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arXiv:1312.4606

A Non-existence Proof of Quantum Phase Transition in Spin-Boson Model

Tao Liu, Ze-Xian Cao

Published Dec 17, 2013• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Quantum phase transition in the spin-boson model was claimed on the basis of various numerical studies, but not strictly proven. Here by using a unitary transformation to decompose the Hamiltonian into two branches of odd and even parity we obtained the necessary and sufficient condition for degeneracy to occur between states of opposite parity in the spin-boson model, and the analytical expression for such degenerate energies. It can be strictly proven that the ground state of spin-boson model with non-vanishing tunneling amplitude must have an energy lower than the lowest possible such degenerate energy, and have definite parity. Starting from the invariancy of the parity operator we show that finite expansion by numerical calculation induces the breaking of parity symmetry responsible for the phase transition. The critical dissipation parameter we obtained for parity-symmetry breaking, as a logarithmic function of summed diagonal matrix elements in the finite expansion for the bosonic part of the parity operator, can reproduce the phase diagram derived with quantum Monte Carlo method and logarithmically discretized numberical renormalization group approach. It reveals that the quantum phase transition in spin-boson model claimed by numerical procedures arises from symmetry breaking caused by finite expansion in practical calculation. The method we developed here may also be applicable to the discussion of quantum chaos and other similar problems.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.1312.4606

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Quantum phase transition in the spin-boson model was claimed on the basis of various numerical studies, but not strictly proven. Here by using a unitary transformation to decompose the Hamiltonian into two branches of odd and even parity we obtained the necessary and sufficient condition for degeneracy to occur between states of opposite parity in the spin-boson model, and the analytical expression for such degenerate energies. It can be strictly proven that the ground state of spin-boson model with non-vanishing tunneling amplitude must have an energy lower than the lowest possible such degenerate energy, and have definite parity. Starting from the invariancy of the parity operator we show that finite expansion by numerical calculation induces the breaking of parity symmetry responsible for the phase transition. The critical dissipation parameter we obtained for parity-symmetry breaking, as a logarithmic function of summed diagonal matrix elements in the finite expansion for the bosonic part of the parity operator, can reproduce the phase diagram derived with quantum Monte Carlo method and logarithmically discretized numberical renormalization group approach. It reveals that the quantum phase transition in spin-boson model claimed by numerical procedures arises from symmetry breaking caused by finite expansion in practical calculation. The method we developed here may also be applicable to the discussion of quantum chaos and other similar problems.
By utilizing a unitary transformation, we derive the necessary and sufficient conditions for the degeneracy between the even- and odd-parity energy states of the spin-boson model (SBM). Employing the Rayleigh quotient of matrix algebra, we rigorously prove that the ground state energy of the SBM is lower than the systems lowest possible degenerate energy and possesses a definite parity. Based on the necessary and sufficient conditions for parity breaking, we provide an analytical expression for the parity-breaking critical value, which is closely related to the expansion order and computational accuracy. This expression reproduces the SBM phase diagram obtained by quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) and logarithmic discretization numerical renormalization group (NRG) methods. However, this phase diagram does not characterize the ground state of the system.
We explore the spin-boson model in a special case, i.e., with zero local field. In contrast to previous studies, we find no possibility for quantum phase transition (QPT) happening between the localized and delocalized phases, and the behavior of the model can be fully characterized by the even or odd parity as well as the parity breaking, instead of the QPT, owned by the ground state of the system. The parity breaking mentioned in our case is completely different from the spontaneously broken symmetry relevant to the conventionally defined QPT in previous studies. Our analytical treatment about the eigensolution of the ground state of the model presents for the first time a rigorous proof of no-degeneracy for the ground state of the model, which is independent of the bath type, the degrees of freedom of the bath and the calculation precision. We argue that the QPT mentioned previously appears due to incorrect employment of the ground state of the model and/or unreasonable treatment of the infrared divergence existing in the spectral functions for Ohmic and sub-Ohmic dissipations.
A generalized trial wave function termed as the ``multi-D1{D}_{1}D1​ ansatz'' has been developed to study the ground state of the spin-boson model with simultaneous diagonal and off-diagonal coupling in the sub-Ohmic regime. Ground-state properties including energy and spin polarization are investigated, and the results are consistent with those from exact diagonalization and density matrix renormalization group approaches for the cases involving two oscillators and two baths described by a continuous spectral density function. Breakdown of the rotational and parity symmetries along the continuous quantum phase transition separating the localized phase from the critical phase has been uncovered. Moreover, the phase boundary is determined accurately with the corresponding rotational- and parity-symmetry parameters. A critical value of the spectral exponent s∗=0.49(1){s}^{*}=0.49(1)s∗=0.49(1) is predicted in the weak coupling limit, which is in agreement with the mean-field prediction of 1/21/21/2, but much smaller than the earlier literature estimate of 0.75(1)0.75(1)0.75(1).
The spin-boson model is a paradigm for studying decoherence, relaxation, entanglement and other effects that arise in a quantum system coupled to environmental degrees of freedom. At zero temperature, a localization-delocalization phase transition is known to exist in the sub-Ohmic regime, where the standard density matrix renormalization group algorithm is inadequate due to the divergence in the number of low-frequency modes. This limitation is circumvented in this work by symmetrically optimizing the phonon basis and introducing an order parameter accounting for the U(1) symmetry for a two-bath spin-boson model, by which we are able to determine the classification and criticality of the phase transition explicitly. Compared with variational results, the critical phase is characterized by spontaneous vanishing of boson displacements in both the baths, resulting in an accurate phase diagram with three model parameters.
The spin-boson model has nontrivial quantum phase transitions in the sub-Ohmic regime. For the bath spectra exponent $0\ensuremath{\leqslant}s<1/2$, the bosonic numerical renormalization group (BNRG) study of the exponents $\ensuremath{\beta}$ and $\ensuremath{\delta}$ are hampered by the boson-state truncation, which leads to artificial interacting exponents instead of the correct Gaussian ones. In this paper, guided by a mean-field calculation, we study the order-parameter function $m(\ensuremath{\tau}=\ensuremath{\alpha}\ensuremath{-}{\ensuremath{\alpha}}_{c},\ensuremath{\epsilon},\ensuremath{\Delta})$ using BNRG. Scaling analysis with respect to the boson-state truncation Nb{N}_{b}Nb​, the logarithmic discretization parameter $\ensuremath{\Lambda}$, and the tunneling strength $\ensuremath{\Delta}$ are carried out. Truncation-induced multiple-power behaviors are observed close to the critical point, with artificial values of $\ensuremath{\beta}$ and $\ensuremath{\delta}$. They cross over to classical behaviors with exponents $\ensuremath{\beta}=1/2$ and $\ensuremath{\delta}=3$ on the intermediate scales of $\ensuremath{\tau}$ and $\ensuremath{\epsilon}$, respectively. We also find $\ensuremath{\tau}/{\ensuremath{\Delta}}^{1\ensuremath{-}s}$ and $\ensuremath{\epsilon}/\ensuremath{\Delta}$ scalings in the function $m(\ensuremath{\tau},\ensuremath{\epsilon},\ensuremath{\Delta})$. The role of boson-state truncation as a scaling variable in the BNRG result for $0\ensuremath{\leqslant}s<1/2$ is identified and its interplay with the logarithmic discretization revealed. Relevance to the validity of quantum-to-classical mapping in other impurity models is discussed.
According to our scheme to construct quantum phase transitions (QPTs) in spin chain systems with matrix product ground states, we first successfully combine matrix product state (MPS) QPTs with spontaneous symmetry breaking. For a concrete model, we take into account a kind of MPS QPTs accompanied by spontaneous parity breaking, though for either side of the critical point the GS is typically unique, and show that the kind of MPS QPTs occur only in the thermodynamic limit and are accompanied by the appearance of singularities, diverging correlation length, vanishing energy gap and the entanglement entropy of a half-infinite chain not only staying finite but also whose first derivative discontinuous.