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arXiv:2404.14611 · SciPost Physics

Fermionic tensor network methods

Quinten Mortier, Lukas Devos, Lander Burgelman, Bram Vanhecke, Nick Bultinck, Frank Verstraete, Jutho Haegeman, Laurens Vanderstraeten

Published Jan 10, 2025• 22 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We show how fermionic statistics can be naturally incorporated in tensor networks on arbitrary graphs through the use of graded Hilbert spaces. This formalism allows the use of tensor network methods for fermionic lattice systems in a local way, avoiding the need of a Jordan-Wigner transformation or the explicit tracking of leg crossings by swap gates in 2D tensor networks. The graded Hilbert spaces can be readily integrated with other internal and lattice symmetries, and only require minor extensions to an existing tensor network software package. We review and benchmark the fermionic versions of common algorithms for matrix product states and projected entangled-pair states.

DOI
10.21468/scipostphys.18.1.012

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We show how fermionic statistics can be naturally incorporated in tensor networks on arbitrary graphs through the use of graded Hilbert spaces. This formalism allows the use of tensor network methods for fermionic lattice systems in a local way, avoiding the need of a Jordan-Wigner transformation or the explicit tracking of leg crossings by swap gates in 2D tensor networks. The graded Hilbert spaces can be readily integrated with other internal and lattice symmetries, and only require minor extensions to an existing tensor network software package. We review and benchmark the fermionic versions of common algorithms for matrix product states and projected entangled-pair states.
We investigate the tensor network representations of fermionic crystalline symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases on two-dimensional lattices. As a mapping from virtual indices to physical indices, projected entangled-pair state (PEPS) serves as a concrete way to construct the wavefunctions of 2D crystalline fermionic SPT (fSPT) phases protected by 17 wallpaper group symmetries, for both spinless and spin-1/2 fermions. Based on PEPS, the full classification of 2D crystalline fSPT phases with wallpaper groups can be obtained. Tensor network states provide a natural framework for studying 2D crystalline fSPT phases.
Although tensor networks are powerful tools for simulating low-dimensional quantum physics, tensor network algorithms are very computationally costly in higher spatial dimensions. We introduce quantum gauge networks : a different kind of tensor network ansatz for which the computation cost of simulations does not explicitly increase for larger spatial dimensions. We take inspiration from the gauge picture of quantum dynamics, which consists of a local wavefunction for each patch of space, with neighboring patches related by unitary connections. A quantum gauge network (QGN) has a similar structure, except the Hilbert space dimensions of the local wavefunctions and connections are truncated. We describe how a QGN can be obtained from a generic wavefunction or matrix product state (MPS). All 2k -point correlation functions of any wavefunction for M many operators can be encoded exactly by a QGN with bond dimension O(Mk) . In comparison, for just k=1 , an exponentially larger bond dimension of 2M/6 is generically required for an MPS of qubits. We provide a simple QGN algorithm for approximate simulations of quantum dynamics in any spatial dimension. The approximate dynamics can achieve exact energy conservation for time-independent Hamiltonians, and spatial symmetries can also be maintained exactly. We benchmark the algorithm by simulating the quantum quench of fermionic Hamiltonians in up to three spatial dimensions.
Tensor network states, and in particular projected entangled pair states, play an important role in the description of strongly correlated quantum lattice systems. They do not only serve as variational states in numerical simulation methods, but also provide a framework for classifying phases of quantum matter and capture notions of topological order in a stringent and rigorous language. The rapid development in this field for spin models and bosonic systems has not yet been mirrored by an analogous development for fermionic models. In this work, we introduce a tensor network formalism capable of capturing notions of topological order for quantum systems with fermionic components. At the heart of the formalism are axioms of fermionic matrix-product operator injectivity, stable under concatenation. Building upon that, we formulate a Grassmann number tensor network ansatz for the ground state of fermionic twisted quantum double models. A specific focus is put on the paradigmatic example of the fermionic toric code. This work shows that the program of describing topologically ordered systems using tensor networks carries over to fermionic models.
In this thesis, we use the new numerical method multiscale entanglement renormalization ansatz (MERA) to study the one dimensional spin system. This method, MERA, utilizes a network of tensors to represent quantum many-body systems on a lattice. Other examples of tensor network state are matrix product states (MPSs) for 1D systems, tree tensor networks (TTNs) for systems with a tree shape, and projected entangled-pair states (PEPSs) for 2D systems and be- yond. The three structures dier in the graph that denes how the tensors are interconnected into a network: The graphs for MPSs, TTNs, and 2D PEPSs are, respectively, a chain, a tree, and a 2D lattice. Importantly, from these tensor networks the expectation value of local observables can be computed eciently. Developing algorithms to simulate quantum many-body systems is important for understanding and studying the physical principles. And these may become powerful tools for the analysis of quantum computation and quantum information theory. But in general ecient simulation is dicult, due to the fundamental quantum physical laws. The main method we have studied and worked on is multiscale entangle- ment renormalization ansatz (MERA) which is a variational ansatz for many- body states. MERA is a tree tensor network for 1D, 2D systems and beyond. We have developed code of ternary-MERA to compute the ground state energy, expected values of local observables, and correlators for 1D lattice systems. In a nutshell, MERA is an algorithm for entanglement renormalization which is a numerical technique based on locally reorganizing the Hilbert space of a quantum many-body system with the aim to reduce the amount of entanglement in its wave function. We use this method to study 1D Ising model, XXZ model, and J1 - J2 model, and then comparing the numerical results with exact diagonalization (ED) and density matrix renormalization group (DMRG).
The benefits of exploiting the presence of symmetries in tensor network algorithms have been extensively demonstrated in the context of matrix product states (MPSs). These include the ability to select a specific symmetry sector (e.g., with a given particle number or spin), to ensure the exact preservation of total charge, and to significantly reduce computational costs. Compared to the case of a generic tensor network, the practical implementation of symmetries in the MPS is simplified by the fact that tensors only have three indices (they are trivalent, just as the Clebsch-Gordan coefficients of the symmetry group) and are organized as a one-dimensional array of tensors, without closed loops. Instead, a more complex tensor network, one where tensors have a larger number of indices and/or a more elaborate network structure, requires a more general treatment. In two recent papers, namely, (i) [Singh, Pfeifer, and Vidal, Phys. Rev. A 82, 050301 (2010)] and (ii) [Singh, Pfeifer, and Vidal, Phys. Rev. B 83, 115125 (2011)], we described how to incorporate a global internal symmetry into a generic tensor network algorithm based on decomposing and manipulating tensors that are invariant under the symmetry. In (i) we considered a generic symmetry group G\mathcal{G}G that is compact, completely reducible, and multiplicity free, acting as a global internal symmetry. Then, in (ii) we described the implementation of Abelian group symmetries in much more detail, considering a U(1) symmetry (e.g., conservation of global particle number) as a concrete example. In this paper, we describe the implementation of non-Abelian group symmetries in great detail. For concreteness, we consider an SU(2) symmetry (e.g., conservation of global quantum spin). Our formalism can be readily extended to more exotic symmetries associated with conservation of total fermionic or anyonic charge. As a practical demonstration, we describe the SU(2)-invariant version of the multiscale entanglement renormalization ansatz and apply it to study the low-energy spectrum of a quantum spin chain with a global SU(2) symmetry.