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:1602.04201 · Physical review. B./Physical review. B

Universal fidelity near quantum and topological phase transitions in finite one-dimensional systems

Elio J. König, Alex Levchenko, Nicholas Sedlmayr

Published Jun 29, 2016• 22 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

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 $L$. Prominent examples occur in magnetic systems (e.g., spin-Peierls, the anisotropic $XY$ 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 $LM$, where $2M$ 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.

DOI
10.1103/physrevb.93.235160

Related papers

Fidelity and Uhlmann connection analysis of topological phase transitions in two dimensions

Syed Tahir Amin, Bruno Mera, Chrysoula Vlachou +2 more

We study the behavior of the fidelity and the Uhlmann connection in two-dimensional systems of free fermions that exhibit nontrivial topological behavior. In particular, we use the fidelity and a quantity closely related to the Uhlmann factor in order to detect phase transitions at zero and finite temperature for topological insulators and superconductors. We show that at zero temperature both quantities predict quantum phase transitions: a sudden drop of fidelity indicates an abrupt change of the spectrum of the state, while the behavior of the Uhlmann connection signals equally rapid change in its eigenbasis. At finite temperature, the topological features are gradually smeared out, indicating the absence of finite-temperature phase transitions, which we further confirm by performing a detailed analysis of the edge states. Moreover, we performed both analytical and numerical analysis of the fidelity susceptibility in the thermodynamic limit, providing an explicit quantitative criterion for the existence of phase transitions. The critical behavior at zero temperature is further analyzed through the numerical computation of critical exponents.

arXiv:1803.05021•Physical review. B./Physical review. B•Dec 26, 2018•18 citations

Ground-state fidelity at first-order quantum transitions

Davide Rossini, Ettore Vicari

We analyze the scaling behavior of the fidelity, and the corresponding susceptibility, emerging in finite-size many-body systems whenever a given control parameter $\ensuremath{\lambda}$ is varied across a quantum phase transition. For this purpose we consider a finite-size scaling (FSS) framework. Our working hypothesis is based on a scaling assumption of the fidelity in terms of the FSS variables associated with $\ensuremath{\lambda}$ and its variation $\ensuremath{\delta}\ensuremath{\lambda}$. This framework entails the FSS predictions for continuous transitions and enables one to extend them to first-order transitions, where the FSS becomes qualitatively different. The latter is supported by analytical and numerical analyses of the quantum Ising chain along its first-order quantum transition line, driven by an external longitudinal field.

arXiv:1807.01674•Physical review. E•Dec 26, 2018•40 citations

Fidelity zeros and Lee-Yang theory of quantum phase transitions

Tian-Yi Gu, Gaoyong Sun

Lee-Yang theory is central to the analysis of thermal phase transitions. However, the underlying mechanism of the theory and the nature of Lee-Yang zeros in quantum many-body systems remains elusive. Here, we develop a unified framework for understanding quantum phase transitions from fidelity zeros induced by symmetry breaking. These zeros, arising from transitions between symmetry sectors, obey the Lee-Yang theorem and give rise to fidelity edges near critical points. Quantum criticality is further characterized through the finite-size scaling of fidelity zeros. As concrete examples, we analytically and numerically investigate fidelity zeros in one- and two-dimensional ferromagnetic Ising models under a complex magnetic field. Our results provide new insights into the mechanism of Lee-Yang theory and open avenues for exploring unexplored landscapes of phase transitions in quantum many-body systems.

arXiv:2509.20258•Physical review. B./Physical review. B•Dec 31, 2025•3 citations

Fidelity susceptibility in Gaussian random ensembles

Piotr Sierant, Artur Maksymov, Marek Kuś +1 more

The fidelity susceptibility measures the sensitivity of eigenstates to a change of an external parameter. It has been fruitfully used to pin down quantum phase transitions when applied to ground states (with extensions to thermal states). Here, we propose to use the fidelity susceptibility as a useful dimensionless measure for complex quantum systems. We find analytically the fidelity susceptibility distributions for Gaussian orthogonal and unitary universality classes for arbitrary system sizes. The results are verified by a comparison with numerical data.

arXiv:1812.04853•Physical review. E•May 20, 2019•41 citations

Universal Finite-Size Scaling around Topological Quantum Phase Transitions

Tobias Gulden, Michael Janas, Yuting Wang +1 more

The critical point of a topological phase transition is described by a conformal field theory, where finite-size corrections to energy are uniquely related to its central charge. We investigate the finite-size scaling away from criticality and find a scaling function, which discriminates between phases with different topological indices. This function appears to be universal for all five Altland-Zirnbauer symmetry classes with nontrivial topology in one spatial dimension. We obtain an analytic form of the scaling function and compare it with numerical results.

arXiv:1508.03646•Physical Review Letters•Jan 14, 2016•23 citations

Quantum phase transitions and quantum fidelity in free fermion graphs

Marco Cozzini, Paolo Giorda, Paolo Zanardi A

In this paper we analyze the ground-state phase diagram of a class of fermionic Hamiltonians by looking at the fidelity of ground states corresponding to slightly different Hamiltonian parameters. The Hamiltonians under investigation can be considered as the variable range generalization of the fermionic Hamiltonian obtained by the Jordan-Wigner transformation of the $XY$ spin chain in a transverse magnetic field. Under periodic boundary conditions, the matrices of the problem become circulant and the models are exactly solvable. Their free-ends counterparts are instead analyzed numerically. In particular, we focus on the long-range model corresponding to a fully connected directed graph, providing asymptotic results in the thermodynamic limit, as well as the finite-size scaling analysis of the second-order quantum phase transitions of the system. A strict relation between fidelity and single particle spectrum is demonstrated, and a peculiar gapful transition due to the long-range nature of the coupling is found. A comparison between fidelity and another transition marker borrowed from quantum information, i.e., single site entanglement, is also considered.

arXiv:quant-ph/0608059•Physical Review B•Jan 29, 2007•150 citations
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.
We study the behavior of the fidelity and the Uhlmann connection in two-dimensional systems of free fermions that exhibit nontrivial topological behavior. In particular, we use the fidelity and a quantity closely related to the Uhlmann factor in order to detect phase transitions at zero and finite temperature for topological insulators and superconductors. We show that at zero temperature both quantities predict quantum phase transitions: a sudden drop of fidelity indicates an abrupt change of the spectrum of the state, while the behavior of the Uhlmann connection signals equally rapid change in its eigenbasis. At finite temperature, the topological features are gradually smeared out, indicating the absence of finite-temperature phase transitions, which we further confirm by performing a detailed analysis of the edge states. Moreover, we performed both analytical and numerical analysis of the fidelity susceptibility in the thermodynamic limit, providing an explicit quantitative criterion for the existence of phase transitions. The critical behavior at zero temperature is further analyzed through the numerical computation of critical exponents.
We analyze the scaling behavior of the fidelity, and the corresponding susceptibility, emerging in finite-size many-body systems whenever a given control parameter $\ensuremath{\lambda}$ is varied across a quantum phase transition. For this purpose we consider a finite-size scaling (FSS) framework. Our working hypothesis is based on a scaling assumption of the fidelity in terms of the FSS variables associated with $\ensuremath{\lambda}$ and its variation $\ensuremath{\delta}\ensuremath{\lambda}$. This framework entails the FSS predictions for continuous transitions and enables one to extend them to first-order transitions, where the FSS becomes qualitatively different. The latter is supported by analytical and numerical analyses of the quantum Ising chain along its first-order quantum transition line, driven by an external longitudinal field.
Lee-Yang theory is central to the analysis of thermal phase transitions. However, the underlying mechanism of the theory and the nature of Lee-Yang zeros in quantum many-body systems remains elusive. Here, we develop a unified framework for understanding quantum phase transitions from fidelity zeros induced by symmetry breaking. These zeros, arising from transitions between symmetry sectors, obey the Lee-Yang theorem and give rise to fidelity edges near critical points. Quantum criticality is further characterized through the finite-size scaling of fidelity zeros. As concrete examples, we analytically and numerically investigate fidelity zeros in one- and two-dimensional ferromagnetic Ising models under a complex magnetic field. Our results provide new insights into the mechanism of Lee-Yang theory and open avenues for exploring unexplored landscapes of phase transitions in quantum many-body systems.
The fidelity susceptibility measures the sensitivity of eigenstates to a change of an external parameter. It has been fruitfully used to pin down quantum phase transitions when applied to ground states (with extensions to thermal states). Here, we propose to use the fidelity susceptibility as a useful dimensionless measure for complex quantum systems. We find analytically the fidelity susceptibility distributions for Gaussian orthogonal and unitary universality classes for arbitrary system sizes. The results are verified by a comparison with numerical data.
The critical point of a topological phase transition is described by a conformal field theory, where finite-size corrections to energy are uniquely related to its central charge. We investigate the finite-size scaling away from criticality and find a scaling function, which discriminates between phases with different topological indices. This function appears to be universal for all five Altland-Zirnbauer symmetry classes with nontrivial topology in one spatial dimension. We obtain an analytic form of the scaling function and compare it with numerical results.
In this paper we analyze the ground-state phase diagram of a class of fermionic Hamiltonians by looking at the fidelity of ground states corresponding to slightly different Hamiltonian parameters. The Hamiltonians under investigation can be considered as the variable range generalization of the fermionic Hamiltonian obtained by the Jordan-Wigner transformation of the XYXYXY spin chain in a transverse magnetic field. Under periodic boundary conditions, the matrices of the problem become circulant and the models are exactly solvable. Their free-ends counterparts are instead analyzed numerically. In particular, we focus on the long-range model corresponding to a fully connected directed graph, providing asymptotic results in the thermodynamic limit, as well as the finite-size scaling analysis of the second-order quantum phase transitions of the system. A strict relation between fidelity and single particle spectrum is demonstrated, and a peculiar gapful transition due to the long-range nature of the coupling is found. A comparison between fidelity and another transition marker borrowed from quantum information, i.e., single site entanglement, is also considered.