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arXiv:1807.01674 · Physical review. E

Ground-state fidelity at first-order quantum transitions

Davide Rossini, Ettore Vicari

Published Dec 26, 2018• 40 citations
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Abstract

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.

DOI
10.1103/physreve.98.062137

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cond-mat.stat-mechCross-listedarXiv:2512.17333•Physical review. B./Physical review. B•Dec 22, 2025•1 citation
We analyze the scaling behavior of the fidelity, and the corresponding susceptibility, emerging in finite-size many-body systems whenever a given control parameter \ensuremathλ\ensuremath{\lambda}\ensuremathλ 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 \ensuremathλ\ensuremath{\lambda}\ensuremathλ and its variation \ensuremathδ\ensuremathλ\ensuremath{\delta}\ensuremath{\lambda}\ensuremathδ\ensuremathλ. 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.
We study finite-size effects at first-order quantum transitions (FOQTs). We show that the low-energy properties show a finite-size scaling (FSS) behavior, the relevant scaling variable being the ratio of the energy associated with the perturbation driving the transition and the finite-size energy gap at the FOQT point. The size dependence of the scaling variable is therefore essentially determined by the size dependence of the gap at the transition, which in turn depends on the boundary conditions. Our results have broad validity and, in particular, apply to any FOQT characterized by the degeneracy and crossing of the two lowest-energy states in the infinite-volume limit. In this case, a phenomenological two-level theory provides exact expressions for the scaling functions. Numerical results for the quantum Ising chain in transverse and parallel magnetic fields support the FSS Ansätzes.
We investigate scaling phenomena at first-order quantum transitions, when the boundary conditions favor one of the two phases. We show that the corresponding finite-size scaling behavior, arising from the interplay between the driving parameter and the finite size of the system, is more complex than that emerging when boundary conditions do not favor any phase. We discuss this issue in the framework of the paradigmatic one-dimensional quantum Ising model, along its first-order quantum transition line driven by an external longitudinal field. Specifically, three regions with distinct scaling behaviors emerge, which correspond to different values of the field (small, intermediate, and large field), according to its capability to modify the phase favored by the boundary conditions.
We develop the finite-size scaling (FSS) theory at quantum transitions. We consider various boundary conditions, such as open and periodic boundary conditions, and characterize the corrections to the leading FSS behavior. Using renormalization-group (RG) theory, we generalize the classical scaling ansatz to describe FSS in the quantum case, classifying the different sources of scaling corrections. We identify nonanalytic corrections due to irrelevant (bulk and boundary) RG perturbations and analytic contributions due to regular backgrounds and analytic expansions of the nonlinear scaling fields. To check the general predictions, we consider the quantum XYXYXY chain in a transverse field. For this model exact or numerically accurate results can be obtained by exploiting its fermionic quadratic representation. We study the FSS of several observables, such as the free energy, the energy differences between low-energy levels, correlation functions of the order parameter, etc., confirming the general predictions in all cases. Moreover, we consider bipartite entanglement entropies, which are characterized by the presence of additional scaling corrections, as predicted by conformal field theory.
The deconfined quantum critical point was proposed as a second-order quantum phase transition between two broken-symmetry phases beyond the Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson paradigm. However, numerical studies cannot completely rule out a weakly-first-order transition because of strong violations of finite-size scaling. We demonstrate that the fidelity is a simple probe to study the deconfined quantum critical point. We study the ground-state fidelity susceptibility close to the deconfined quantum critical point in a spin chain using the large-scale finite-size density-matrix renormalization-group method. We find that the finite-size scaling of the fidelity susceptibility obeys the conventional scaling behavior for continuous phase transitions, supporting the idea that the deconfined quantum phase transition is continuous. We numerically determine the deconfined quantum critical point and the associated correlation length critical exponent from the finite-size-scaling theory of the fidelity susceptibility. Our results are consistent with recent results obtained directly from the matrix product states for infinite-size lattices using others observables. Our work provides a useful probe to study critical behaviors at the deconfined quantum critical point from the concept of quantum information.
First order quantum phase transitions (1QPTs) are signalled, in the thermodynamic limit, by discontinuous changes in the ground state properties. These discontinuities affect expectation values of observables, including spatial correlations. When a 1QPT is crossed in the vicinity of a second order one, due to the correlation length divergence of the latter, the corresponding ground state is modified and it becomes increasingly difficult to determine the order of the transition when the size of the system is finite. Here we show that, in such situations, it is possible to apply finite size scaling (FSS) to entanglement measures, as it has recently been done for the order parameters and the energy gap, in order to recover the correct thermodynamic limit (Campostrini et al 2014 Phys. Rev. Lett. 113 070402). Such a FSS can unambiguously discriminate between first and second order phase transitions in the vicinity of multicritical points even when the singularities displayed by entanglement measures lead to controversial results.
We investigate the quantum dynamics generated by quantum quenches (QQs) of the Hamiltonian parameters in many-body systems, focusing on protocols that cross first-order and continuous quantum transitions, both in finite-size systems and in the thermodynamic limit. As a paradigmatic example, we consider the quantum Ising chain in the presence of homogeneous transverse (ggg) and longitudinal (hhh) magnetic fields. This model exhibits a continuous quantum transition (CQT) at g=gcg=g_cg=gc​ and h=0h=0h=0, and first-order quantum transitions (FOQTs) driven by hhh along the line h=0h=0h=0 (g<gcg<g_cg<gc​). In the integrable limit h=0h=0h=0, the system can be mapped onto a quadratic fermionic theory; however, any nonvanishing longitudinal field breaks integrability and the spectrum of the resulting Hamiltonian is generally expected to enter a chaotic regime. We analyze QQs in which the longitudinal field is suddenly changed from a negative value hi<0h_i < 0hi​<0 to a positive value hf>0h_f>0hf​>0. We focus on values of hfh_fhf​ such that the spectrum of the post-QQ Hamiltonian H(g,hf)H(g,h_f)H(g,hf​) lies in the chaotic regime, where thermalization may emerge at asymptotically long times. We study the out-of-equilibrium dynamics for different values of ggg, finding qualitatively distinct behaviors for g>gcg > g_cg>gc​ (where the chain is in the disordered phase), for g=gcg = g_cg=gc​ (QQ across the CQT), and for g<gcg<g_cg<gc​ (QQ across the FOQT line).