground states at low temperatures and weak interactions.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2011

On the Validity of the Tomonaga Luttinger Liquid Relations for the One-dimensional Holstein Model

For the one-dimensional Holstein model, we show that the relations among the scaling exponents of various correlation functions of the Tomonaga Luttinger liquid (LL), while valid in the thermodynamic limit, are significantly modified by finite size corrections. We obtain analytical expressions for these corrections and find that they decrease very slowly with increasing system size. The interpretation of numerical data on finite size lattices in terms of LL theory must therefore take these corrections into account. As an important example, we re-examine the proposed metallic phase of the zero-temperature, half-filled one-dimensional Holstein model without employing the LL relations. In particular, using quantum Monte Carlo calculations, we study the competition between the singlet pairing and charge ordering. Our results do not support the existence of a dominant singlet pairing state.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2011

New applications of the renormalization group method in physics -- a brief introduction

The renormalization group method developed by Ken Wilson more than four decades ago has revolutionized the way we think about problems involving a broad range of energy scales such as phase transitions, turbulence, continuum limits and bifurcations in dynamical systems. The theme issue provides articles reviewing recent progress made using the renormalization group method in atomic, condensed matter, nuclear and particle physics. In the following we introduce these articles in a way that emphasizes common themes and the universal aspects of the method.

hep-th↗
arXiv2009

Theory of Scanning Tunneling Spectroscopy of Magnetic Adatoms in Graphene

We examine theoretically the signatures of magnetic adatoms in graphene probed by scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS). When the adatom hybridizes equally with the two graphene sublattices, the broadening of the local adatom level is anomalous and can scale with the cube of the energy. In contrast to ordinary metal surfaces, the adatom local moment can be suppressed by the proximity of the probing scanning tip. We propose that the dependence of the tunneling conductance on the distance between the tip and the adatom can provide a clear signature for the presence of local magnetic moments. We also show that tunneling conductance can distinguish whether the adatom is located on top of a carbon atom or in the center of a honeycomb hexagon.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2009

Electronic Doping and Scattering by Transition Metals on Graphene

We investigate the effects of transition metals (TM) on the electronic doping and scattering in graphene using molecular beam epitaxy combined with in situ transport measurements. The room temperature deposition of TM onto graphene produces clusters that dope n-type for all TM investigated (Ti, Fe, Pt). We also find that the scattering by TM clusters exhibits different behavior compared to 1/r Coulomb scattering. At high coverage, Pt films are able to produce doping that is either n-type or weakly p-type, which provides experimental evidence for a strong interfacial dipole favoring n-type doping as predicted theoretically.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗