arXiv subjects

Yicheng Tang

Publications and source records attributed to Yicheng Tang.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Exact Dynamics of Topological Order Across a CDW--SPT Transition

We investigate the nonequilibrium dynamics of a one-dimensional interacting system across a transition from a charge-density-wave (CDW) phase to a symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phase. Starting from a CDW initial state, we study both sudden quenches and slow ramps into the SPT regime. While the CDW order melts under both protocols, the fate of topological order is sharply different. Following a sudden quench, long-range SPT order does not emerge because the post-quench state contains a finite density of excitations above the topological ground state. In contrast, slow ramps allow the system to follow the instantaneous ground state away from the critical region, enabling the buildup of SPT order with deviations governed by Kibble-Zurek defect production. The dynamics is solvable via a unitary mapping to a quadratic fermionic Hamiltonian, allowing us to compute the Loschmidt echo, correlation functions, and string correlator. The Loschmidt rate function exhibits cusps signaling dynamical quantum phase transitions, while the correlation dynamics reveal the contrasting mechanisms governing quenches and ramps across the transition. These results demonstrate that entering the topological regime is not sufficient for the emergence of topological order; the decisive factor is the suppression of excitation production during the evolution.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2026

Isospectrality and Operator Complexity

We study a pair of exactly solvable, isospectral fermion chains, one strongly interacting and one quadratic, that nevertheless display remarkably different phase structures and operator dynamics. A nonlocal nonlinear unitary transformation maps one onto the other while preserving the entire many-body spectrum and converting local fermion operators into extended many-body strings. Thus, operators that evolve within a closed linear subspace in the quadratic model become interacting operators that generate increasingly higher-body terms and exhibit asymptotic Lanczos growth $b_n\propto\sqrt n$. Despite their identical spectra, the two models realize distinct phases and sharply different notions of operator complexity. Our results demonstrate that free many-body spectra and interacting operator dynamics are fundamentally compatible.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

A mean-field description of strong-to-weak symmetry breaking in the monitored three-dimensional Bose-Hubbard model

Strong-to-weak spontaneous symmetry breaking has emerged as a novel form of ordering in monitored and open quantum systems, yet its characterization has so far primarily relied on nonlocal diagnostics. Here, we develop a Gutzwiller mean-field framework for monitored bosonic lattice systems, enabling the direct simulation of stochastic measurement dynamics in three spatial dimensions. Applying this approach to the monitored Bose-Hubbard model with local density measurements and Lindbladian dissipation, we identify strong-to-weak symmetry breaking through a trajectory-averaged local order parameter. We find that this local order parameter becomes critical near the same measurement strength as the charge-sharpening transition and exhibits Lorentz invariance with a correlation-length exponent, $\nu\simeq 1.2$, comparable to that of the charge-sharpening transition, suggesting that the two phenomena may originate from a common underlying critical point. Our work establishes a local characterization of strong-to-weak symmetry breaking, reveals its connection to charge sharpening, and provides concrete predictions for future experiments on the monitored Bose-Hubbard model.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2025

The measurement-induced phase transition in strongly disordered spin chains

We investigate the dynamics of strongly disordered spin chains in the presence of random local measurements. By studying the transverse-field Ising model with a site-dependent random longitudinal field and an effective $l$-bit many-body localized Hamiltonian, we show that the prethermal and MBL regimes are unstable to local measurements along any direction. Any non-zero measurement density induces a volume-law entangled phase with a subsequent phase transition into an area-law state as the measurement rate is further increased. The critical measurement rate $p_c$, where the transition occurs, is exponentially small in the strength of disorder $W$ and the average overlap between the measurement operator and the local integrals of motion $O$ as $p_c \sim \exp[-\alpha W/(1-O^2)]$. In the measurement-induced volume-law phase, the saturation time scales as $t_s \sim L $, contrasting the exponentially slow saturation $t_s \sim e^{aL}$ in the prethermal and MBL regimes at $p = 0$.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2025

What is the topological dual of the XXZ spin Chain?

We construct a dual symmetry-protected topological (SPT) Hamiltonian for the $U(1)$ symmetric anisotropic spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ Heisenberg chain-a model that has traditionally been used to study spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB) in both ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic phases, with an intervening extended Luttinger liquid phase. By performing a non-local unitary transformation, we explicitly construct a local fermionic Hamiltonian that exhibits two nontrivial topological phases separated by an extended Luttinger liquid regime. We demonstrate the topological nature of these phases by analyzing the entanglement structure, deriving a non-local string order parameter, and constructing an exact zero mode operator that connects states in different fermionic parity sectors.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2025

Complete Boundary Phase Diagram of the Spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ XXZ Chain with Boundary Fields in the Anti-Ferromagnetic Gapped Regime

We consider the spin $\frac{1}{2}$ XXZ chain with diagonal boundary fields and solve it exactly using Bethe ansatz in the gapped anti-ferromagnetic regime and obtain the complete phase boundary diagram. Depending on the values of the boundary fields, the system exhibits several phases which can be categorized based on the ground state exhibited by the system and also based on the number of bound states localized at the boundaries. We show that the Hilbert space is comprised of a certain number of towers whose number depends on the number of boundary bound states exhibited by the system. The system undergoes boundary phase transitions when boundary fields are varied across certain critical values. There exist two types of phase transitions. In the first type the ground state of the system undergoes a change. In the second type, named the `Eigenstate phase transition', the number of towers of the Hilbert space changes, which is again associated with the change in the number of boundary bound states exhibited by the system. We use the DMRG and exact diagonalization techniques to probe the signature of the Eigenstate phase transition and the ground state phase transition by analyzing the spin profiles in each eigenstate.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2025

Learner and Instructor Needs in AI-Supported Programming Learning Tools: Design Implications for Features and Adaptive Control

AI-supported tools can help learners overcome challenges in programming education by providing adaptive assistance. However, existing research often focuses on individual tools rather than deriving broader design recommendations. A key challenge in designing these systems is balancing learner control with system-driven guidance. To explore user preferences for AI-supported programming learning tools, we conducted a participatory design study with 15 undergraduate novice programmers and 10 instructors to gather insights on their desired help features and control preferences, as well as a follow-up survey with 172 introductory programming students. Our qualitative findings show that learners prefer help that is encouraging, incorporates visual aids, and includes peer-related insights, whereas instructors prioritize scaffolding that reflects learners' progress and reinforces best practices. Both groups favor shared control, though learners generally prefer more autonomy, while instructors lean toward greater system guidance to prevent cognitive overload. Additionally, our interviews revealed individual differences in control preferences. Based on our findings, we propose design guidelines for AI-supported programming tools, particularly regarding user-centered help features and adaptive control mechanisms. Our work contributes to the human-centered design of AI-supported learning environments by informing the development of systems that effectively balance autonomy and guidance, enhancing AI-supported educational tools for programming and beyond.

cs.HC↗

arXiv2025

Two Channel Kondo behavior in the quantum XX chain with a boundary defect

We demonstrate that a boundary defect in the single spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ quantum $XX$ chain exhibits two-channel Kondo physics. Due to the presence of the defect, the edge spin fractionalizes into two Majorana fermions, out of which one decouples, and one is overscreened by the free fermion in bulk, leading to non-trivial boundary behavior characteristic of the two-channel Kondo model. When the ratio of boundary to bulk coupling exceeds a critical value of $\sqrt{2}$, a massive boundary-bound mode is exponentially localized near the impurity site for strong impurity coupling. This leads to unusual behavior in physical quantities, such as the $g$-function not being monotonic. We compute the $g-$function of the impurity from both thermodynamic and entanglement entropy calculations and show that it takes a non-integer value of $\sqrt{2}$ just as in the two-channel Kondo problem.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

Quantum Zeno Effect in Noisy Integrable Quantum Circuits for Impurity Models

We theoretically study the open quantum system dynamics (in the Trotterized limit) of integrable quantum circuits in the presence of onsite dephasing noise with a spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ impurity interacting at the edge. Using a combination of Bethe Ansatz (BA) and exact diagonalization (ED), we study the dynamics of both the bulk and the impurity for the XXX (Heisenberg) and the XX qubit chains in the presence and absence of bulk noise. In the absence of noise, we show that the impurity exhibits two distinct phases, the bound mode phase where the impurity keeps oscillating in time, and the Kondo phase where it decays with Kondo time $t_K$. Turning on the bulk dephasing noise, we find for the two models that in the long time limit in both regimes the quantum Zeno effect takes place where the dynamics of the impurity magnetization slows down as the noise strength $\gamma$ increases. The impurity magnetization in the bound mode regime shows the opposite effect, decaying faster as the noise strength increases for short times ($t \ll 1/\gamma$). We show that the bulk KPZ dynamics of the XXX model is converted to diffusive dynamics as in the XX case studied before by V. Alba, driving both systems to the Zeno effect for the impurity in the long time limit.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

Edge Spin fractionalization in one-dimensional spin-$S$ quantum antiferromagnets

We show that a gapped spin-$S$ chain with antiferromagnetic (AFM) order exhibits in the thermodynamic limit exponentially localized fractional $\pm \frac{S}{2}$ edge modes when the system possesses U(1) symmetry. We show this for integrable and non integrable spin chains both analytically and numerically. Through exact analytical solutions, we show that an AFM spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ chain with {\it explicitly} broken $\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry and an integrable AFM spin-$1$ chain with {\it spontaneously} broken $\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry have $\pm \frac{1}{4}$ and $\pm \frac{1}{2}$ fractionalized edge modes, respectively. Furthermore, employing the density matrix renormalization group technique, we extend this analysis to {\it generic} $XXZ-S$ chains with $S\leq 3$ and demonstrate that these fractional spins are robust quantum observables, substantiated by the observation of a variance of the associated fractional spin operators that is consistent with a vanishing functional form in the thermodynamic limit. Moreover, we find that the edge modes are robust to disorder that couples to the N\'eel order parameter.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

Ising Meson Spectroscopy on a Noisy Digital Quantum Simulator

Quantum simulation has the potential to be an indispensable technique for the investigation of non-perturbative phenomena in strongly-interacting quantum field theories (QFTs). In the modern quantum era, with Noisy Intermediate Scale Quantum~(NISQ) simulators widely available and larger-scale quantum machines on the horizon, it is natural to ask: what non-perturbative QFT problems can be solved with the existing quantum hardware? We show that existing noisy quantum machines can be used to analyze the energy spectrum of a large family of strongly-interacting 1+1D QFTs. The latter exhibit a wide-range of non-perturbative effects like `quark confinement' and `false vacuum decay' which are typically associated with higher-dimensional QFTs of elementary particles. We perform quench experiments on IBM's ibmq_mumbai quantum simulator to compute the energy spectrum of 1+1D quantum Ising model with a longitudinal field. The latter model is particularly interesting due to the formation of mesonic bound states arising from a confining potential for the Ising domain-walls, reminiscent of t'Hooft's model of two-dimensional quantum chromodynamics. Our results demonstrate that digital quantum simulation in the NISQ era has the potential to be a viable alternative to numerical techniques such as density matrix renormalization group or the truncated conformal space methods for analyzing QFTs.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

The Kondo effect in the quantum $XX$ spin chain

We investigate the boundary phenomena that arise in a finite-size $XX$ spin chain interacting through an $XX$ interaction with a spin$-\frac{1}{2}$ impurity located at its edge. Upon Jordan-Wigner transformation, the model is described by a quadratic Fermionic Hamiltonian. Our work displays, within this ostensibly simple model, the emergence of the Kondo effect, a quintessential hallmark of strongly correlated physics. We also show how the Kondo cloud shrinks and turns into a single particle bound state as the impurity coupling increases beyond a critical value. Using both \textit{Bethe Ansatz} and \textit{exact diagonalization} techniques, we show that the local moment of the impurity is screened by different mechanisms depending on the ratio of the boundary and bulk coupling. When the ratio falls below the critical value $\sqrt{2}$, the impurity is screened via the multiparticle Kondo effect. However, when the ratio between the coupling exceeds the critical value , a bound mode is formed at the impurity site which screens the spin of the impurity. We show that the boundary phase transition is reflected in local ground state properties by calculating the spinon density of states, the magnetization at the impurity site in the presence of a global magnetic field, and the finite temperature susceptibility. We find that the spinon density of states in the Kondo phase has the characteristic Lorentzian peak that moves from the Fermi level to the maximum energy of the spinon as the impurity coupling is increased and becomes a localized bound mode in the bound mode phase. Moreover, the impurity magnetization and the finite temperature impurity susceptibility behave differently in the two phases. When the boundary coupling $J_{\mathrm{imp}}$ exceeds the critical value $\sqrt{2}J$, the model is no longer boundary conformal invariant as a massive bound mode appears at the impurity site.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2023

Spin fractionalization and zero modes in the spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ XXZ chain with boundary fields

In this work we argue that the antiferromagnetic spin $\frac{1}{2}$ XXZ chain in the gapped phase with boundary magnetic fields hosts fractional spin $\frac{1}{4}$ at its edges. Using a combination of Bethe ansatz and the density matrix renormalization group we show that these fractional spins are sharp quantum observables in both the ground and the first excited state as the associated fractional spin operators have zero variance. In the limit of zero edge fields, we argue that these fractional spin operators once projected onto the low energy subspace spanned by the ground state and the first excited state, identify with the strong zero energy mode discovered by P. Fendley \cite{Fendley}.

cond-mat.str-el↗