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arXiv:2403.05127 · Physical Review A

Uhlmann phase winding in Bose-Einstein condensates at finite temperature

Chang-Yan Wang, Yan He

Published Oct 11, 2024• 2 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We investigate the Uhlmann phase, a generalization of the celebrated Berry phase, for Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) at finite temperature. The Uhlmann phase characterizes topological properties of mixed states, in contrast to the Berry phase, which is defined for pure states at zero temperature. Using the $\text{SU}(1,1)$ symmetry of the Bogoliubov Hamiltonian, we derive a general formula for the Uhlmann phase of BECs. Numerical calculations reveal that the Uhlmann phase can differ from the Berry phase in the zero-temperature limit, contrary to previous studies. As the temperature increases, the Uhlmann phase exhibits a winding behavior, and we relate the total winding degree to the Berry phase. This winding indicates that the Uhlmann phase takes values on a Riemann surface. Furthermore, we propose an experimental scheme to measure the Uhlmann phase of BECs by purifying the density matrix using an atomic interferometer.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.110.043313

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We investigate the Uhlmann phase, a generalization of the celebrated Berry phase, for Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) at finite temperature. The Uhlmann phase characterizes topological properties of mixed states, in contrast to the Berry phase, which is defined for pure states at zero temperature. Using the SU(1,1)\text{SU}(1,1)SU(1,1) symmetry of the Bogoliubov Hamiltonian, we derive a general formula for the Uhlmann phase of BECs. Numerical calculations reveal that the Uhlmann phase can differ from the Berry phase in the zero-temperature limit, contrary to previous studies. As the temperature increases, the Uhlmann phase exhibits a winding behavior, and we relate the total winding degree to the Berry phase. This winding indicates that the Uhlmann phase takes values on a Riemann surface. Furthermore, we propose an experimental scheme to measure the Uhlmann phase of BECs by purifying the density matrix using an atomic interferometer.
The Uhlmann process is built on the density matrix of a mixed quantum state and offers a way to characterize topological properties at finite temperatures. We analyze an ideal spin-jjj quantum paramagnet in a magnetic field undergoing an Uhlmann process and derive general formulas of the Uhlmann phase and Loschmidt amplitude for arbitrary jjj as the system traverses a great circle in the parameter space. A quantized jump of the Uhlmann phase signifies a topological quantum phase transition (TQPT) of the underlying process, which is accompanied by a zero of the Loschmidt amplitude. The exact results of j=12j=\frac{1}{2}j=21​ and j=1j=1j=1 systems show topological regimes that survive only at finite temperatures but not at zero temperature, and the number of TQPTs is associated with the winding number in the parameter space. Our results pave the way for future studies on finite-temperature topological properties, and possible experimental protocols and implications for atomic simulators and digital simulations are discussed.
Two indicators of finite-temperature topological properties based on the Uhlmann connection, one generalizing the Wilson loop to the Uhlmann-Wilson loop and the other generalizing the Berry phase to the Uhlmann phase, are constructed explicitly for a time-reversal invariant topological insulators with a Z2{Z}_{2}Z2​ index. While the phases of the eigenvalues of the Wilson loop reflect the Z2{Z}_{2}Z2​ index of the model at zero temperature, it is found that the signature from the Uhlmann-Wilson loop gradually fades away as temperature increases. On the other hand, the Berry phase exhibits quantization due to the underlying holonomy group. The Uhlmann phase retains the quantization at finite temperatures and serves as an indicator of topological properties. A phase diagram showing where jumps of the Uhlmann phase can be found is presented. By modifying the model to allow higher winding numbers, finite-temperature topological regimes sandwiched between trivial regimes at high and low temperatures may emerge.
Abstract We study the extended Kitaev chain with both nearest-neighbor and next-nearest-neighbor hopping terms and find the model system exhibiting nontrivial phases, which can be characterized by a nonzero Berry phase and winding number when the system is in a pure state. While in a mixed state, we investigate the robustness of the topological Uhlmann phases and show how it responses to the presence of next-nearest-neighbor hopping terms. Furthermore, we analyse the complicated behavior of the Uhlmann phase of the extended Kitaev chain at finite temperature as k moves along the Brillouin zone, and we think this may serve as a topological indicator for mixed states in condensed matter systems.
Topological properties of quantum systems at finite temperatures, described by mixed states, pose significant challenges due to the triviality of the Uhlmann bundle. By inserting the density matrix into the Chern character, we introduce the thermal Uhlmann-Chern number, a generalization of the Chern number that reduces to the pure-state value in the zero-temperature limit and vanishes at infinite temperature, providing a framework to study the temperature-dependent evolution of topological features in mixed states. We provide, for the first time, a rigorous mathematical proof that the first- and higher-order Uhlmann-Chern numbers converge to the corresponding Chern numbers in the zero-temperature limit, differing only by a factor of 1/D1/D1/D for DDD-fold degenerate ground states. We demonstrate the utility of this framework through applications to a two-level system, the coherent state model, the 2D Haldane model, and a four-band model, highlighting the temperature-dependent behavior of topological invariants. Our results establish a robust bridge between the topological properties of pure and mixed states, offering new insights into finite-temperature topological phases.
The generalization of the geometric phase to the realm of mixed states is known as the Uhlmann phase. Recently, applications of this concept to the field of topological insulators have been made and an experimental observation of a characteristic critical temperature at which the topological Uhlmann phase disappears has also been reported. Here we study the case of the Uhlmann phase of a paradigmatic system such as the spin-jjj particle in the presence of a slowly rotating magnetic field at finite temperature in an exact analytical form. We find that the Uhlmann phase is given by the argument of a complex-valued second-kind Chebyshev polynomial of order 2j2j2j. Correspondingly, the Uhlmann phase displays 2j2j2j singularities, occurring at the roots of such polynomials which define the critical temperatures at which the system undergoes topological order transitions. Appealing to the argument principle of complex analysis, each topological order is characterized by a winding number, which happens to be 2j2j2j for the ground state and decreases by unity each time the increasing temperature passes through a critical value. We hope this study encourages experimental verification of this phenomenon of thermal control of topological properties, as has already been done for the spin-1/21/21/2 particle.
We first compare the geometric frameworks behind the Uhlmann and Berry phases in a fiber-bundle language and then evaluate the Uhlmann phases of bosonic and fermionic coherent states. The Uhlmann phases of both coherent states are shown to carry geometric information and decrease smoothly with temperature. Importantly, the Uhlmann phases approach the corresponding Berry phases as temperature decreases. Together with previous examples in the literature, we propose a correspondence between the Uhlmann and Berry phases in the zero-temperature limit as a general property except some special cases and present a conditional proof of the correspondence.