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arXiv:1306.2666 · Journal of Statistical Mechanics Theory and Experiment

Bethe ansatz description of edge-localization in the open-boundary XXZ spin chain

Vincenzo Alba, Kush Saha, Masudul Haque

Published Oct 24, 2013• 14 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

At large values of the anisotropy Δ, the open-boundary Heisenberg spin- chain has eigenstates displaying localization at the edges. We present a Bethe ansatz description of this ‘edge-locking’ phenomenon in the entire Δ > 1 region. We focus on the simplest spin sectors, namely the highly polarized sectors with only one or two overturned spins, i.e., one-particle and two-particle sectors. Edge-locking is associated with pure imaginary solutions of the Bethe equations, which are not commonly encountered in periodic chains. In the one-particle case, at large Δ there are two eigenstates with imaginary Bethe momenta, related to localization at the two edges. For any finite chain size, one of the two solutions become real as Δ is lowered below a certain value. For two particles, a richer scenario is observed, with eigenstates having the possibility of both particles locked on the same or different edge, one locked and the other free, or both free either as single magnons or as bound composites corresponding to ‘string’ solutions. For finite chains, some of the edge-locked spins get delocalized at certain values of Δ (‘exceptional points’), corresponding to imaginary solutions becoming real. We characterize these phenomena thoroughly by providing analytic expansions of the Bethe momenta for large chains, large anisotropy Δ, and near the exceptional points. In the large-chain limit all the exceptional points coalesce at the isotropic point (Δ = 1) and edge-locking becomes stable in the whole Δ > 1 region.

DOI
10.1088/1742-5468/2013/10/p10018

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Abstract Every solution of the Bethe ansatz equations (BAEs) is characterized by a set of quantum numbers called the Bethe quantum numbers, which are fundamental for evaluating each Bethe root numerically. We rigorously derive the Bethe quantum numbers for the real solutions of the spin-1/2 massive XXZ spin chain in the two down-spin sector, assuming the existence of solutions to some form of BAE. In the sector the quantum numbers J 1 and J 2 were derived for complex solutions, but not for real solutions. We show the exact results in the sector as follows. (i) When two Bethe quantum numbers are different, i.e. for J 1 ≠ J 2 , we introduce a graphical method, which we call a contour method, for deriving the solution of BAE to a given set of Bethe quantum numbers. By the method, we can readily show the existence and the uniqueness of the solution. (ii) When two Bethe quantum numbers are equal, i.e. for J 1 = J 2 , we derive the criteria for the collapse of two-strings and the emergence of an extra two-string by an analytic method. (iii) We obtain the number of real solutions, which depends on the site number N and the XXZ anisotropy parameter ζ. (iv) We derive all infinite-valued solutions of BAE for the XXX spin chain in the two down-spin sector through the XXX limit. (v) We explicitly show the completeness of the Bethe ansatz in terms of the Bethe quantum numbers.