arXiv subjects

Thomas Barthel

Publications and source records attributed to Thomas Barthel.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2023

Solving quasi-free and quadratic Lindblad master equations for open fermionic and bosonic systems

The dynamics of Markovian open quantum systems are described by Lindblad master equations. For fermionic and bosonic systems that are quasi-free, i.e., with Hamiltonians that are quadratic in the ladder operators and Lindblad operators that are linear in the ladder operators, we derive the equation of motion for the covariance matrix. This determines the evolution of Gaussian initial states and the steady states, which are also Gaussian. Using ladder super-operators (a.k.a. third quantization), we show how the Liouvillian can be transformed to a many-body Jordan normal form which also reveals the full many-body spectrum. Extending previous work by Prosen and Seligman, we treat fermionic and bosonic systems on equal footing with Majorana operators, shorten and complete some derivations, also address the odd-parity sector for fermions, give a criterion for the existence of bosonic steady states, cover non-diagonalizable Liouvillians also for bosons, and include quadratic systems. In extension of the quasi-free open systems, quadratic open systems comprise additional Hermitian Lindblad operators that are quadratic in the ladder operators. While Gaussian states may then evolve into non-Gaussian states, the Liouvillian can still be transformed to a useful block-triangular form, and the equations of motion for $k$-point Green's functions form a closed hierarchy. Based on this formalism, results on criticality and dissipative phase transitions in such models are discussed in a companion paper [arXiv:2204.05346].

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arXiv2023

Criticality and Phase Classification for Quadratic Open Quantum Many-Body Systems

We study the steady states of translation-invariant open quantum many-body systems governed by Lindblad master equations, where the Hamiltonian is quadratic in the ladder operators, and the Lindblad operators are either linear or quadratic and Hermitian. These systems are called quasifree and quadratic, respectively. We find that steady states of one-dimensional systems with finite-range interactions necessarily have exponentially decaying Green's functions. For the quasifree case without quadratic Lindblad operators, we show that fermionic systems with finite-range interactions are noncritical for any number of spatial dimensions and provide bounds on the correlation lengths. Quasifree bosonic systems can be critical in $D>1$ dimensions. Last, we address the question of phase transitions in quadratic systems and find that, without symmetry constraints beyond invariance under single-particle basis and particle-hole transformations, all gapped Liouvillians belong to the same phase.

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arXiv2022

On the closedness and geometry of tensor network state sets

Tensor network states (TNS) are a powerful approach for the study of strongly correlated quantum matter. The curse of dimensionality is addressed by parametrizing the many-body state in terms of a network of partially contracted tensors. These tensors form a substantially reduced set of effective degrees of freedom. In practical algorithms, functionals like energy expectation values or overlaps are optimized over certain sets of TNS. Concerning algorithmic stability, it is important whether the considered sets are closed because, otherwise, the algorithms may approach a boundary point that is outside the TNS set and tensor elements diverge. We discuss the closedness and geometries of TNS sets, and we propose regularizations for optimization problems on non-closed TNS sets. We show that sets of matrix product states (MPS) with open boundary conditions, tree tensor network states (TTNS), and the multiscale entanglement renormalization ansatz (MERA) are always closed, whereas sets of translation-invariant MPS with periodic boundary conditions (PBC), heterogeneous MPS with PBC, and projected entangled-pair states (PEPS) are generally not closed. The latter is done using explicit examples like the W state, states that we call two-domain states, and fine-grained versions thereof.

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arXiv2022

Tensor Network States with Low-Rank Tensors

Tensor networks are used to efficiently approximate states of strongly-correlated quantum many-body systems. More generally, tensor network approximations may allow to reduce the costs for operating on an order-$N$ tensor from exponential to polynomial in $N$, and this has become a popular approach for machine learning. We introduce the idea of imposing low-rank constraints on the tensors that compose the tensor network. With this modification, the time and space complexities for the network optimization can be substantially reduced while maintaining high accuracy. We detail this idea for tree tensor network states (TTNS) and projected entangled-pair states. Simulations of spin models on Cayley trees with low-rank TTNS exemplify the effect of rank constraints on the expressive power. We find that choosing the tensor rank $r$ to be on the order of the bond dimension $m$, is sufficient to obtain high-accuracy groundstate approximations and to substantially outperform standard TTNS computations. Thus low-rank tensor networks are a promising route for the simulation of quantum matter and machine learning on large data sets.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2022

Eigenstate entanglement scaling for critical interacting spin chains

With increasing subsystem size and energy, bipartite entanglement entropies of energy eigenstates cross over from the groundstate scaling to a volume law. In previous work, we pointed out that, when strong or weak eigenstate thermalization (ETH) applies, the entanglement entropies of all or, respectively, almost all eigenstates follow a single crossover function. The crossover functions are determined by the subsystem entropy of thermal states and assume universal scaling forms in quantum-critical regimes. This was demonstrated by field-theoretical arguments and the analysis of large systems of non-interacting fermions and bosons. Here, we substantiate such scaling properties for integrable and non-integrable interacting spin-1/2 chains at criticality using exact diagonalization. In particular, we analyze XXZ and transverse-field Ising models with and without next-nearest-neighbor interactions. Indeed, the crossover of thermal subsystem entropies can be described by a universal scaling function following from conformal field theory. Furthermore, we analyze the validity of ETH for entanglement in these models. Even for the relatively small system sizes that can be simulated, the distributions of eigenstate entanglement entropies are sharply peaked around the subsystem entropies of the corresponding thermal ensembles.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2021

Scaling functions for eigenstate entanglement crossovers in harmonic lattices

For quantum matter, eigenstate entanglement entropies obey an area law or log-area law at low energies and small subsystem sizes and cross over to volume laws for high energies and large subsystems. This transition is captured by crossover functions, which assume a universal scaling form in quantum critical regimes. We demonstrate this for the harmonic lattice model, which describes quantized lattice vibrations and is a regularization for free scalar field theories, modeling, e.g., spin-0 bosonic particles. In one dimension, the groundstate entanglement obeys a log-area law. For dimensions $d\geq 2$, it displays area laws, even at criticality. The distribution of excited-state entanglement entropies is found to be sharply peaked around subsystem entropies of corresponding thermodynamic ensembles in accordance with the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis. Numerically, we determine crossover scaling functions for the quantum critical regime of the model and do a large-deviation analysis. We show how infrared singularities of the system can be handled and how to access the thermodynamic limit using a perturbative trick for the covariance matrix. Eigenstates for quasi-free bosonic systems are not Gaussian. We resolve this problem by considering appropriate squeezed states instead. For these, entanglement entropies can be evaluated efficiently.

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arXiv2021

Eigenstate entanglement: Crossover from the ground state to volume laws

For the typical quantum many-body systems that obey the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis (ETH), we argue that the entanglement entropy of (almost) all energy eigenstates is described by a single crossover function. The ETH implies that the crossover functions can be deduced from subsystem entropies of thermal ensembles and have universal properties. These functions capture the full crossover from the groundstate entanglement regime at low energies and small subsystem size (area or log-area law) to the extensive volume-law regime at high energies or large subsystem size. For critical one-dimensional systems, a universal scaling function follows from conformal field theory (CFT) and can be adapted for nonlinear dispersions. We use it to also deduce the crossover scaling function for Fermi liquids in $d>1$ dimensions. The analytical results are complemented by numerics for large non-interacting systems of fermions in $d=1$, $2$, and $3$ dimensions and have also been confirmed for bosonic systems and non-integrable spin chains. Furthermore, one can deduce the distribution function for eigenstate entanglement.

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arXiv2020

Low-energy physics of isotropic spin-1 chains in the critical and Haldane phases

Using a matrix product state algorithm with infinite boundary conditions, we compute high-resolution dynamic spin and quadrupolar structure factors in the thermodynamic limit to explore the low-energy excitations of isotropic bilinear-biquadratic spin-1 chains. Haldane mapped the spin-1 Heisenberg antiferromagnet to a continuum field theory, the non-linear sigma model (NL$σ$M). We find that the NL$σ$M fails to capture the influence of the biquadratic term and provides only an unsatisfactory description of the Haldane phase physics. But several features in the Haldane phase can be explained by non-interacting multi-magnon states. The physics at the Uimin-Lai-Sutherland point is characterized by multi-soliton continua. Moving into the extended critical phase, we find that these excitation continua contract, which we explain using a field-theoretic description. New excitations emerge at higher energies and, in the vicinity of the purely biquadratic point, they show simple cosine dispersions. Using block fidelities, we identify them as elementary one-particle excitations and relate them to the integrable Temperley-Lieb chain.

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arXiv2020

The matrix product approximation for the dynamic cavity method

Stochastic dynamics of classical degrees of freedom, defined on vertices of locally tree-like graphs, can be studied in the framework of the dynamic cavity method which is exact for tree graphs. Such models correspond for example to spin-glass systems, Boolean networks, neural networks, and other technical, biological, and social networks. The central objects in the cavity method are edge messages -- conditional probabilities of two vertex variable trajectories. In this paper, we discuss a rather pedagogical derivation for the dynamic cavity method, give a detailed account of the novel matrix product edge message (MPEM) algorithm for the solution of the dynamic cavity equation as introduced in Phys. Rev. E 97, 010104(R) (2018), and present optimizations and extensions. Matrix product approximations of the edge messages are constructed recursively in an iteration over time. Computation costs and precision can be tuned by controlling the matrix dimensions of the MPEM in truncations. Without truncations, the dynamics is exact. Data for Glauber-Ising dynamics shows a linear growth of computation costs in time. In contrast to Monte Carlo simulations, the approach has a much better error scaling. Hence, it gives for example access to low probability events and decaying observables like temporal correlations. We discuss optimized truncation schemes and an extension that allows to capture models which have a continuum time limit.

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arXiv2019

Infinite boundary conditions for response functions and limit cycles in iDMRG, demonstrated for bilinear-biquadratic spin-1 chains

Response functions $\langle A_x(t) B_y(0)\rangle$ for one-dimensional strongly correlated quantum many-body systems can be computed with matrix product state (MPS) techniques. Especially, when one is interested in spectral functions or dynamic structure factors of translation-invariant systems, the response for some range $|x-y|<\ell$ is needed. We demonstrate how the number of required time-evolution runs can be reduced substantially: (a) If finite-system simulations are employed, the number of time-evolution runs can be reduced from $\ell$ to $2\sqrt{\ell}$. (b) To go beyond, one can employ infinite MPS (iMPS) such that two evolution runs suffice. To this purpose, iMPS that are heterogeneous only around the causal cone of the perturbation are evolved in time, i.e., the simulation is done with infinite boundary conditions. Computing overlaps of these states, spatially shifted relative to each other, yields the response functions for all distances $|x-y|$. As a specific application, we compute the dynamic structure factor for ground states of bilinear-biquadratic spin-1 chains with very high resolution and explain the underlying low-energy physics. To determine the initial uniform iMPS for such simulations, infinite-system density-matrix renormalization group (iDMRG) can be employed. We discuss that, depending on the system and chosen bond dimension, iDMRG with a cell size $n_c$ may converge to a non-trivial limit cycle of length $m$. This then corresponds to an iMPS with an enlarged unit cell of size $m n_c$.

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arXiv2019

Optimized Lie-Trotter-Suzuki decompositions for two and three non-commuting terms

Lie-Trotter-Suzuki decompositions are an efficient way to approximate operator exponentials $\exp(t H)$ when $H$ is a sum of $n$ (non-commuting) terms which, individually, can be exponentiated easily. They are employed in time-evolution algorithms for tensor network states, digital quantum simulation protocols, path integral methods like quantum Monte Carlo, and splitting methods for symplectic integrators in classical Hamiltonian systems. We provide optimized decompositions up to order $t^6$. The leading error term is expanded in nested commutators (Hall bases) and we minimize the 1-norm of the coefficients. For $n=2$ terms, several of the optima we find are close to those in McLachlan, SlAM J. Sci. Comput. 16, 151 (1995). Generally, our results substantially improve over unoptimized decompositions by Forest, Ruth, Yoshida, and Suzuki. We explain why these decompositions are sufficient to efficiently simulate any one- or two-dimensional lattice model with finite-range interactions. This follows by solving a partitioning problem for the interaction graph.

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arXiv2018

Fundamental limitations for measurements in quantum many-body systems

Dynamical measurement schemes are an important tool for the investigation of quantum many-body systems, especially in the age of quantum simulation. Here, we address the question whether generic measurements can be implemented efficiently if we have access to a certain set of experimentally realizable measurements and can extend it through time evolution. For the latter, two scenarios are considered (a) evolution according to unitary circuits and (b) evolution due to Hamiltonians that we can control in a time-dependent fashion. We find that the time needed to realize a certain measurement to a predefined accuracy scales in general exponentially with the system size -- posing a fundamental limitation. The argument is based, on the construction of $\varepsilon$-packings for manifolds of observables with identical spectra and a comparison of their cardinalities to those of $\varepsilon$-coverings for quantum circuits and unitary time-evolution operators. The former is related to the study of Grassmann manifolds.

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arXiv2018

A matrix product algorithm for stochastic dynamics on networks, applied to non-equilibrium Glauber dynamics

We introduce and apply a novel efficient method for the precise simulation of stochastic dynamical processes on locally tree-like graphs. Networks with cycles are treated in the framework of the cavity method. Such models correspond, for example, to spin-glass systems, Boolean networks, neural networks, or other technological, biological, and social networks. Building upon ideas from quantum many-body theory, the new approach is based on a matrix product approximation of the so-called edge messages -- conditional probabilities of vertex variable trajectories. Computation costs and accuracy can be tuned by controlling the matrix dimensions of the matrix product edge messages (MPEM) in truncations. In contrast to Monte Carlo simulations, the algorithm has a better error scaling and works for both, single instances as well as the thermodynamic limit. We employ it to examine prototypical non-equilibrium Glauber dynamics in the kinetic Ising model. Because of the absence of cancellation effects, observables with small expectation values can be evaluated accurately, allowing for the study of decay processes and temporal correlations.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2017

Phase diagram of the hexagonal lattice quantum dimer model: Order parameters, ground-state energy, and gaps

The phase diagram of the quantum dimer model on the hexagonal (honeycomb) lattice is computed numerically, extending on earlier work by Moessner, Sondhi, and Chandra. The different ground state phases are studied in detail using several local and global observables. In addition, we analyze imaginary-time correlation functions to determine ground state energies as well as gaps to the first excited states. This leads in particular to a confirmation that the intermediary so-called plaquette phase is gapped -- a point which was previously advocated with general arguments and some data for an order parameter, but required a more direct proof. On the technical side, we describe an efficient world-line quantum Monte Carlo algorithm with improved cluster updates that increase acceptance probabilities by taking account of potential terms of the Hamiltonian during the cluster construction. The Monte Carlo simulations are supplemented with variational computations.

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arXiv2017

One-dimensional quantum systems at finite temperatures can be simulated efficiently on classical computers

It is by now well-known that ground states of gapped one-dimensional (1d) quantum-many body systems with short-range interactions can be studied efficiently using classical computers and matrix product state techniques. A corresponding result for finite temperatures was missing. Using the replica trick in 1+1d quantum field theory, it is shown here that the cost for the classical simulation of 1d systems at finite temperatures grows in fact only polynomially with the inverse temperature and is system-size independent -- even for gapless systems. In particular, we show that the thermofield double state (TDS), a purification of the equilibrium density operator, can be obtained efficiently in matrix-product form. The argument is based on the scaling behavior of Rényi entanglement entropies in the TDS. At finite temperatures, they obey the area law. For gapless systems with central charge $c$, the entanglement is found to grow only logarithmically with inverse temperature, $S_α\sim \frac{c}{6}(1+1/α)\log β$. The field-theoretical results are tested and confirmed by quasi-exact numerical computations for integrable and non-integrable spin systems, and interacting bosons.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

Symmetric minimally entangled typical thermal states for canonical and grand-canonical ensembles

Based on the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG), strongly correlated quantum many-body systems at finite temperatures can be simulated by sampling over a certain class of pure matrix product states (MPS) called minimally entangled typical thermal states (METTS). When a system features symmetries, these can be utilized to substantially reduce MPS computation costs. It is conceptually straightforward to simulate canonical ensembles using symmetric METTS. In practice, it is important to alternate between different symmetric collapse bases to decrease autocorrelations in the Markov chain of METTS. To this purpose, we introduce symmetric Fourier and Haar-random block bases that are efficiently mixing. We also show how grand-canonical ensembles can be simulated efficiently with symmetric METTS. We demonstrate these approaches for spin-1/2 XXZ chains and discuss how the choice of the collapse bases influences autocorrelations as well as the distribution of measurement values and, hence, convergence speeds.

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arXiv2017

Minimally entangled typical thermal states versus matrix product purifications for the simulation of equilibrium states and time evolution

For the simulation of equilibrium states and finite-temperature response functions of strongly-correlated quantum many-body systems, we compare the efficiencies of two different approaches in the framework of the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG). The first is based on matrix product purifications. The second, more recent one, is based on so-called minimally entangled typical thermal states (METTS). For the latter, we highlight the interplay of statistical and DMRG truncation errors, discuss the use of self-averaging effects, and describe schemes for the computation of response functions. For critical as well as gapped phases of the spin-1/2 XXZ chain and the one-dimensional Bose-Hubbard model, we assess the computation costs and accuracies of the two methods at different temperatures. For almost all considered cases, we find that, for the same computation cost, purifications yield more accurate results than METTS -- often by orders of magnitude. The METTS algorithm becomes more efficient only for temperatures well below the system's energy gap. The exponential growth of the computation cost in the evaluation of response functions limits the attainable timescales in both methods and we find that in this regard, METTS do not outperform purifications.

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arXiv2016

Matrix product purifications for canonical ensembles and quantum number distributions

Matrix product purifications (MPPs) are a very efficient tool for the simulation of strongly correlated quantum many-body systems at finite temperatures. When a system features symmetries, these can be used to reduce computation costs substantially. It is straightforward to compute an MPP of a grand-canonical ensemble, also when symmetries are exploited. This paper provides and demonstrates methods for the efficient computation of MPPs of canonical ensembles under utilization of symmetries. Furthermore, we present a scheme for the evaluation of global quantum number distributions using matrix product density operators (MPDOs). We provide exact matrix product representations for canonical infinite-temperature states, and discuss how they can be constructed alternatively by applying matrix product operators to vacuum-type states or by using entangler Hamiltonians. A demonstration of the techniques for Heisenberg spin-1/2 chains explains why the difference in the energy densities of canonical and grand-canonical ensembles decays as 1/L.

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