Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:0803.1102 · Physical Review A

Thermal state entanglement in harmonic lattices

Janet Anders

Published Jun 10, 2008• 86 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We investigate the entanglement properties of thermal states of the harmonic lattice in one, two, and three dimensions. We establish the value of the critical temperature for entanglement between neighboring sites and give physical reasons. Further sites are shown to be entangled only due to boundary effects. Other forms of entanglement are addressed in the second part of the paper by using the energy as witness of entanglement. We close with a comprehensive diagram showing the different phases of entanglement versus complete separability and propose techniques to swap and tune entanglement experimentally.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.77.062102

Related papers

Entanglement at the quantum phase transition in a harmonic lattice

Elisabeth Rieper, Janet Anders, Vlatko Vedral

The entanglement properties of the phase transition in a two dimensional harmonic lattice, similar to the one observed in recent ion trap experiments, are discussed both, for finite number of particles and thermodynamical limit. We show that for the ground state at the critical value of the trapping potential two entanglement measures, the negativity between two neighbouring sites and the block entropy for blocks of size 1, 2 and 3, change abruptly. Entanglement thus indicates quantum phase transitions in general; not only in the finite dimensional case considered in [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 93}, 250404 (2004)]. Finally, we consider the thermal state and compare its exact entanglement with a temperature entanglement witness introduced in [Phys. Rev. A {\bf 77} 062102 (2008)].

arXiv:0908.0636•New Journal of Physics•Feb 26, 2010•12 citations

Entanglement at the quantum phase transition in a harmonic lattice

Elisabeth Rieper, Janet Anders, Vlatko Vedral

The entanglement properties of phase transition in a two-dimensional harmonic lattice, similar to the one observed in recent ion trap experiments, are discussed for both finite number of particles and thermodynamical limit. We show that for the ground state at the critical value of the trapping potential, two entanglement measures, the negativity between two neighbouring sites and the block entropy for blocks of size 1, 2 and 3, change abruptly. Entanglement thus indicates quantum phase transitions in general, not only in the finite-dimensional case considered in Wu et al (2004 Phys. Rev. Lett. 93 250404). Finally, we consider the thermal state and compare its exact entanglement with a temperature entanglement witness introduced in Anders (2008 Phys. Rev. A 77 062102).

•Feb 26, 2010•18 citations

Entanglement and separability of quantum harmonic oscillator systems at finite temperature

Janet Anders, Andreas Winter

In the present paper we study the entanglement properties of thermal (a.k.a.~\emph{Gibbs}) states of quantum harmonic oscillator systems as functions of the Hamiltonian and the temperature. We prove the physical intuition that at sufficiently high temperatures the thermal state becomes fully separable and we deduce bounds on the critical temperature at which this happens. We show that the bound becomes tight for a wide class of Hamiltonians with sufficient translation symmetry. We find, that at the crossover the thermal energy is of the order of the energy of the strongest normal mode of the system and quantify the degree of entanglement below the critical temperature. Finally, we discuss the example of a ring topology in detail and compare our results with previous work in an entanglement-phase diagram.

arXiv:0705.3026•Quantum Information and Computation•Mar 1, 2008•46 citations

Entanglement in a simple quantum phase transition

Tobias J. Osborne, Michael A. Nielsen

What entanglement is present in naturally occurring physical systems at thermal equilibrium? Most such systems are intractable and it is desirable to study simple but realistic systems that can be solved. An example of such a system is the one-dimensional infinite-lattice anisotropic $\mathrm{XY}$ model. This model is exactly solvable using the Jordan-Wigner transform, and it is possible to calculate the two-site reduced density matrix for all pairs of sites. Using the two-site density matrix, the entanglement of formation between any two sites is calculated for all parameter values and temperatures. We also study the entanglement in the transverse Ising model, a special case of the $\mathrm{XY}$ model, which exhibits a quantum phase transition. It is found that the next-nearest-neighbor entanglement (though not the nearest-neighbor entanglement) is a maximum at the critical point. Furthermore, we show that the critical point in the transverse Ising model corresponds to a transition in the behavior of the entanglement between a single site and the remainder of the lattice.

arXiv:quant-ph/0202162•Physical Review A•Sep 23, 2002•1,472 citations

Entanglement-area law for general bosonic harmonic lattice systems

M. Cramer, Jens Eisert, Martin Bodo Plenio +1 more

We demonstrate that the entropy of entanglement and the distillable entanglement of regions with respect to the rest of a general harmonic-lattice system in the ground or a thermal state scale at most as the boundary area of the region. This area law is rigorously proven to hold true in noncritical harmonic-lattice systems of arbitrary spatial dimension, for general finite-ranged harmonic interactions, regions of arbitrary shape, and states of nonzero temperature. For nearest-neighbor interactions---corresponding to the Klein-Gordon case---upper and lower bounds to the degree of entanglement can be stated explicitly for arbitrarily shaped regions, generalizing the findings of Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 060503 (2005). These higher-dimensional analogs of the analysis of block entropies in the one-dimensional case show that under general conditions, one can expect an area law for the entanglement in noncritical harmonic many-body systems. The proofs make use of methods from entanglement theory, as well as of results on matrix functions of block-banded matrices. Disordered systems are also considered. We moreover construct a class of examples for which the two-point correlation length diverges, yet still an area law can be proven to hold. We finally consider the scaling of classical correlations in a classical harmonic system and relate it to a quantum lattice system with a modified interaction. We briefly comment on a general relationship between criticality and area laws for the entropy of entanglement.

arXiv:quant-ph/0505092•Physical Review A•Jan 10, 2006•223 citations

Thermal entanglement between non-nearest-neighbor spins on fractal lattices

Yu-Liang Xu, Lu-Shun Wang, Xiang-Mu Kong

We investigate the thermal entanglement between two end sites in spin chains and on fractal lattices by taking the negativity as a measure and using the decimation renormalization-group method. The effects of the temperature $T$, the anisotropy parameter $\ensuremath{\Delta}$, and the size of the system, $L$, on the entanglement are examined in detail. It is found that the entanglement decreases monotonically with increasing $T$ and vanishes beyond a critical value ${T}_{c}$. Our results also show that with increasing $\ensuremath{\Delta}$ from $\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\infty}$ to zero the entanglement first increases to the maximum and then decreases sharply to zero. Different from the cases of spin chains and Koch curves, the entanglement on the diamond-type hierarchical (DH) lattices presents some interesting behaviors. As the sizes of the DH lattices, $L$, become large, the entanglement is rather robust and there exists sizable entanglement between long-distance end sites. This result indicates that different fractal structures can result in various entanglement properties.

arXiv:1203.4774•Physical Review A•Jan 16, 2013•19 citations
We investigate the entanglement properties of thermal states of the harmonic lattice in one, two, and three dimensions. We establish the value of the critical temperature for entanglement between neighboring sites and give physical reasons. Further sites are shown to be entangled only due to boundary effects. Other forms of entanglement are addressed in the second part of the paper by using the energy as witness of entanglement. We close with a comprehensive diagram showing the different phases of entanglement versus complete separability and propose techniques to swap and tune entanglement experimentally.
The entanglement properties of the phase transition in a two dimensional harmonic lattice, similar to the one observed in recent ion trap experiments, are discussed both, for finite number of particles and thermodynamical limit. We show that for the ground state at the critical value of the trapping potential two entanglement measures, the negativity between two neighbouring sites and the block entropy for blocks of size 1, 2 and 3, change abruptly. Entanglement thus indicates quantum phase transitions in general; not only in the finite dimensional case considered in [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 93}, 250404 (2004)]. Finally, we consider the thermal state and compare its exact entanglement with a temperature entanglement witness introduced in [Phys. Rev. A {\bf 77} 062102 (2008)].
The entanglement properties of phase transition in a two-dimensional harmonic lattice, similar to the one observed in recent ion trap experiments, are discussed for both finite number of particles and thermodynamical limit. We show that for the ground state at the critical value of the trapping potential, two entanglement measures, the negativity between two neighbouring sites and the block entropy for blocks of size 1, 2 and 3, change abruptly. Entanglement thus indicates quantum phase transitions in general, not only in the finite-dimensional case considered in Wu et al (2004 Phys. Rev. Lett. 93 250404). Finally, we consider the thermal state and compare its exact entanglement with a temperature entanglement witness introduced in Anders (2008 Phys. Rev. A 77 062102).
In the present paper we study the entanglement properties of thermal (a.k.a.~\emph{Gibbs}) states of quantum harmonic oscillator systems as functions of the Hamiltonian and the temperature. We prove the physical intuition that at sufficiently high temperatures the thermal state becomes fully separable and we deduce bounds on the critical temperature at which this happens. We show that the bound becomes tight for a wide class of Hamiltonians with sufficient translation symmetry. We find, that at the crossover the thermal energy is of the order of the energy of the strongest normal mode of the system and quantify the degree of entanglement below the critical temperature. Finally, we discuss the example of a ring topology in detail and compare our results with previous work in an entanglement-phase diagram.
What entanglement is present in naturally occurring physical systems at thermal equilibrium? Most such systems are intractable and it is desirable to study simple but realistic systems that can be solved. An example of such a system is the one-dimensional infinite-lattice anisotropic XY\mathrm{XY}XY model. This model is exactly solvable using the Jordan-Wigner transform, and it is possible to calculate the two-site reduced density matrix for all pairs of sites. Using the two-site density matrix, the entanglement of formation between any two sites is calculated for all parameter values and temperatures. We also study the entanglement in the transverse Ising model, a special case of the XY\mathrm{XY}XY model, which exhibits a quantum phase transition. It is found that the next-nearest-neighbor entanglement (though not the nearest-neighbor entanglement) is a maximum at the critical point. Furthermore, we show that the critical point in the transverse Ising model corresponds to a transition in the behavior of the entanglement between a single site and the remainder of the lattice.
We demonstrate that the entropy of entanglement and the distillable entanglement of regions with respect to the rest of a general harmonic-lattice system in the ground or a thermal state scale at most as the boundary area of the region. This area law is rigorously proven to hold true in noncritical harmonic-lattice systems of arbitrary spatial dimension, for general finite-ranged harmonic interactions, regions of arbitrary shape, and states of nonzero temperature. For nearest-neighbor interactions---corresponding to the Klein-Gordon case---upper and lower bounds to the degree of entanglement can be stated explicitly for arbitrarily shaped regions, generalizing the findings of Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 060503 (2005). These higher-dimensional analogs of the analysis of block entropies in the one-dimensional case show that under general conditions, one can expect an area law for the entanglement in noncritical harmonic many-body systems. The proofs make use of methods from entanglement theory, as well as of results on matrix functions of block-banded matrices. Disordered systems are also considered. We moreover construct a class of examples for which the two-point correlation length diverges, yet still an area law can be proven to hold. We finally consider the scaling of classical correlations in a classical harmonic system and relate it to a quantum lattice system with a modified interaction. We briefly comment on a general relationship between criticality and area laws for the entropy of entanglement.
We investigate the thermal entanglement between two end sites in spin chains and on fractal lattices by taking the negativity as a measure and using the decimation renormalization-group method. The effects of the temperature TTT, the anisotropy parameter $\ensuremath{\Delta}$, and the size of the system, LLL, on the entanglement are examined in detail. It is found that the entanglement decreases monotonically with increasing TTT and vanishes beyond a critical value Tc{T}_{c}Tc​. Our results also show that with increasing $\ensuremath{\Delta}$ from $\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\infty}$ to zero the entanglement first increases to the maximum and then decreases sharply to zero. Different from the cases of spin chains and Koch curves, the entanglement on the diamond-type hierarchical (DH) lattices presents some interesting behaviors. As the sizes of the DH lattices, LLL, become large, the entanglement is rather robust and there exists sizable entanglement between long-distance end sites. This result indicates that different fractal structures can result in various entanglement properties.