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arXiv:1604.04857 · Physical review. D/Physical review. D.

Characterization of quantum phase transition using holographic entanglement entropy

Yi Ling, Peng Liu, Jian-Pin Wu

Published Jun 17, 2016• 51 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

The entanglement exhibits extremal or singular behavior near quantum critical points (QCPs) in many condensed matter models. These intriguing phenomena, however, still call for a widely accepted understanding. In this paper we study this issue in holographic framework. We investigate the connection between the holographic entanglement entropy (HEE) and the quantum phase transition (QPT) in a lattice-deformed Einstein-Maxwell-Dilaton theory. Novel backgrounds exhibiting metal-insulator transitions (MIT) have been constructed in which both metallic phase and insulating phase have vanishing entropy density in zero temperature limit. We find that the first order derivative of HEE with respect to lattice parameters exhibits extremal behavior near QCPs. We propose that it would be a universal feature that HEE or its derivatives with respect to system parameters can characterize QPT in a generic holographic system. Our work opens a window for understanding the relation between entanglement and the QPT from a holographic perspective.

DOI
10.1103/physrevd.93.126004

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The entanglement exhibits extremal or singular behavior near quantum critical points (QCPs) in many condensed matter models. These intriguing phenomena, however, still call for a widely accepted understanding. In this paper we study this issue in holographic framework. We investigate the connection between the holographic entanglement entropy (HEE) and the quantum phase transition (QPT) in a lattice-deformed Einstein-Maxwell-Dilaton theory. Novel backgrounds exhibiting metal-insulator transitions (MIT) have been constructed in which both metallic phase and insulating phase have vanishing entropy density in zero temperature limit. We find that the first order derivative of HEE with respect to lattice parameters exhibits extremal behavior near QCPs. We propose that it would be a universal feature that HEE or its derivatives with respect to system parameters can characterize QPT in a generic holographic system. Our work opens a window for understanding the relation between entanglement and the QPT from a holographic perspective.
Abstract We investigate the behavior of the holographic entanglement entropy (HEE) in proximity to the quantum critical points (QCPs) of the metal-insulator transition (MIT) in the Einstein–Maxwell-dilaton-axions (EMDA) model. Since both the metallic phase and the insulating phase are characterized by distinct IR geometries, we used to expect that the HEE itself characterizes the QCPs. This expectation is validated for certain cases, however, we make a noteworthy observation: for a specific scenario where −1<γ≤−1/3-1<\gamma \le -1/3−1<γ≤−1/3 - 1 < γ ≤ - 1 / 3 , with γ\gamma γ γ as a coupling parameter, it is not the HEE itself but rather the second-order derivative of HEE with respect to the lattice wave number that effectively characterizes quantum phase transitions (QPTs). This distinction arises due to the influence of thermal effects. These findings present novel insights into the interplay between HEE and QPTs in the context of the MIT, and have significant implications for studying QPTs at finite temperatures.
We investigate the holographic entanglement entropy (HEE) of a strip geometry in four dimensional Q-lattice backgrounds, which exhibit metal-insulator transitions in the dual field theory. Remarkably, we find that the HEE always displays a peak in the vicinity of the quantum critical points. Our model provides the first direct evidence that the HEE can be used to characterize the quantum phase transition (QPT). We also conjecture that the maximization behavior of HEE at quantum critical points would be universal in general holographic models.
We reveal for the first time that ultraviolet (UV) observables can diagnose quantum phase transitions (QPTs). In a class of holographic models exhibiting metal-insulator transitions, we study two types of UV observables -- high-frequency conductivity and short-range entanglement. Remarkably, we find that the derivatives of these UV observables exhibit extrema near the quantum critical point. Analytical results show these critical behaviors arise from the deformation of the asymptotic bulk geometry. Moreover, these UV diagnostics show enhanced robustness to thermal fluctuations compared to typical infrared (IR) diagnostics, providing a clean method to identify quantum criticality at finite temperature. This work opens a new window for exploring quantum critical phenomena via UV physics in the laboratory.
We study the holographic entanglement entropy of nonlocal field theories at both extremality and finite temperature. The gravity duals, constructed by Nozaki et al. [J. High Energy Phys. 10 (2012) 193], are characterized by a parameter www. Both the zero-temperature backgrounds and the finite-temperature counterparts are exact solutions of Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton theory. For the extremal case we consider the examples where the entangling regions are a strip and a sphere. We find that the leading-order behavior of the entanglement entropy always exhibits a volume law when the size of the entangling region is sufficiently small. We also clarify the condition under which the next-to-leading-order result is universal. For the finite-temperature case we obtain analytic expressions in both the high-temperature and low-temperature limits. In the former case the leading-order result approaches the thermal entropy, while the finite contribution to the entanglement entropy at extremality can be extracted by taking the zero-temperature limit in the latter case. Moreover, we observe some peculiar properties of the holographic entanglement entropy when w=1w=1w=1.
Abstract We study quantum criticality in a holographic Einstein–Maxwell–Dilaton–Axion (EMDA) p-wave superconductor exhibiting a superconductor–insulator transition (SIT). By tracking the superconducting energy gap, we show that approaching the quantum critical point (QCP) closes the gap and induces incipient insulating features, indicating that enhanced quantum fluctuations suppress superconducting order and trigger the SIT. We suggest that this behavior occurs only when the condensate orientation is aligned with the direction of translational symmetry breaking. To probe the transition, we employ two holographic indicators: holographic entanglement entropy (HEE) and the entanglement wedge cross-section (EWCS), the latter being a mixed-state entanglement measure. In contrast to HEE, which for sufficiently large configuration is dominated by the thermal entropy and is therefore largely insensitive to entanglement along the temperature direction, EWCS displays pronounced critical scaling and provides a robust diagnostic of the quantum phase transition (QPT). We attribute this contrast to the fact that HEE at large scales is controlled by the infrared (IR) geometry, whereas EWCS is governed by deformations of the entire bulk. Our results establish EWCS as a robust probe of holographic quantum criticality in mixed states.
In this paper, we investigate the holographic phase transition with dark matter sector in the AdS black hole background away from the probe limit. We discuss the properties of phases mostly from the holographic topological entanglement entropy of the system. We find the entanglement entropy is a good probe to the critical temperature and the order of the phase transition in the general model. The behaviors of entanglement entropy at large strip size suggest that the area law still holds when including dark matter sector. We also conclude that the holographic topological entanglement entropy is useful in detecting the stability of the phase transitions. Furthermore, we derive the complete diagram of the effects of coupled parameters on the critical temperature through the entanglement entropy and analytical methods.