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:1811.06794 · Nuclear Physics B

Chiral Y junction of quantum spin chains

Francesco Buccheri, Reinhold Egger, Rodrigo G. Pereira, Flávia B. Ramos

Published Mar 12, 2019• 15 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We study a Y junction of spin-1/2 Heisenberg chains with an interaction that breaks both time-reversal and chain exchange symmetries, but not their product nor SU(2) symmetry. The boundary phase diagram features a stable disconnected fixed point at weak coupling and a stable three-channel Kondo fixed point at strong coupling, separated by an unstable chiral fixed point at intermediate coupling. Using non-abelian bosonization and boundary conformal field theory, together with density matrix renormalization group and quantum Monte Carlo simulations, we characterize the signatures of these low-energy fixed points. In particular, we address the boundary entropy, the spin conductance, and the temperature dependence of the scalar spin chirality and the magnetic susceptibility at the boundary.

DOI
10.1016/j.nuclphysb.2019.03.005

Related papers

Quantum spin circulator in Y junctions of Heisenberg chains

Francesco Buccheri, Reinhold Egger, Rodrigo G. Pereira +1 more

We show that a quantum spin circulator, a nonreciprocal device that routes spin currents without any charge transport, can be achieved in Y junctions of identical spin-$1/2$ Heisenberg chains coupled by a chiral three-spin interaction. Using bosonization, boundary conformal field theory, and density matrix renormalization group simulations, we find that a chiral fixed point with maximally asymmetric spin conductance arises at a critical point separating a regime of disconnected chains from a spin-only version of the three-channel Kondo effect. We argue that networks of spin-chain Y junctions provide a controllable approach to construct long-sought chiral spin-liquid phases.

arXiv:1801.04594•Physical review. B./Physical review. B•Jun 11, 2018•13 citations

Spin and thermal current scaling at a Y junction of XX spin chains

Domenico Giuliano, Francesco Buccheri

We study the boundary phase diagram and the low-temperature heat and magnetization transport at a $Y$ junction of XX spin chains. Depending on the magnetization axis anisotropy between the magnetic exchange interactions at the junction, the system exhibits two different strong-coupling regimes at low energies/temperatures, hosting a remarkable realization of, respectively, the overscreened (topological) four- and to the two-channel Kondo fixed points, both robust against anisotropies in the chain parameters and/or in the boundary couplings. Using renormalization group arguments combined with boundary conformal field theory methods, we show the instability of the former under any XY-type anisotropy at the junction. Our system allows for using the low-temperature spin and the heat conductances to evidence the fractionalization of the elementary excitations at the four-channel Kondo fixed point by means of the magnetic Wiedemann-Franz law. We caution that the instability under XY anisotropy may hinder the detection of the phenomenology related to the four-channel Kondo effect, therefore requiring careful control in experimental realizations.

arXiv:2508.10267•Physical review. B./Physical review. B•Nov 18, 2025•0 citations

Chiral fixed point in a junction of critical spin-1 chains

Hernan B. Xavier, Rodrigo G. Pereira

Junctions of one-dimensional systems are of great interest to the development of synthetic materials that harbor topological phases. We study a junction of three gapless spin-1 chains described by the $\mathrm{SU}{(2)}_{2}$ Wess-Zumino-Wittten model and coupled by exchange and chiral three-spin interactions. We show that a chiral fixed point appears as a special point on the transition line separating two regimes described by open boundary conditions, corresponding to decoupled chains and the formation of a boundary spin singlet state. Along this transition line, the junction behaves as a tunable spin circulator as the spin conductance varies continuously with the coupling constant of a marginal boundary operator. Since the spectrum of the junction contains fractional excitations such as Majorana fermions, in this paper, we set the stage for network constructions of non-Abelian chiral spin liquids.

arXiv:2205.13971•Physical review. B./Physical review. B•Aug 23, 2022•4 citations

Unveiling chiral states in the XXZ chain: finite-size scaling probing symmetry-enriched c = 1 conformal field theories

Chenan Wei, V. V. Mkhitaryan, Tigran Sedrakyan

A bstract We study the low-energy properties of the one-dimensional spin-1/2 XXZ chain with time-reversal symmetry-breaking pseudo-scalar chiral interaction and propose a phase diagram for the model. In the integrable case of the isotropic Heisenberg model with the chiral interaction, we employ the thermodynamic Bethe ansatz to find “chiralization”, the response of the ground state versus the strength of the pseudo-scalar chiral interaction of a chiral Heisenberg chain. Unlike the magnetization case, the chirality of the ground state remains zero until the transition point corresponding to critical coupling α c = 2 J/π with J being the antiferromagnetic spin-exchange interaction. The central-charge c = 1 conformal field theories (CFTs) describe the two phases with zero and finite chirality. We show for this particular case and conjecture more generally for similar phase transitions that the difference between two emergent CFTs with identical central charges lies in the symmetry of their ground state (lightest weight) primary fields, i.e., the two phases are symmetry-enriched CFTs. At finite but small temperatures, the non-chiral Heisenberg phase acquires a finite chirality that scales with the temperature quadratically. We show that the finite-size effect around the transition point probes the transition.

arXiv:2312.16660•Journal of High Energy Physics•Jun 19, 2024•6 citations

Network construction of non-Abelian topological phases

Hernán Guillermo Bueno Xavier

In this thesis we use a network of chiral junctions to realize non-Abelian topological phases in two dimensions. Our construction is based on boundary fixed points of low-energy field theories describing Y junctions of critical spin-chain models. To set the stage, we first study a single junction of gapless spin-1 chains belonging to the SU(2)2 universality class, whose spectrum includes fractional excitations such as Majorana fermions. We find that chiral fixed points appear as special points on a transition line that separates two regimes described by open boundary conditions. Remarkably, along this transition the junction behaves as a tunable spin circulator as the spin conductance varies continuously with the coupling constant of a marginal boundary operator. We then construct a family of topological chiral spin liquids departing from a honeycomb network made of critical spin-S chains. The chiral spin liquid phase harbors SU(2)k=2S anyons, which stem from the underlying WessZumino-Witten models that describe the constituent spin chains of the network. The network exhibits quantized spin and thermal Hall conductances. We illustrate our construction by inspecting the topological properties of the SU(2)2 model. We find that this model has emergent Ising anyons, with spinons acting as vortex excitations that bind Majorana zero modes. We also show that the ground state of this network is threefold degenerate on the torus, asserting its non-Abelian character. Our work provides a controllable analytical framework to study non-Abelian topological phases, sheding new light on the stability of such phases in artificial quantum materials.

•May 5, 2023•0 citations

Junctions of multiple quantum wires with different Luttinger parameters

Chang-Yu Hou, Armin Rahmani, Adrian E. Feiguin +1 more

Within the framework of boundary conformal field theory, we evaluate the conductance of stable fixed points of junctions of two and three quantum wires with different Luttinger parameters. For two wires, the physical properties are governed by a single effective Luttinger parameter for each of the charge and spin sectors. We present numerical density-matrix-renormalization-group calculations of the conductance of a junction of two chains of interacting spinless fermions with different interaction strengths, obtained using a recently developed method [Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 226803 (2010)]. The numerical results show very good agreement with the analytical predictions. For three spinless wires (i.e., a Y junction) we analytically determine the full phase diagram and compute all fixed-point conductances as a function of the three Luttinger parameters.

arXiv:1205.2125•Physical Review B•Aug 22, 2012•33 citations
We study a Y junction of spin-1/2 Heisenberg chains with an interaction that breaks both time-reversal and chain exchange symmetries, but not their product nor SU(2) symmetry. The boundary phase diagram features a stable disconnected fixed point at weak coupling and a stable three-channel Kondo fixed point at strong coupling, separated by an unstable chiral fixed point at intermediate coupling. Using non-abelian bosonization and boundary conformal field theory, together with density matrix renormalization group and quantum Monte Carlo simulations, we characterize the signatures of these low-energy fixed points. In particular, we address the boundary entropy, the spin conductance, and the temperature dependence of the scalar spin chirality and the magnetic susceptibility at the boundary.
We show that a quantum spin circulator, a nonreciprocal device that routes spin currents without any charge transport, can be achieved in Y junctions of identical spin-1/21/21/2 Heisenberg chains coupled by a chiral three-spin interaction. Using bosonization, boundary conformal field theory, and density matrix renormalization group simulations, we find that a chiral fixed point with maximally asymmetric spin conductance arises at a critical point separating a regime of disconnected chains from a spin-only version of the three-channel Kondo effect. We argue that networks of spin-chain Y junctions provide a controllable approach to construct long-sought chiral spin-liquid phases.
We study the boundary phase diagram and the low-temperature heat and magnetization transport at a YYY junction of XX spin chains. Depending on the magnetization axis anisotropy between the magnetic exchange interactions at the junction, the system exhibits two different strong-coupling regimes at low energies/temperatures, hosting a remarkable realization of, respectively, the overscreened (topological) four- and to the two-channel Kondo fixed points, both robust against anisotropies in the chain parameters and/or in the boundary couplings. Using renormalization group arguments combined with boundary conformal field theory methods, we show the instability of the former under any XY-type anisotropy at the junction. Our system allows for using the low-temperature spin and the heat conductances to evidence the fractionalization of the elementary excitations at the four-channel Kondo fixed point by means of the magnetic Wiedemann-Franz law. We caution that the instability under XY anisotropy may hinder the detection of the phenomenology related to the four-channel Kondo effect, therefore requiring careful control in experimental realizations.
Junctions of one-dimensional systems are of great interest to the development of synthetic materials that harbor topological phases. We study a junction of three gapless spin-1 chains described by the SU(2)2\mathrm{SU}{(2)}_{2}SU(2)2​ Wess-Zumino-Wittten model and coupled by exchange and chiral three-spin interactions. We show that a chiral fixed point appears as a special point on the transition line separating two regimes described by open boundary conditions, corresponding to decoupled chains and the formation of a boundary spin singlet state. Along this transition line, the junction behaves as a tunable spin circulator as the spin conductance varies continuously with the coupling constant of a marginal boundary operator. Since the spectrum of the junction contains fractional excitations such as Majorana fermions, in this paper, we set the stage for network constructions of non-Abelian chiral spin liquids.
A bstract We study the low-energy properties of the one-dimensional spin-1/2 XXZ chain with time-reversal symmetry-breaking pseudo-scalar chiral interaction and propose a phase diagram for the model. In the integrable case of the isotropic Heisenberg model with the chiral interaction, we employ the thermodynamic Bethe ansatz to find “chiralization”, the response of the ground state versus the strength of the pseudo-scalar chiral interaction of a chiral Heisenberg chain. Unlike the magnetization case, the chirality of the ground state remains zero until the transition point corresponding to critical coupling α c = 2 J/π with J being the antiferromagnetic spin-exchange interaction. The central-charge c = 1 conformal field theories (CFTs) describe the two phases with zero and finite chirality. We show for this particular case and conjecture more generally for similar phase transitions that the difference between two emergent CFTs with identical central charges lies in the symmetry of their ground state (lightest weight) primary fields, i.e., the two phases are symmetry-enriched CFTs. At finite but small temperatures, the non-chiral Heisenberg phase acquires a finite chirality that scales with the temperature quadratically. We show that the finite-size effect around the transition point probes the transition.
In this thesis we use a network of chiral junctions to realize non-Abelian topological phases in two dimensions. Our construction is based on boundary fixed points of low-energy field theories describing Y junctions of critical spin-chain models. To set the stage, we first study a single junction of gapless spin-1 chains belonging to the SU(2)2 universality class, whose spectrum includes fractional excitations such as Majorana fermions. We find that chiral fixed points appear as special points on a transition line that separates two regimes described by open boundary conditions. Remarkably, along this transition the junction behaves as a tunable spin circulator as the spin conductance varies continuously with the coupling constant of a marginal boundary operator. We then construct a family of topological chiral spin liquids departing from a honeycomb network made of critical spin-S chains. The chiral spin liquid phase harbors SU(2)k=2S anyons, which stem from the underlying WessZumino-Witten models that describe the constituent spin chains of the network. The network exhibits quantized spin and thermal Hall conductances. We illustrate our construction by inspecting the topological properties of the SU(2)2 model. We find that this model has emergent Ising anyons, with spinons acting as vortex excitations that bind Majorana zero modes. We also show that the ground state of this network is threefold degenerate on the torus, asserting its non-Abelian character. Our work provides a controllable analytical framework to study non-Abelian topological phases, sheding new light on the stability of such phases in artificial quantum materials.
Within the framework of boundary conformal field theory, we evaluate the conductance of stable fixed points of junctions of two and three quantum wires with different Luttinger parameters. For two wires, the physical properties are governed by a single effective Luttinger parameter for each of the charge and spin sectors. We present numerical density-matrix-renormalization-group calculations of the conductance of a junction of two chains of interacting spinless fermions with different interaction strengths, obtained using a recently developed method [Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 226803 (2010)]. The numerical results show very good agreement with the analytical predictions. For three spinless wires (i.e., a Y junction) we analytically determine the full phase diagram and compute all fixed-point conductances as a function of the three Luttinger parameters.