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arXiv:2111.04534 · Physical Review Letters

Entanglement Entropy in the Ising Model with Topological Defects

Ananda Roy, Hubert Saleur

Published Mar 2, 2022• 51 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Entanglement entropy (EE) contains signatures of many universal properties of conformal field theories (CFTs), especially in the presence of boundaries or defects. In particular, topological defects are interesting since they reflect internal symmetries of the CFT and have been extensively analyzed with field-theoretic techniques with striking predictions. So far, however, no lattice computation of EE has been available. Here, we present an ab initio analysis of EE for the Ising model in the presence of a topological defect. While the behavior of the EE depends, as expected, on the geometric arrangement of the subsystem with respect to the defect, we find that zero-energy modes give rise to crucial finite-size corrections. Importantly, contrary to the field-theory predictions, the universal subleading term in the EE when the defect lies at the edge of the subsystem arises entirely due to these zero-energy modes and is not directly related to the modular S matrix of the Ising CFT.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.128.090603

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Entanglement entropy (EE) contains signatures of many universal properties of conformal field theories (CFTs), especially in the presence of boundaries or defects. In particular, topological defects are interesting since they reflect internal symmetries of the CFT and have been extensively analyzed with field-theoretic techniques with striking predictions. So far, however, no lattice computation of EE has been available. Here, we present an ab initio analysis of EE for the Ising model in the presence of a topological defect. While the behavior of the EE depends, as expected, on the geometric arrangement of the subsystem with respect to the defect, we find that zero-energy modes give rise to crucial finite-size corrections. Importantly, contrary to the field-theory predictions, the universal subleading term in the EE when the defect lies at the edge of the subsystem arises entirely due to these zero-energy modes and is not directly related to the modular S matrix of the Ising CFT.
Abstract Defects in two-dimensional conformal field theories (CFTs) contain signatures of their characteristics. In this work, we analyze entanglement properties of subsystems in the presence of energy and duality defects in the Ising CFT using the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) technique. In particular, we compute the entanglement entropy (EE) and the entanglement negativity (EN) in the presence of defects. For the EE, we consider the cases when the defect lies within the subsystem and at the edge of the subsystem. We show that the EE for the duality defect exhibits fundamentally different characteristics compared to the energy defect due to the existence of localized and delocalized zero energy modes. Of special interest is the nontrivial ‘finite-size correction’ in the EE obtained recently using free fermion computations [1]. These corrections arise when the subsystem size is appreciable compared to the total system size and lead to a deviation from the usual logarithmic scaling characteristic of one-dimensional quantum-critical systems. Using matrix product states with open and infinite boundary conditions, we numerically demonstrate the disappearance of the zero mode contribution for finite subsystem sizes in the thermodynamic limit. Our results provide further support to the recent free fermion computations, but clearly contradict earlier analytical field theory calculations based on twisted torus partition functions. Subsequently, we compute the logarithm of the EN (log-EN) between two disjoint subsystems separated by a defect. We show that the log-EN scales logarithmically with the separation of the subsystems. However, the coefficient of this logarithmic scaling yields a continuously-varying effective central charge that is different from that obtained from analogous computations of the EE. The defects leave their fingerprints in the subleading term of the scaling of the log-EN. Furthermore, the log-EN receives similar ‘finite size corrections’ like the EE which leads to deviations from its characteristic logarithmic scaling.
Generally speaking, entanglement entropy (EE) between two subregions of a gapped quantum many-body state is proportional to the area/length of their interface due to the short-range quantum correlation. However, the so-called area law is violated logarithmically in a quantum critical phase. Moreover, the subleading correction exists in long-range entangled topological phases. It is referred to as topological EE which is related to the quantum dimension of the collective excitation in the bulk. Furthermore, if a non-smooth sharp angle is in the presence of the subsystem boundary, a universal angle dependent geometric contribution is expected to appear in the subleading correction. In this work, we simultaneously explore the geometric and edge contributions in the integer quantum Hall (IQH) state and its edge reconstruction in a unified bipartite method. Their scaling is found to be consistent with conformal field theory (CFT) predictions and recent results of particle number fluctuation calculations.
Abstract We perform a comprehensive analysis of the symmetry-resolved (SR) entanglement entropy (EE) for one single interval in the ground state of a 1 + 1D conformal field theory (CFT), that is invariant under an arbitrary finite or compact Lie group, G. We utilize the boundary CFT approach to study the total EE, which enables us to find the universal leading order behavior of the SREE and its first correction, which explicitly depends on the irreducible representation under consideration and breaks the equipartition of entanglement. We present two distinct schemes to carry out these computations. The first relies on the evaluation of the charged moments of the reduced density matrix. This involves studying the action of the defect-line, that generates the symmetry, on the boundary states of the theory. This perspective also paves the way for discussing the infeasibility of studying symmetry resolution when an anomalous symmetry is present. The second scheme draws a parallel between the SREE and the partition function of an orbifold CFT. This approach allows for the direct computation of the SREE without the need to use charged moments. From this standpoint, the infeasibility of defining the symmetry-resolved EE for an anomalous symmetry arises from the obstruction to gauging. Finally, we derive the symmetry-resolved entanglement spectra for a CFT invariant under a finite symmetry group. We revisit a similar problem for CFT with compact Lie group, explicitly deriving an improved formula for U(1) resolved entanglement spectra. Using the Tauberian formalism, we can estimate the aforementioned EE spectra rigorously by proving an optimal lower and upper bound on the same. In the abelian case, we perform numerical checks on the bound and find perfect agreement.
Topological excitations or defects such as solitons are ubiquitous throughout physics, supporting numerous interesting phenomena like zero-energy modes with exotic statistics and fractionalized charges. In this paper, we study such objects through the lens of symmetry-resolved entanglement entropy. Specifically, we compute the charge-resolved entanglement entropy for a single interval in the low-lying states of the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model in the presence of topological defects. Using a combination of exact and asymptotic analytical techniques, backed up by numerical analysis, we find that, compared to the unresolved counterpart and to the pure system, a richer structure of entanglement emerges. This includes a redistribution between its configurational and fluctuational parts due to the presence of the defect and an interesting interplay with entanglement equipartition. In particular, in a subsystem that excludes the defect, equipartition is restricted to charge sectors of the same parity, while full equipartition is restored if the subsystem includes the defect, as long as the associated zero mode remains unoccupied. Additionally, by exciting zero modes in the presence of multiple defects, we observe a significant enhancement of entanglement in certain charge sectors, due to charge splitting on the defects. The two different scenarios featuring the breakdown of entanglement equipartition are underlied by a joint mechanism, which we unveil by relating them to degeneracies in the spectrum of the entanglement Hamiltonian. In addition, equipartition is shown to stem from an equidistant entanglement spectrum.
Entanglement through interfaces has attracted considerable attention in 2d conformal field theory (CFT). However, it is known that field-theoretic predictions based on the existing framework are in general incompatible with numerical results [1-4]. A new framework for entanglement through topological defects was recently proposed in [5]. It provides a general description of entanglement through topological defects and successfully reproduces the numerical results for the Ising model in all tested cases and regimes. The key insight is that the relevant quantum correlations are encoded in twisted states, allowing for the construction of the full reduced density matrix (RDM). In this work we pursue two objectives. First, we provide new examples by studying defects in the free boson CFT. Second, we extend the framework to topological interfaces connecting two, possibly distinct, CFTs. Of particular interest are interfaces relating dual theories. We show that the reduced density matrix for a duality interface is the projection of the vacuum reduced density matrix onto a single symmetry sector, closely paralleling the framework of symmetry resolution. Unlike symmetry resolution, however, the projection is imposed by the physical interface itself, demonstrating that duality interfaces reflect quantum correlations back into the entangling interval. We establish this mechanism for diagonal and non-diagonal rational CFTs as well as the free boson CFT. Relative entropy allows us to quantify the distinguishability of the duality interface RDM from the vacuum RDM.
We consider the entanglement entropy for the 2D Ising model at the conformal fixed point in the presence of interfaces. More precisely, we investigate the situation where the two subsystems are separated by a defect line that preserves conformal invariance. Using the replica trick, we compute the entanglement entropy between the two subsystems. We observe that the entropy, just like in the case without defects, shows a logarithmic scaling behavior with respect to the size of the system. Here, the prefactor of the logarithm depends on the strength of the defect encoded in the transmission coefficient. We also comment on the supersymmetric case.