arXiv subjects

Thomas Klein Kvorning

Publications and source records attributed to Thomas Klein Kvorning.

14 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

One-Particle Density Matrix Framework for Mode-Shell Correspondence: Characterizing Topology in Amorphous Higher-Order Topological Insulators

We present a framework for characterizing higher-order topological phases directly from the one-particle density matrix, without any reference to an underlying Hamiltonian. Our approach extends the mode-shell correspondence, originally formulated for single-particle Hamiltonians, to Gaussian states subject to chiral constraints. In this correspondence, the mode index counts topological boundary modes, while the shell index quantifies the bulk topology in a region surrounding the modes, providing a bulk-boundary diagnostic. In one-dimensional topological insulators, the shell index reduces to the local chiral marker, recovering the winding number in the translation-invariant limit. We apply the mode-shell correspondence to a $C_4$-symmetric higher-order topological insulator with a chiral constraint and show that a fractional shell index implies that the higher-order phase is intrinsic. The one-particle density matrix is formulated in real space, so the mode-shell correspondence also applies to models without translation invariance. By introducing structural disorder into the $C_4$-symmetric higher-order insulator, we show that the mode-shell correspondence remains a meaningful diagnostic in amorphous structures. The mode-shell correspondence generalizes to interacting states with a gapped bulk spectrum in the one-particle density matrix, providing a practical and diverse route to characterize higher-order topology from the quantum state itself.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2026

Quantum Hall Liquids Coupled to Dynamical Electromagnetism

We investigate the effect on a Quantum Hall (QH) liquid of its coupling to 3+1 dimensional dynamical electromagnetism, which renders the system gapless. We calculate both the Hall and longitudinal resistances, $ρ_H$ and $ρ_L$, in the context of a minimal model of the electromagnetic environment, with a small three dimensional conductivity ${\tildeσ}$, that allows for a counter-flow current. In the thermodynamic limit, we show that $ρ_H$ is quantized, while $ρ_L$ approaches a non-zero limit, $ρ_L \sim α\, R_K$, where $α$ and $R_K=2π/e^2$ are the fine structure and the Klitzing constant. In contrast, the QH conductance, $σ_H$, is smaller than the expected quantized value by a correction $\sim α^2/R_K$. The electromagnetic interaction also generates corrections of order $α^2$ to the quasiparticle charges and statistics, in a way that is consistent with general arguments based on gauge invariance. In addition, we present an intuitive argument that relates the flux attachment associated with the composite boson representation of the electron liquid to the empirically observed %persistence of approximate quantization of $ρ_H$, even in circumstances in which $ρ_L$, and the deviation of $σ_H$ from its quantized value, are substantial.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2026

When level repulsion fails: non-normality and chaos in open quantum systems

For Hamiltonian systems, level statistics provide a faithful diagnostic of quantum chaos. By analogy, the statistics of the Lindbladian spectrum are often used in open quantum systems, and the Grobe-Haake-Sommers conjecture proposes that systems with chaotic classical counterparts should exhibit level repulsion in the Lindbladian spectrum. Here we point out an important flaw in this analogy: Hamiltonian and Lindbladian spectra behave differently and have distinct physical interpretations, and one should therefore not expect the latter to provide a reliable diagnostic. For Lindbladians, the late-time dynamics are not determined by the bulk of the eigenvalues but only by those eigenvalues -- and their corresponding eigenvectors -- with small real parts. Combined with the strong non-normality typical of Lindbladians, this allows situations in which the level statistics can be tuned almost arbitrarily without affecting the dynamics on either short or long time scales. We explicitly demonstrate this phenomenon and provide examples in which Ginibre level repulsion arises while the system dynamics at no time show signatures of chaos. We further relate this mechanism to the emergence of a non-Hermitian skin effect in Liouville space, linking boundary-induced eigenvector localization to the observed spectral instability. Our results show that level statistics cannot universally serve as a reliable diagnostic of quantum chaos in open quantum systems and highlight the need for alternative diagnostics that remain robust in strongly non-normal regimes.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

On the relation between fractional charge and statistics

We revisit an argument, originally given by Kivelson and Roček, for why the existence of fractional charge necessarily implies fractional statistics. In doing so, we resolve a contradiction in the original argument, and in the case of a $ν= 1/m$ Laughlin holes, we also show that the standard relation between fractional charge and statistics is necessary by an argument based on a t'Hooft anomaly in a global one-form ${\mathcal Z}_m$ symmetry.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2025

Higher-Dimensional Information Lattice: Quantum State Characterization through Inclusion-Exclusion Local Information

We generalize the information lattice, originally defined for one-dimensional open-boundary chains, to characterize quantum many-body states in higher-dimensional geometries. In one dimension, the information lattice provides a position- and scale-resolved decomposition of von Neumann information. Its generalization is nontrivial because overlapping subsystems can form loops, allowing multiple regions to encode the same information. This prevents information from being assigned uniquely to any one of them. We address this by introducing a higher-dimensional information lattice in which local information is defined through an inclusion-exclusion principle. The inclusion-exclusion local information is assigned to the lattice vertices, each labeled by subsystem position and scale. We implement this construction explicitly in two dimensions and apply it to a range of many-body ground states with distinct entanglement structures. Within this position- and scale-resolved framework, we extract information-based localization lengths, direction-dependent critical exponents, characteristic edge mode information, long-range information patterns due to topological order, and signatures of non-Abelian fusion channels. Our work establishes a general information-theoretic framework for isolating the universal scale-resolved features of quantum many-body states in higher-dimensional geometries.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Witnessing Short- and Long-Range Nonstabilizerness via the Information Lattice

We study nonstabilizerness on the information lattice, and demonstrate that noninteger local information directly indicates nonstabilizerness. For states with a clear separation of short- and large-scale information, noninteger total information at large scales $Γ$ serves as a witness of long-range nonstabilizerness. We propose a folding procedure to separate the global and edge-to-edge contributions to $Γ$. As an example we show that the ferromagnetic ground state of the spin-1/2 three-state Potts model has long-range nonstabilizerness originating from global correlations, while the paramagnetic ground state has at most short-range nonstabilizerness.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Local Information Flow in Quantum Quench Dynamics

We investigate the out-of-equilibrium dynamics of quantum information in one-dimensional systems undergoing a quantum quench using a local perspective based on the information lattice. This framework provides a scale- and space-resolved decomposition of quantum correlations, enabling a hydrodynamic description of the information flow through well-defined local densities -- termed local information -- and currents. We apply this framework to three local quenches in noninteracting fermionic chains: (i) the release of a single particle into an empty tight-binding chain, (ii) the connection of two critical chains via the removal of a central barrier, and (iii) the coupling of a topological Kitaev chain to a critical chain. In each case, the information lattice reveals the local structure of correlation buildup and information interface effects, going beyond global measures such as the von Neumann entropy. In particular, through the information lattice we uncover the signatures in the local information flow associated with topological edge modes and analytically explain the fractional von Neumann entropy values observed in Majorana quench protocols. Our approach is general and applicable to interacting, disordered, and open systems, providing a powerful tool for characterizing quantum information dynamics.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Universal Characterization of Quantum Many-Body States through Local Information

We propose a universal framework for classifying quantum states based on their scale-resolved correlation structure. Using the recently introduced information lattice, which provides an operational definition of the total amount of correlations at each scale, we define intrinsic characteristic length scales of quantum states. We analyze ground and midspectrum eigenstates of the disordered interacting Kitaev chain, showing that our framework provides a novel unbiased approach to quantum matter.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Ultraslow Growth of Number Entropy in an l-bit Model of Many-Body Localization

We demonstrate that slow growth of the number entropy following a quench from a local product state is consistent with many-body localization. To do this we construct a random circuit l-bit model with exponentially localized l-bits and exponentially decaying interactions between them. We observe an ultraslow growth of the number entropy starting from a Néel state, saturating at a value that grows with system size. This suggests that the observation of such growth in microscopic models is not sufficient to rule out many-body localization.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2024

Interacting Local Topological Markers: A one-particle density matrix approach for characterizing the topology of interacting and disordered states

While topology is a property of a quantum state itself, most existing methods for characterizing the topology of interacting phases of matter require direct knowledge of the underlying Hamiltonian. We offer an alternative by utilizing the one-particle density matrix formalism to extend the concept of the Chern, chiral, and Chern-Simons markers to include interactions. The one-particle density matrix of a free-fermion state is a projector onto the occupied bands, defining a Brillouin zone bundle of the given topological class. This is no longer the case in the interacting limit, but as long as the one-particle density matrix is gapped, its spectrum can be adiabatically flattened, connecting it to a topologically equivalent projector. The corresponding topological markers thus characterize the topology of the interacting phase. Importantly, the one-particle density matrix is defined in terms of a given state alone, making the local markers numerically favorable, and providing a valuable tool for characterizing topology of interacting systems when only the state itself is available. To demonstrate the practical use of the markers we use the chiral marker to identify the topology of midspectrum eigenstates of the Ising-Majorana chain across the transition between the ergodic and many-body localized phases. We also apply the chiral marker to random states with a known topology, and compare it with the entanglement spectrum degeneracy.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Efficient Large-Scale Many-Body Quantum Dynamics via Local-Information Time Evolution

During time evolution of many-body systems entanglement grows rapidly, limiting exact simulations to small-scale systems or small timescales. Quantum information tends however to flow towards larger scales without returning to local scales, such that its detailed large-scale structure does not directly affect local observables. This allows for the removal of large-scale quantum information in a way that preserves all local observables and gives access to large-scale and large-time quantum dynamics. To this end, we use the recently introduced information lattice to organize quantum information into different scales, allowing us to define local information and information currents which we employ to systematically discard long-range quantum correlations in a controlled way. Our approach relies on decomposing the system into subsystems up to a maximum scale and time evolving the subsystem density matrices by solving the subsystem von Neumann equations in parallel. Importantly, the information flow needs to be preserved during the discarding of large-scale information. To achieve this without the need to make assumptions about the microscopic details of the information current, we introduce a second scale at which information is discarded while using the state at the maximum scale to accurately obtain the information flow. The resulting algorithm, which we call local information time evolution (LITE), is highly versatile and suitable for investigating many-body quantum dynamics in both closed and open quantum systems with diverse hydrodynamic behaviors. We present results for energy transport in the mixed-field Ising model and magnetization transport in an open XX spin chain where we accurately determine the diffusion coefficients. The information lattice framework employed here promises to offer insightful results about the spatial and temporal behavior of entanglement in many-body systems.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Local Topological Markers in Odd Spatial Dimensions and Their Application to Amorphous Topological Matter

Local topological markers, topological invariants evaluated by local expectation values, are valuable for characterizing topological phases in materials lacking translation invariance. The Chern marker -- the Chern number expressed in terms of the Fourier transformed Chern character -- is an easily applicable local marker in even dimensions, but there are no analogous expressions for odd dimensions. We provide general analytic expressions for local markers for free-fermion topological states in odd dimensions protected by local symmetries: a Chiral marker, a local $\mathbb Z$ marker which in case of translation invariance is equivalent to the chiral winding number, and a Chern-Simons marker, a local $\mathbb Z_2$ marker characterizing all nonchiral phases in odd dimensions. We achieve this by introducing a one-parameter family $P_{\vartheta}$ of single-particle density matrices interpolating between a trivial state and the state of interest. By interpreting the parameter $\vartheta$ as an additional dimension, we calculate the Chern marker for the family $P_{\vartheta}$. We demonstrate the practical use of these markers by characterizing the topological phases of two amorphous Hamiltonians in three dimensions: a topological superconductor ($\mathbb Z$ classification) and a topological insulator ($\mathbb Z_2$ classification).

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2022

Time-evolution of local information: thermalization dynamics of local observables

Quantum many-body dynamics generically results in increasing entanglement that eventually leads to thermalization of local observables. This makes the exact description of the dynamics complex despite the apparent simplicity of (high-temperature) thermal states. For accurate but approximate simulations one needs a way to keep track of essential (quantum) information while discarding inessential one. To this end, we first introduce the concept of the information lattice, which supplements the physical spatial lattice with an additional dimension and where a local Hamiltonian gives rise to well defined locally conserved von Neumann information current. This provides a convenient and insightful way of capturing the flow, through time and space, of information during quantum time evolution, and gives a distinct signature of when local degrees of freedom decouple from long-range entanglement. As an example, we describe such decoupling of local degrees of freedom for the mixed field transverse Ising model. Building on this, we secondly construct algorithms to time-evolve sets of local density matrices without any reference to a global state. With the notion of information currents, we can motivate algorithms based on the intuition that information for statistical reasons flow from small to large scales. Using this guiding principle, we construct an algorithm that, at worst, shows two-digit convergence in time-evolutions up to very late times for diffusion process governed by the mixed field transverse Ising Hamiltonian. While we focus on dynamics in 1D with nearest-neighbor Hamiltonians, the algorithms do not essentially rely on these assumptions and can in principle be generalized to higher dimensions and more complicated Hamiltonians.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2019

Non-local order parameters for states with topological electromagnetic response

Chern insulators are states of matter characterized by a quantized Hall conductance, gapless edge modes but also a singular response to monopole configurations of an external electromagnetic field. In this paper, we describe the nature of such a singular response and show how it can be used to define a class of operators acting as non-local order parameters. These operators characterize the Chern-insulator states in the following way: for a given state, there exists a corresponding operator which has an algebraically decaying two-point function in that particular state, while it decays exponentially in all other states. The behaviour of the order parameter is defined only in terms of the electromagnetic response, and not from any microscopic properties, and we therefore claim to have found a generic order parameter for the Chern insulating states. We support this claim by numerically evaluating the order parameters for different insulating states. We also show how our construction can be generalized to other states with topological electromagnetic response, and use the states with a quantized magnetoelectric effect in three dimensions as an example. Besides providing novel insights into topological states of matter, our construction can be exploited to efficiently diagnose such states numerically.

cond-mat.str-el↗