Starting with the Ising model, statistical models with global symmetries provide fruitful approaches to interesting physical systems, for example percolation or polymers. These include the O(n) O ( n ) model (symmetry group O(n) O ( n ) ) and the Potts model (symmetry group S_Q S Q ). Both models make sense for n,Q∈ \mathbb{C} n , Q ∈ ℂ and not just n,Q∈ \mathbb{N} n , Q ∈ ℕ , and both give rise to a conformal field theory in the critical limit. Here, we study similar models based on the group PSU(n) P S U ( n ) . We focus on the two-dimensional case, where the models can be described either as gases of non-intersecting orientable loops, or as alternating spin chains. This allows us to determine their spectra either by computing a twisted torus partition function, or by studying representations of the walled Brauer algebra. In the critical limit, our models give rise to a CFT that exists for any n∈\mathbb{C} n ∈ ℂ and has a global PSU(n) P S U ( n ) symmetry. Its spectrum is similar to those of the O(n) O ( n ) and Potts CFTs, but a bit simpler. We conjecture that the O(n) O ( n ) CFT is a \mathbb{Z}_2 ℤ 2 orbifold of the PSU(n) P S U ( n ) CFT, where \mathbb{Z}_2
Critical spin chains and loop models with PSU(n) symmetry
Starting with the Ising model, statistical models with global symmetries provide fruitful approaches to interesting physical systems, for example percolation or polymers. These include the O(n) O ( n ) model (symmetry group O(n) O ( n ) ) and the Potts model (symmetry group S_Q S Q ). Both models make sense for n,Q∈ \mathbb{C} n , Q ∈ ℂ and not just n,Q∈ \mathbb{N} n , Q ∈ ℕ , and both give rise to a conformal field theory in the critical limit. Here, we study similar models based on the group PSU(n) P S U ( n ) . We focus on the two-dimensional case, where the models can be described either as gases of non-intersecting orientable loops, or as alternating spin chains. This allows us to determine their spectra either by computing a twisted torus partition function, or by studying representations of the walled Brauer algebra. In the critical limit, our models give rise to a CFT that exists for any n∈\mathbb{C} n ∈ ℂ and has a global PSU(n) P S U ( n ) symmetry. Its spectrum is similar to those of the O(n) O ( n ) and Potts CFTs, but a bit simpler. We conjecture that the O(n) O ( n ) CFT is a \mathbb{Z}_2 ℤ 2 orbifold of the PSU(n) P S U ( n ) CFT, where \mathbb{Z}_2
Entanglement entropy has proven invaluable to our understanding of quantum criticality. It is natural to try to extend the concept to "nonunitary quantum mechanics," which has seen growing interest from areas as diverse as open quantum systems, noninteracting electronic disordered systems, or nonunitary conformal field theory (CFT). We propose and investigate such an extension here, by focusing on the case of one-dimensional quantum group symmetric or supergroup symmetric spin chains. We show that the consideration of left and right eigenstates combined with appropriate definitions of the trace leads to a natural definition of Rényi entropies in a large variety of models. We interpret this definition geometrically in terms of related loop models and calculate the corresponding scaling in the conformal case. This allows us to distinguish the role of the central charge and effective central charge in rational minimal models of CFT, and to define an effective central charge in other, less well-understood cases. The example of the sl(2|1) alternating spin chain for percolation is discussed in detail.
Abstract. The Ising quantum chain with a peculiar twisted boundary condition is considered. This boundary condition, first introduced in the framework of the spin-1/2 XXZ Heisenberg quantum chain, is related to the duality transformation, which becomes a symmetry of the model at the critical point. Thus, at the critical point, the Ising quantum chain with the duality-twisted boundary is translationally invariant, similar as in the case of the usual periodic or antiperiodic boundary conditions. The complete energy spectrum of the Ising quantum chain is calculated analytically for finite systems, and the conformal properties of the scaling limit are investigated. This provides an explicit example of a conformal twisted boundary condition and a corresponding generalised twisted partition function. PACS numbers: 05.50.+q, 75.10.Jm, 71.10.Fd, 11.25.Hf Recently, there has been a lot of interest in generalised twisted partition functions of conformal field theory [1, 2, 3, 4] and the corresponding conformal twisted boundary conditions in solvable lattice models of statistical mechanics [5]. Examples of such boundary conditions leading to the appearance of “exotic ” spinor operators in the
Motivated by the three-dimensional topological field theory/two-dimensional conformal field theory (CFT) correspondence, we study a broad class of one-dimensional quantum mechanical models, known as anyonic chains, which can give rise to an enormously rich (and largely unexplored) space of two-dimensional critical theories in the thermodynamic limit. One remarkable feature of these systems is the appearance of non-local microscopic “topological symmetries” that descend to topological defects of the resulting CFTs. We derive various model-independent properties of these theories and of this topological symmetry/topological defect correspondence. For example, by studying precursors of certain twist and defect fields directly in the anyonic chains, we argue that (under mild assumptions) the two-dimensional CFTs correspond to particular modular invariants with respect to their maximal chiral algebras and that the topological defects descending from topological symmetries commute with these maximal chiral algebras. Using this map, we apply properties of defect Hilbert spaces to show how topological symmetries give a handle on the set of allowed relevant deformations of these theories. Throughout, we give a unified perspective that treats the constraints from discrete symmetries on the same footing as the constraints from topological ones.
The study of critical phenomena in two-dimensional statistical physics is mainly performed with the help of conformal field theory and integrable models. The relationship between these two formalisms is an active field of research, particularly in the framework of the so-called non-rational theories. This thesis is focused on certain critical systems described by an extended conformal theory : a theory that presents additional symmetries. The first problem studied is the fully packed loop model (FPL). Loop models are non-local statistical models based on the description of assembly of polymers. In particular, they represent the interfaces formed by spin models. The FPL model is integrable and its spectrum reflects an underlying symmetry Uq(sl(3)). The link between this model and the W3 symmetry, a conformal symmetry extended by a three-dimensional field, is studied in detail, numerically (by exact diagonalization) and analytically. The relationship with loop models leads to the study of the non-scalar operator content of the W3 theory. The second problem concerns the calculation of entanglement in unidimensional quantum systems. In this context, the preferred object of study is the entropy of entanglement between a subsystem and its complement. For the fundamental state of a spin chain, the behaviour of this entropy as a function of the size of the subsystem is a clear marker of the criticality of the chain. In this manuscript, a new way of calculating these entropies in critical models is presented. It is based on conformal theories extended by a symmetry called orbifold. This method is particularly applicable to entropies of excited states or disjointed subsystems.
Determining whether an additional local symmetry affects the universality class of a sta-tistical model is an important issue in the theory of critical phenomena. A basic example is provided by the RP N −1 model, in which N -component spin variables at each lattice site interact through an Hamiltonian invariant under global O(N ) rotations and local spin re-versals. The local symmetry makes the difference with the usual O(N ) model and amounts to the head-tail symmetry characteristic of liquid crystals. In three dimensions, the weak first order transition observed in numerical simulations of the ferromagnetic model is con-sistent with the mean field scenario. On the other hand, in the two-dimensional case –the one we focus on in this thesis – fluctuations are stronger and minimize the reliability of mean field predictions, as illustrated by the phase transition of the three-state Potts model, which becomes continuous on planar lattices. For the RP N −1 model, the absence of spontaneous breaking of continuous symmetry in two dimensions generically suggests that criticality is limited to zero temperature, and Monte Carlo studies for T → 0 showed a fast growth of the correlation length which made particularly hard to reach the asymp-totic limit and draw conclusions. On the other hand, the possibility of finite temperature topological transitions similar to the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) one – which should definitely occur for RP 1 ∼ O(2) – and mediated by ”disclination” defects has also been debated in numerical studies. While two-dimensional criticality has allowed for an impressive amount of exact solutions thanks to lattice integrability and conformal field theory, models with local symmetries traditionally remained outside the range of application of these methods. In this thesis, however, we show how the renormalization group fixed points of the RP N −1 model and of its complex generalization, the CP N −1 model, can be accessed in an exact way. This is achieved in the scale invariant scattering framework which, as we review in the introductory part of the thesis, implements in the basis of particle excitations the infinite-dimensional conformal symmetry characteristic of critical points in two dimensions and has provided in the last few years new results for pure and disordered systems. In the last part of the thesis, we will exploit the generality of the scale invariant scattering method to progress with another long standing problem of two-dimensional criticality, namely that of spin clusters in Potts correlated percolation. It has been known for long time that the problem can be addressed considering two coupled Potts models, but the need to consider the number of states of one of these models as a continuous variable has severely limited the analytical or numerical study of the critical points. Also here, the ability of the scattering method to enforce conformal invariance for the internal symmetry characteristic of the universality class will allow us to obtain exact equations for the critical points and to determine their solutions in the relevant limits.
Breaking Symmetries: N=2 Spin Chains and Conformal Field Theory at Finite Temperature
Conformal field theories (CFTs) and supersymmetric field theories constitute special classes of quantum field theories with applications ranging from critical phenomena and confinement to quantum gravity via holography. Their large symmetry groups make them ideal testing grounds for theoretical developments, enabling the use of powerful and elegant methods. Among these, conformal bootstrap and integrability have proven particularly successful. In this thesis, we take steps toward extending these methods beyond their conventional domains by breaking conformal symmetry through finite temperature effects and reducing supersymmetry via orbifolding. For spin chains arising from N=2 superconformal field theories obtained by orbifolding N=4 super Yang–Mills theory in four dimensions, we generalize the coordinate Bethe ansatz by incorporating long-range corrections.On the conformal bootstrap side, after breaking conformality by placing the CFT on a d-dimensional cylinder, we develop an analytic framework based on dispersion relations. We apply this method to several theories, including large-N CFTs in four dimensions. Furthermore, we combine this analytic approach with existing numerical bootstrap techniques at finite temperature to compute new thermal correlation functions in the three-dimensional Ising CFT.