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arXiv:1703.00464 · Physical review. B./Physical review. B

Entanglement renormalization for chiral topological phases

Zhi Li, Roger S. K. Mong

Published Jun 7, 2019• 3 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We considered the question of applying the multiscale entanglement renormalization ansatz (MERA) to describe chiral topological phases. We defined a functional for each layer in the MERA, which captures the correlation length. With some algebraic geometry tools, we rigorously proved its monotonicity with respect to adjacent layers, and the existence of a lower bound for chiral states, which shows a trade-off between the bond dimension and the correlation length. Using this theorem, we showed the number of orbitals per cell (which roughly corresponds to the bond dimension) should grow with the height. Conversely, if we restrict the bond dimensions to be constant, then there is an upper bound of the height. Specifically, we established a no-go theorem stating that we will not approach a renormalization fixed point in this case.

DOI
10.1103/physrevb.99.241105

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We considered the question of applying the multiscale entanglement renormalization ansatz (MERA) to describe chiral topological phases. We defined a functional for each layer in the MERA, which captures the correlation length. With some algebraic geometry tools, we rigorously proved its monotonicity with respect to adjacent layers, and the existence of a lower bound for chiral states, which shows a trade-off between the bond dimension and the correlation length. Using this theorem, we showed the number of orbitals per cell (which roughly corresponds to the bond dimension) should grow with the height. Conversely, if we restrict the bond dimensions to be constant, then there is an upper bound of the height. Specifically, we established a no-go theorem stating that we will not approach a renormalization fixed point in this case.
We study the real-space entanglement renormalization group flows of topological band insulators in (2+1) dimensions by using the continuum multiscale entanglement renormalization ansatz (cMERA). Given the ground state of a Chern insulator, we construct and study its cMERA by paying attention, in particular, to how the bulk holographic geometry and the Berry curvature depend on the topological properties of the ground state. It is found that each state defined at different energy scale of cMERA carries a nonzero Berry flux, which is emanated from the UV layer of cMERA, and flows towards the IR. Hence, a topologically nontrivial UV state flows under the renormalization group to an IR state, which is also topologically nontrivial. On the other hand, we found that there is an obstruction to construct the exact ground state of a topological insulator with a topologically trivial IR state. That is, if we try to construct a cMERA for the ground state of a Chern insulator by taking a topologically trivial IR state, the resulting cMERA does not faithfully reproduce the exact ground state at all length scales.
The multiscale entanglement renormalization ansatz (MERA) provides a constructive algorithm for realizing wave functions that are inherently scale invariant. Unlike conformally invariant partition functions, however, the finite bond dimension $\ensuremath{\chi}$ of the MERA provides a cutoff in the fields that can be realized. In this paper, we demonstrate that this cutoff is equivalent to the one obtained when approximating a thermal state of a critical Hamiltonian with a matrix product operator (MPO) of finite bond dimension $\ensuremath{\chi}$. This is achieved by constructing an explicit mapping between the isometries of the MERA and the local tensors of the MPO. In terms of energy scales, our results show that a finite bond dimension MERA is equivalent to introducing both an infrared and an ultraviolet scale, characterizing relevant and irrelevant perturbations on the underlying conformal field theory.
We employ the Multiscale Entanglement Renormalization Ansatz (MERA) tensor network to investigate a critical line of continuous quantum phase transitions of the Z3\mathbb{Z}_3Z3​ chiral clock model. This critical line is believed to be described by a slow renormalization group flow from the 3-state Potts fixed point to another fixed point that features anisotropic scaling of space and time. We use the variational principle to construct a MERA representation of the model's ground state, from which we obtain the ground state energy and the set of scaling operators and their scaling dimensions. These scaling dimensions determine the critical exponents of the model, and we study these critical exponents and other scaling data as a function of the model's chiral parameter. We find a set of effective scaling data that smoothly varies starting from the Potts data as the chiral parameter is increased. Within the context of our approach, we discuss how this result may nevertheless be consistent with the two fixed point hypothesis provided the renormalization group flow is sufficiently slow. Our findings demonstrate MERA's effectiveness in capturing the complex low-energy physics of the chiral clock model and in extracting field theory data for an anisotropic continuum theory.
The multiscale entanglement renormalization ansatz (MERA) postulates the existence of quantum circuits that renormalize entanglement in real space at different length scales. Chern insulators, however, cannot have scale-invariant discrete MERA circuits with a finite bond dimension. In this Letter, we show that the continuous MERA (cMERA), a modified version of MERA adapted for field theories, possesses a fixed point wave function with a nonzero Chern number. Additionally, it is well known that reversed MERA circuits can be used to prepare quantum states efficiently in time that scales logarithmically with the size of the system. However, state preparation via MERA typically requires the advent of a full-fledged universal quantum computer. In this Letter, we demonstrate that our cMERA circuit can potentially be realized in existing analog quantum computers, i.e., an ultracold atomic Fermi gas in an optical lattice with light-induced spin-orbit coupling.
Real-space renormalization approaches for quantum lattice systems generate certain hierarchical classes of states that are subsumed by the multiscale entanglement renormalization Ansatz (MERA). It is shown that, with the exception of one spatial dimension, MERA states are actually states with finite correlations, i.e., projected entangled pair states (PEPS) with a bond dimension independent of the system size. Hence, real-space renormalization generates states which can be encoded with local effective degrees of freedom, and MERA states form an efficiently contractible class of PEPS that obey the area law for the entanglement entropy. It is further pointed out that there exist other efficiently contractible schemes violating the area law.
The multiscale entanglement renormalization ansatz (MERA) is argued to provide a natural description for topological states of matter. The case of Kitaev's toric code is analyzed in detail and shown to possess a remarkably simple MERA description leading to distillation of the topological degrees of freedom at the top of the tensor network. Kitaev states on an infinite lattice are also shown to be a fixed point of the renormalization group flow associated with entanglement renormalization. All of these results generalize to arbitrary quantum double models.