Motivated by the recent generalization of the Haldane conjecture to SU(3) chains [Lajkó et al., Nucl. Phys. B924, 508 (2017)NUPBBO0550-321310.1016/j.nuclphysb.2017.09.015] according to which a Haldane gap should be present for symmetric representations if the number of boxes in the Young diagram is a multiple of three, we develop a density matrix renormalization group algorithm based on standard Young tableaus to study the model with three boxes directly in the representations of the global SU(3) symmetry. We show that there is a finite gap between the singlet and the symmetric [3 0 0] sector Δ_{[3 0 0]}/J=0.040±0.006 where J is the antiferromagnetic Heisenberg coupling, and we argue on the basis of the structure of the low energy states that this is sufficient to conclude that the spectrum is gapped.
In this thesis we study various one-dimensional quantum spin systems with SU(2) and SU(N) symmetry. We investigate the short-distance behavior of the SU(2) Heisenberg model in the limit of large spin and show that there exists an extended regime where perturbation theory, in the form of spin-wave theory, can be successfully applied. The reason for this perturbative regime stems from the asymptotic freedom of the nonlinear sigma model onto which the Heisenberg model can be mapped. When considering observables which respect the rotational invariance of the model, we observe a cancellation of infrared divergences in the perturbative expansions, leading to a meaningful description of correlation functions. We then turn to the study of SU(N) models. Building on the representation theory of the SU(N) group and on the matrix product state (MPS) formalism, we introduce a generic method to construct Affleck-Kennedy-Lieb-Tasaki (AKLT) models having edge states described by any self-conjugate irreducible representation (irrep) of SU(N). A simple example is given by a spin-1 AKLT model having spin-1 edge states. The phase transition between this model and the original AKLT model is shown to be continuous and to correspond to a topological phase transition described by the SU(2) level-1 Wess-Zumino-Witten conformal field theory universality class. In addition we study an SU(3) AKLT model for the 3-box symmetric irrep at each site. We demonstrate that the edge states are adjoint edge irreps, we extract its correlation length and provide a useful construction as an optimal MPS. Finally, we develop a density matrix renormalization group algorithm based on standard Young tableaus and subduction coefficients to make full use of the non-abelian symmetry and to investigate the SU(3) Heisenberg model with 3-box symmetric irrep at each site. We show that the model has a finite gap above the singlet ground state, in agreement with an extension of the Haldane conjecture to SU(3) chains in the fully symmetric irreps. We also argue that there are five branches of elementary excitations living in four different irreps, each of which is gapped.
To begin with, we introduce several exact models for SU(3) spin chains: First is a translationally invariant parent Hamiltonian involving four-site interactions for the trimer chain, with a threefold degenerate ground state. We provide numerical evidence that the elementary excitations of this model transform under representation
3 of SU(3) if the original spins of the model transform under representation 3. Second is a family of parent Hamiltonians for valence bond solids of SU(3) chains with spin representations 6, 10, and 8 on each lattice site. We argue that of these three models, only the latter two exhibit spinon confinement and, hence, a Haldane gap in the excitation spectrum. We generalize some of our models to
SU(n). Finally, we use the emerging rules for the construction of valence bond solid states to argue that models of antiferromagnetic chains of
SU(n) spins, in general, possess a Haldane gap if the spins transform under a representation corresponding to a Young tableau consisting of a number of boxes $\ensuremath{\lambda}$ which is divisible by
n. If $\ensuremath{\lambda}$ and
n have no common divisor, the spin chain will support deconfined spinons and not exhibit a Haldane gap. If $\ensuremath{\lambda}$ and
n have a common divisor different from
n, it will depend on the specifics of the model including the range of the interaction.
The nature of symmetry-protected topological phases of Heisenberg spin chains in totally symmetric representations of rank
N of the
SU(N) group is investigated through a Majorana fermion study starting from an integrable point. The latter approach generalizes the one pioneered by Tsvelik [Phys. Rev. B 42, 10499 (1990)] to describe the low-energy properties of the Haldane phase of the spin-1 Heisenberg chain from three massive Majorana fermions. We find, for all
N's, the emergence of a nondegenerate gapped phase with edge states whose topological protection depends on the parity of
N. Whereas for
N odd, there is no such protection, the phase with even
N is shown to be topologically protected. We find that the phase belongs to the same topological class as the phase with edge states living in self-conjugate fully antisymmetric representation of the
SU(N) group.
We give a bosonic realization of the SU(3) antiferromagnetic Heisenberg (AFH) chain in the alternating conjugate representation, and study its phase diagram as a function of staggered interactions and anisotropy along the
T3 and
T8 directions. Unlike the SU(2) case, we observe a chiral-reversed quantum phase transition, where each competing phase is adiabatically connected to one of the chiral Haldane phases predicted in the SU(3) AFH chain with local adjoint representation. In the vicinity of the Heisenberg point, we identify a symmetry-protected topological state that appears at the first excited energy level. We also study the spontaneous
Z3 symmetry breaking of the system, and provide a variational wavefunction that captures the transition from the topological phase to the trivial phase. Finally, we propose an experimental realization of our bosonic model by two spin-1/2 bosons in an optical lattice.
Abstract The Haldane phase with local SU (3) adjoint representation constitutes the simplest non-trivial symmetry-protected topological phases in the SU Heisenberg spin chains. In this paper, we propose to realize this phase by a two-species spinor Bose gas, with each species labeling the quark or antiquark states of SU (3) symmetry. In the strong-coupling limit, we determine the ground-state phase diagram, and identify a quantum phase transition from the Haldane phase to a dimer phase. We show how to characterize the Haldane phase through its edge excitations. We also explain the physics at the dimer phase, by constructing an explicit ground-state ansatz at the dimer point.