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arXiv:1406.3588 · Scientific Reports

Universal Order Parameters and Quantum Phase Transitions: A Finite-Size Approach

Qian‐Qian Shi, Huan-Qiang Zhou, Murray T. Batchelor

Published Jan 8, 2015• 6 citations
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Abstract

We propose a method to construct universal order parameters for quantum phase transitions in many-body lattice systems. The method exploits the H-orthogonality of a few near-degenerate lowest states of the Hamiltonian describing a given finite-size system, which makes it possible to perform finite-size scaling and take full advantage of currently available numerical algorithms. An explicit connection is established between the fidelity per site between two H-orthogonal states and the energy gap between the ground state and low-lying excited states in the finite-size system. The physical information encoded in this gap arising from finite-size fluctuations clarifies the origin of the universal order parameter. We demonstrate the procedure for the one-dimensional quantum formulation of the q-state Potts model, for q = 2, 3, 4 and 5, as prototypical examples, using finite-size data obtained from the density matrix renormalization group algorithm.

DOI
10.1038/srep07673

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We propose a method to construct universal order parameters for quantum phase transitions in many-body lattice systems. The method exploits the H-orthogonality of a few near-degenerate lowest states of the Hamiltonian describing a given finite-size system, which makes it possible to perform finite-size scaling and take full advantage of currently available numerical algorithms. An explicit connection is established between the fidelity per site between two H-orthogonal states and the energy gap between the ground state and low-lying excited states in the finite-size system. The physical information encoded in this gap arising from finite-size fluctuations clarifies the origin of the universal order parameter. We demonstrate the procedure for the one-dimensional quantum formulation of the q-state Potts model, for q = 2, 3, 4 and 5, as prototypical examples, using finite-size data obtained from the density matrix renormalization group algorithm.
We investigate quantum phase transitions for q-state quantum Potts models (q = 2,3,4) on a square lattice and for the Ising model on a honeycomb lattice by using the infinite projected entangled-pair state algorithm with a simplified updating scheme. We extend the universal order parameter to a two-dimensional lattice system, which allows us to explore quantum phase transitions with symmetry-broken order for any translation-invariant quantum lattice system of the symmetry group G. The universal order parameter is zero in the symmetric phase, and it ranges from zero to unity in the symmetry-broken phase. The ground-state fidelity per lattice site is computed, and a pinch point is identified on the fidelity surface near the critical point. The results offer another example highlighting the connection between (i) critical points for a quantum many-body system undergoing a quantum phase-transition and (ii) pinch points on a fidelity surface. In addition, we discuss three quantum coherence measures: the quantum Jensen–Shannon divergence, the relative entropy of coherence, and the l1 norm of coherence, which are singular at the critical point, thereby identifying quantum phase transitions.
We have investigated an intriguing connection between bifurcations, reduced fidelity per lattice site, local order parameter, universal order parameter, entropy and quantum phase transitions in the ground state for quantum three-state Potts model with two coupled infinite-size ladder system, in the context of the tensor network algorithm. The tensor network algorithm produces degenerate symmetry-breaking ground-state wave functions arising from the Z3 symmetry breaking, each of results from a randomly chosen initial state. We expect that our approach might provide further insights into critical phenomena in quantum many-body infinite lattice systems in condensed matter physics.
Finite-size scaling and the renormalization group form the central toolkit for analyzing quantum phase transitions (QPTs). In this Letter, we introduce a novel Hilbert-space tailoring scheme to probe quantum critical phenomena. Applied to the second-order QPT of the one-dimensional (1D) XY model, our method yields precise critical points and exponents on lattices containing merely 50 unit cells. We further establish the universal applicability of this framework via investigations of the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition in the 1D XXZ chain: critical parameters are recovered with as few as 12 lattice sites. This technique may open an alternative, efficient route to universally characterize QPT across many-body lattice systems.
A variant of White's density-matrix renormalization-group scheme, which is designed to compute low-lying energies of one-dimensional quantum lattice models with a large number of degrees of freedom per site is described. The method is tested on two exactly solvable models---the spin-12\frac{1}{2}21​ antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chain and a dimerized XY\mathrm{XY}XY spin chain. To illustrate the potential of the method, it is applied to a model of spins interacting with quantum phonons. It is shown that the method accurately resolves a number of energy gaps on periodic rings that are sufficiently large to afford an accurate investigation of critical properties via the use of finite-size scaling theory.
Universal scaling laws of fluctuations (the Δ-scaling laws) occur for any system in which second-order critical behaviour can be identified. This can be established rigorously for at-equilibrium systems when combined withfinite-size scaling analysis. For dynamic critical systems, the relations between the order parameter, the criticality and the scaling law of fluctuations can be proven numerically. Moreover, one can find general relation between the form of the scaling function and the critical exponents of the corresponding infinite system. The case of the first-order phase transition is currently under investigation. There is no background theory for precise finite-size scaling analysis, and the results are numerical. Systematic data on the q-state 2-dimensional Potts model with q > 4, shows that at the critical point, the order-parameter distribution can be splitted into two peaks - characteristic of the two coexistent phases -, each of them exhibiting a particular Δ-scaling. Conjecture is done about general occurence of this feature.
We study the quantum fidelity (ground-state overlap) near quantum phase transitions of the Ising universality class in one-dimensional (1D) systems of finite-size LLL. Prominent examples occur in magnetic systems (e.g., spin-Peierls, the anisotropic XYXYXY model) and in 1D topological insulators of any topologically nontrivial Altland-Zirnbauer-Kitaev universality class. The rescaled fidelity susceptibility is a function of the only dimensionless parameter LMLMLM, where 2M2M2M is the gap in the fermionic spectrum. We present analytic expressions for the fidelity susceptibility for periodic and open boundaries conditions with zero, one, or two edge states. The latter are shown to have a crucial impact and alter the susceptibility both quantitatively and qualitatively. We support our analytical solutions with numerical data.