We study geodesics on the parameter manifold for systems exhibiting second order classical and quantum phase transitions. The coupled nonlinear geodesic equations are solved numerically for a variety of models which show such phase transitions in the thermodynamic limit. It is established that both in the classical as well as in the quantum cases, geodesics are confined to a single phase and exhibit turning behavior near critical points. Our results are indicative of a geometric universality in widely different physical systems.
We study geodesics on the parameter manifold for systems exhibiting second order classical and quantum phase transitions. The coupled nonlinear geodesic equations are solved numerically for a variety of models which show such phase transitions in the thermodynamic limit. It is established that both in the classical as well as in the quantum cases, geodesics are confined to a single phase and exhibit turning behavior near critical points. Our results are indicative of a geometric universality in widely different physical systems.
We define geometric critical exponents for systems that undergo continuous second-order classical and quantum phase transitions. These relate scalar quantities on the information theoretic parameter manifolds of such systems, near criticality. We calculate these exponents by approximating the metric and thereby solving geodesic equations analytically, near curvature singularities of two-dimensional parameter manifolds. The critical exponents are seen to be the same for both classical and quantum systems that we consider, and we provide evidence about the possible universality of our results.
We elucidate the geometry of quantum adiabatic evolution. By minimizing the deviation from adiabaticity, we find a Riemannian metric tensor underlying adiabatic evolution. Equipped with this tensor, we identify a unified geometric description of quantum adiabatic evolution and quantum phase transitions that generalizes previous treatments to allow for degeneracy. The same structure is relevant for applications in quantum information processing, including adiabatic and holonomic quantum computing, where geodesics over the manifold of control parameters correspond to paths which minimize errors. We illustrate this geometric structure with examples, for which we explicitly find adiabatic geodesics. By solving the geodesic equations in the vicinity of a quantum critical point, we identify universal characteristics of optimal adiabatic passage through a quantum phase transition. In particular, we show that in the vicinity of a critical point describing a second-order quantum phase transition, the geodesic exhibits power-law scaling with an exponent given by twice the inverse of the product of the spatial and scaling dimensions.
Information theoretic geometry near critical points in classical and quantum systems is well understood for exactly solvable systems. Here, we show that renormalization group flow equations can be used to construct the information metric and its associated quantities near criticality for both classical and quantum systems in a universal manner. We study this metric in various cases and establish its scaling properties in several generic examples. Scaling relations on the parameter manifold involving scalar quantities are studied, and scaling exponents are identified. The meaning of the scalar curvature and the invariant geodesic distance in information geometry is established and substantiated from a renormalization group perspective.
Information theoretic geometry near critical points in classical and quantum systems is well understood for exactly solvable systems. Here we show that renormalization group flow equations can be used to construct the information metric and its associated quantities near criticality, for both classical and quantum systems, in an universal manner. We study this metric in various cases and establish its scaling properties in several generic examples. Scaling relations on the parameter manifold involving scalar quantities are studied, and scaling exponents are identified. The meaning of the scalar curvature and the invariant geodesic distance in information geometry is established and substantiated from a renormalization group perspective.
Classical and quantum criticality In most cases the phases of quantum field theories, in particular those of interest in condensed matter physics, can be described in terms of the behavior of local observables, such as order parameters or currents that transform properly under the symmetries of the theory. Quantum and thermal phase transitions are characterized by the behavior of these observables as a function of temperature and of the coupling constants of the theory. The phase transitions themselves, quantum or thermal, are classified into universality classes, which are represented by the critical exponents which specify the scaling laws of the expectation values of the observables. Historically, the development of this approach to critical behavior goes back to the Landau theory of critical behavior. It acquired its most complete form with the development of the renormalization group (RG) in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It is the centerpiece of Wilson’s approach to quantum field theory, in which all local quantum field theories are defined by the scaling regime of a physical system near a continuous phase transition. From this point of view there is no fundamental difference between classical (or thermal) phase transitions, which are described by the theory of classical critical behavior, and quantum phase transitions. For example, the expectation value of a local order parameter M as the thermal phase transition is approached from below behaves as M ~ (Tc − T) β . Here T c is the critical temperature and β is a critical exponent that depends on the universality class of the thermal phase transition and on the dimensionality of space. While quantum mechanics can play a key role in the existence of the ordered phase, e.g. superfluidity and superconductivity are macroscopic manifestations of essentially quantum-mechanical phenomena, the thermal transition itself is governed entirely by classical statistical mechanics, and quantum mechanics plays a role in setting the value of non-universal quantities such as the critical temperature, etc. On the other hand, in the case of a quantum phase transition, the order parameter M has a similar scaling behavior as a function of the coupling constant, M~(gc−g)β˜, where g is the coupling constant, g c is the critical coupling constant, and β˜ is a critical exponent that depends on the universality class of the quantum phase transition. Here we assume that M has a non-vanishing expectation value only for g < g c .
We analyze the geometry of the ground-state manifold in parameter-dependent many-body systems with quantum phase transitions (QPTs) and describe finite-size precursors of the singular geometry emerging at the QPT boundary in the infinite-size limit. In particular, we elucidate the role of diabolic points in the formation of first-order QPTs, showing that these isolated geometric singularities represent seeds generating irregular behavior of geodesics in finite systems. We also demonstrate that established approximations, namely the mean-field approximation in many-body systems composed of mutually interacting bosons and the two-level approximation near a diabolic point, are insufficient to provide a reliable description of geometry. The outcomes of the general analysis are tested and illustrated by a specific bosonic model from the Lipkin-Meshkov-Glick family.