Abstract A semiclassical analysis based on spin-coherent states is used to establish a classification and novel simple formulae for the spectral gap of mean-field spin Hamiltonians. For gapped systems, we provide a full description of the low-energy spectra based on a second-order approximation to the semiclassical Hamiltonian, hence justifying fluctuation theory at zero temperature for this case. We also point out a shift caused by the spherical geometry in these second-order approximations.
Abstract A semiclassical analysis based on spin-coherent states is used to establish a classification and novel simple formulae for the spectral gap of mean-field spin Hamiltonians. For gapped systems, we provide a full description of the low-energy spectra based on a second-order approximation to the semiclassical Hamiltonian, hence justifying fluctuation theory at zero temperature for this case. We also point out a shift caused by the spherical geometry in these second-order approximations.
The mean-field Heisenberg ferromagnet is a quantum spin model on the complete graph with isotropic spin-1/2 interactions. This non-commuting Hamiltonian is permutation and SU(2) invariant, and its Gibbs states undergo an SU(2) symmetry breaking phase transition at inverse temperature β=2. We consider the associated Davies generator, a canonical model of open-system thermalization, and prove tight asymptotic estimates for its spectral gap at all noncritical temperatures. For fixed β<2, the gap as a function of number of qubits n is Θ(1), while for fixed β>2 the gap is Θ(n−1). The matching upper bound of the spectral gap is witnessed by the total magnetization order parameter, suggesting that the low-temperature (β>2) slowdown is associated with broken continuous symmetry. Two key ingredients in our approach are a comparison argument, which introduces auxiliary generators to bound dissipation on nontrivial representations of the symmetry groups SU(2) and Sn, and a decomposition of the space of observables into spherical tensor operators to reveal a form of monotonicity.
Phase transitions for an open system consisting of an ensemble of interacting quantum subsystems with discrete spectrum are studied in the mean-field approximation. In the considered model, the change of an internal symmetry of a thermodynamic system upon the second-order phase transition is due to changing symmetry of distribution of charge/spin density inside each quantum subsystem. The latter can be caused by either splitting of one of lowest degenerated energy level or closing a gap between the levels and appearance of avoided crossing. The effect of external parameters (pressure, field, composition, etc.) results in direct change of internal control parameters: level spacing and/or the strength of interaction between adjacent quantum subsystems. Considering a simplest case of the two-level quantum subsystems, expressions for the free energy as a function of the internal control parameters were obtained in analytical form. The behavior of the heat capacity and susceptibility for different regions of the low-temperature phase diagram including the area of quantum fluctuations was determined.
We develop a variational formalism in order to study the structure of low energy spectra of frustrated quantum spin systems. It is first applied to trial wavefunctions of ladders with one spin-1/2 on each site. We determine energy minima of these states. The variational ground state shows a finite energy gap with respect to the energies of states which span the Hilbert space and are orthogonal to it. This is the case for any size of the system. Under some justifiable approximations the argument can be extended to even-legged ladder systems in 2d and higher dimensional spaces. The Hamiltonian can contain spin-spin coupling interactions of any range. For specific values of the coupling strengths level degeneracies can occur.
We generalize the perturbation theory of weakly interacting bosons to Bose-Einstein condensates with hyperfine spin F=1. Analytical expressions of second-order self-energies beyond the mean-field approximation are derived at zero temperature. We further extend the perturbation theory to the finite-temperature case, and derive the corresponding self-energies. We evaluate these self-energies near the poles of the first-order (mean-field) Green's functions within the on-shell approximation, and expand the results in powers of wave number in the long-wavelength limit. Excitation spectra for each mode are obtained analytically at low temperatures. We also derive the ground-state energy and thermodynamic quantities such as free energy of the system.
We study the excitation spectrum of a family of transverse-field spin chain models with variable interaction range and arbitrary spin S, which in the case of S=1/2 interpolates between the Lipkin-Meshkov-Glick and the Ising model. For any finite number N of spins, a semiclassical energy manifold is derived in the large-S limit employing bosonization methods, and its geometry is shown to determine not only the leading-order term but also the higher-order quantum fluctuations. Based on a multiconfigurational mean-field ansatz, we obtain the semiclassical backbone of the quantum spectrum through the extremal points of a series of one-dimensional energy landscapes---each one exhibiting a bifurcation when the external magnetic field drops below a threshold value. The obtained spectra become exact in the limit of vanishing or very strong external, transverse magnetic fields. Further analysis of the higher-order corrections in 1/2S enables us to analytically study the dispersion relations of spin-wave excitations around the semiclassical energy levels. Within the same model, we are able to investigate quantum bifurcations, which occur in the semiclassical $(S\ensuremath{\gg}1)$ limit, and quantum phase transitions, which are observed in the thermodynamic $(N\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\infty})$ limit.
The hallmark of highly frustrated systems is the presence of many states close in energy to the ground state. Fluctuations between these states can preclude the emergence of any form of order and lead to the appearance of spin liquids. Even on the classical level, spin liquids are not all alike: they may have algebraic or exponential correlation decay, and various forms of long wavelength description, including vector or tensor gauge theories. Here, we introduce a classification scheme, allowing us to fit the diversity of classical spin liquids (CSLs) into a general framework as well as predict and construct new kinds. CSLs with either algebraic or exponential correlation-decay can be classified via the properties of the bottom flat band(s) in their soft-spin Hamiltonians. The classification of the former is based on the algebraic structures of gapless points in the spectra, which relate directly to the emergent generalized Gauss's laws that control the low-temperature physics. The second category of CSLs, meanwhile, are classified by the fragile topology of the gapped bottom band(s). Utilizing the classification scheme we construct new models realizing exotic CSLs, including one with anisotropic generalized Gauss's laws and charges with subdimensional mobility, one with a network of pinch-line singularities in its correlation functions and a series of fragile topological CSLs connected by zero-temperature transitions. Published by the American Physical Society 2024