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arXiv:2306.11054 · Machine Learning Science and Technology

Machine learning renormalization group for statistical physics

Wanda Hou, Yi‐Zhuang You

Published Oct 6, 2023• 8 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Abstract We develop a machine-learning renormalization group (MLRG) algorithm to explore and analyze many-body lattice models in statistical physics. Using the representation learning capability of generative modeling, MLRG automatically learns the optimal renormalization group (RG) transformations from self-generated spin configurations and formulates RG equations without human supervision. The algorithm does not focus on simulating any particular lattice model but broadly explores all possible models compatible with the internal and lattice symmetries given the on-site symmetry representation. It can uncover the RG monotone that governs the RG flow, assuming a strong form of the c-theorem. This enables several downstream tasks, including unsupervised classification of phases, automatic location of phase transitions or critical points, controlled estimation of critical exponents, and operator scaling dimensions. We demonstrate the MLRG method in two-dimensional lattice models with Ising symmetry and show that the algorithm correctly identifies and characterizes the Ising criticality.

DOI
10.1088/2632-2153/ad0101

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Abstract We develop a machine-learning renormalization group (MLRG) algorithm to explore and analyze many-body lattice models in statistical physics. Using the representation learning capability of generative modeling, MLRG automatically learns the optimal renormalization group (RG) transformations from self-generated spin configurations and formulates RG equations without human supervision. The algorithm does not focus on simulating any particular lattice model but broadly explores all possible models compatible with the internal and lattice symmetries given the on-site symmetry representation. It can uncover the RG monotone that governs the RG flow, assuming a strong form of the c-theorem. This enables several downstream tasks, including unsupervised classification of phases, automatic location of phase transitions or critical points, controlled estimation of critical exponents, and operator scaling dimensions. We demonstrate the MLRG method in two-dimensional lattice models with Ising symmetry and show that the algorithm correctly identifies and characterizes the Ising criticality.
Conventionally, the study of phases in statistical mechan- ics is performed with the help of random sampling tools. Among the most powerful are Monte Carlo simulations consisting of a stochastic importance sampling over state space and evaluation of estimators for physical quantities. The ability of modern machine learning techniques to classify, identify, or in- terpret massive data sets provides a complementary paradigm to the above approach to analyze the exponentially large number of states in statistical physics. In this report, it is demonstrated by application on Ising-type models that deep learning has potential wide applications in solving many-body statis- tical physics problems. In application of supervised learning, we showed that the feed-forward neural network can identify phases and phase transitions in the ferromagnetic Ising model and the convolutional neural network (CNN) is extremely powerful in classifying T = 0 and T = ∞ phases in the Ising gauge model; In application of unsupervised learning, we illustrated that a deep auto-encoder constructed by stacked restricted Boltzmann machines (RBM)\nis closely related to the renormalization group (RG) method well understood in modern physics and our reconstruction of Ising spin configurations in the ferromagnetic Ising model is similar to the hand-written digits reconstruction.
We review recent developments of machine learning algorithms pertinent to the inverse renormalization group, which was originally established as a generative numerical method by Ron-Swendsen-Brandt via the implementation of compatible Monte Carlo simulations. Inverse renormalization group methods enable the iterative generation of configurations for increasing lattice size without the critical slowing down effect. We discuss the construction of inverse renormalization group transformations with the use of convolutional neural networks and present applications in models of statistical mechanics, lattice field theory, and disordered systems. We highlight the case of the three-dimensional Edwards-Anderson spin glass, where the inverse renormalization group can be employed to construct configurations for lattice volumes that have not yet been accessed by dedicated supercomputers.
The renormalization group (RG) is an essential technique in statistical physics and quantum field theory, which considers scale-invariant properties of physical theories and how these theories' parameters change with scaling. Deep learning is a powerful computational technique that uses multi-layered neural networks to solve a myriad of complicated problems. Previous research suggests the possibility that unsupervised deep learning may be a form of RG flow, by being a layer-by-layer coarse graining of the original data. We examined this connection on a more rigorous basis for the simple example of Kadanoff block renormalization of the 2D nearest-neighbor Ising model, with our deep learning accomplished via Restricted Boltzmann Machines (RBMs). We developed extensive renormalization techniques for the 1D and 2D Ising model to provide a baseline for comparison. For the 1D Ising model, we successfully used Adam optimization on a correlation length loss function to learn the group flow, yielding results consistent with the analytical model for infinite N. For the 2D Ising model, we successfully generated Ising model samples using the Wolff algorithm, and performed the group flow using a quasi-deterministic method, validating these results by calculating the critical exponent ν. We then examined RBM learning of the Ising model layer by layer, finding a blocking structure in the learning that is qualitatively similar to RG. Lastly, we directly compared the weights of each layer from the learning to Ising spin renormalization, but found quantitative inconsistencies for the simple case of nearest-neighbor Ising models.
We present a physical interpretation of machine learning functions, opening up the possibility to control properties of statistical systems via the inclusion of these functions in Hamiltonians.In particular, we include the predictive function of a neural network, designed for phase classification, as a conjugate variable coupled to an external field within the Hamiltonian of a system.Results in the two-dimensional Ising model evidence that the field can induce an order-disorder phase transition by breaking or restoring the symmetry, in contrast with the field of the conventional order parameter which causes explicit symmetry breaking.The critical behavior is then studied by proposing a Hamiltonian-agnostic reweighting approach and forming a renormalization group mapping on quantities derived from the neural network.Accurate estimates of the critical point and of the critical exponents related to the operators that govern the divergence of the correlation length are provided.We conclude by discussing how the method provides an essential step toward bridging machine learning and physics.
Machine learning methods are powerful in distinguishing different phases of matter in an automated way and provide a new perspective on the study of physical phenomena.We train a restricted Boltzmann machine (RBM) on data constructed with spin configurations sampled from the Ising Hamiltonian at different values of temperature and external magnetic field using Monte Carlo methods.From the trained machine we obtain the flow of iterative reconstruction of spin state configurations to faithfully reproduce the observables of the physical system.We find that the flow of the trained RBM approaches the spin configurations of the maximal possible specific heat which resemble the near-criticality region of the Ising model.In the special case of the vanishing magnetic field the trained RBM converges to the critical point of the renormalization group (RG) flow of the lattice model.Our results suggest an explanation of how the machine identifies the physical phase transitions, by recognizing certain properties of the configuration like the maximization of the specific heat, instead of associating directly the recognition procedure with the RG flow and its fixed points.Then from the reconstructed data we deduce the critical exponent associated with the magnetization to find satisfactory agreement with the actual physical value.We assume no prior knowledge about the criticality of the system and its Hamiltonian.
Most interacting many-body systems in physics are not analytically solvable. Instead, numerical methods are needed for the study of these complex and high-dimensional problems. At present, there are many interesting problems in strongly correlated systems that remain unsolved with current methods. At the heart of this problem is finding an efficient representation that incorporates symmetries, correlations and general features. \n \nIn the context of computer science, machine learning techniques have had astonishing success at reducing the dimensionality of data. The leading method is through the use of artificial neural networks. These networks have been enormously successful at sifting through vast amounts of data to find patterns and regularities. In a sense, neural networks are themselves a statistical system whose properties are adjusted to mimic the features of the data. By finding an effective low-dimensional representation of the data, machine learning has greatly subdued the curse of dimensionality found in many real-world problems. \n \nIn this Thesis, we apply several machine learning techniques to the study of interacting many-body systems in classical and quantum statistical physics. We explore supervised classification of phases of matter with an emphasis on physical interpretation of the net- work. In doing so, we design a custom network architecture that possesses rotational symmetry as an inductive bias. We further investigate connections between the renormalization group and deep learning through applying a super-resolving neural network to the classical Ising model. Towards experimental efforts, we also repurpose generative machine learning to quantum state tomography for the calibration and testing of quantum devices. We conclude with a latent variable model inspired by near-term quantum algorithms. This maps to a variational Monte Carlo ansatz that produces samples efficiently for interacting quantum systems.