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arXiv:2410.08538

Large deviations in mean-field quantum spin systems

Matthias Keller, Christiaan J. F. van de Ven

Published Oct 11, 2024• 0 citations
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Abstract

Continuous fields (or bundles) of $C^*$-algebras form an important ingredient for describing emergent phenomena, such as phase transitions and spontaneous symmetry breaking. In this work, we consider the continuous $C^*$-bundle generated by increasing symmetric tensor powers of the complex $\ell\times\ell$ matrices $M_\ell(\mathbb{C})$, which can be interpreted as abstract description of mean-field theories defining the macroscopic limit of infinite quantum systems. Within this framework we discuss the principle of large deviations for the local Gibbs state in the high temperature regime and characterize the limit of the ensuing logarithmic generating function.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.2410.08538

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Continuous fields (or bundles) of C∗C^*C∗-algebras form an important ingredient for describing emergent phenomena, such as phase transitions and spontaneous symmetry breaking. In this work, we consider the continuous C∗C^*C∗-bundle generated by increasing symmetric tensor powers of the complex ℓ×ℓ\ell\times\ellℓ×ℓ matrices Mℓ(C)M_\ell(\mathbb{C})Mℓ​(C), which can be interpreted as abstract description of mean-field theories defining the macroscopic limit of infinite quantum systems. Within this framework we discuss the principle of large deviations for the local Gibbs state in the high temperature regime and characterize the limit of the ensuing logarithmic generating function.
The theory of strict deformation quantization of the two-sphere S2⊂R3 is used to prove the existence of the classical limit of mean-field quantum spin chains, whose ensuing Hamiltonians are denoted by HN, where N indicates the number of sites. Indeed, since the fibers A1/N=MN+1(C) and A0 = C(S2) form a continuous bundle of C*-algebras over the base space I={0}∪1/N*⊂[0,1], one can define a strict deformation quantization of A0 where quantization is specified by certain quantization maps Q1/N:Ã0→A1/N, with Ã0 being a dense Poisson subalgebra of A0. Given now a sequence of such HN, we show that under some assumptions, a sequence of eigenvectors ψN of HN has a classical limit in the sense that ω0(f) ≔ limN→∞⟨ψN, Q1/N(f)ψN⟩ exists as a state on A0 given by ω0(f)=1n∑i=1nf(Ωi), where n is some natural number. We give an application regarding spontaneous symmetry breaking, and moreover, we show that the spectrum of such a mean-field quantum spin system converges to the range of some polynomial in three real variables restricted to the sphere S2.
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An infinite quantum system with correctly defined dynamics τQ as an automorphism group of a C*-algebra 𝒞 of observables is determined by any continuous unitary representation U(G) of a connected Lie group G, as well as by an arbitrary differentiable real function Q on the dual space 𝔤* to the Lie algebra 𝔤 of G with the canonically defined Poisson flow φQ on 𝔤*. For specific choices of Q and G, the system can be obtained as the thermodynamic limit of a net of finite lattice systems with the mean-field type interaction of Hepp and Lieb [Helv. Phys. Acta 46, 573 (1973)]. A simple nontrivial model of this type is the quasispin BCS model of superconductivity in the strong coupling limit, or a corresponding model of the Josephson junction. A peculiar feature of the considered models is τQ noninvariance of the usually considered C*-algebra 𝒜 of quasilocal observables, as well as an important role of classical dynamics of a set of macroscopic (intensive) observables Qφ in the description of τQ. The work is restricted here to norm-continuous representations U(G), in which case 𝒞 is isomorphic to the tensor product 𝒜⊗𝒩, where 𝒩 is the commutative algebra of classical (intensive) observables of the considered infinite quantum system.
Abstract We study the emergent dynamics resulting from the infinite volume limit of the mean-field dissipative dynamics of quantum spin chains with clustering, but not time-invariant states. We focus upon three algebras of spin operators: the commutative algebra of mean-field operators, the quasi-local algebra of microscopic, local operators and the collective algebra of fluctuation operators. In the infinite volume limit, mean-field operators behave as time-dependent, commuting scalar macroscopic averages while quasi-local operators, despite the dissipative underlying dynamics, evolve unitarily in a typical non-Markovian fashion. Instead, the algebra of collective fluctuations, which is of bosonic type with time-dependent canonical commutation relations, undergoes a time-evolution that retains the dissipative character of the underlying microscopic dynamics and exhibits non-linear features. These latter disappear by extending the time-evolution to a larger algebra where it is represented by a continuous one-parameter semigroup of completely positive maps. The corresponding generator is not of Lindblad form and displays mixed quantum-classical features, thus indicating that peculiar hybrid systems may naturally emerge at the level of quantum fluctuations in many-body quantum systems endowed with non time-invariant states.
Thermal entanglement transitions from strong SU(2)\textrm{SU}(2)SU(2) symmetry
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A cornerstone of the theory of phase transitions is the observation that many-body systems exhibiting a spontaneous symmetry breaking in the thermodynamic limit generally show extensive fluctuations of an order parameter in large but finite systems. In this work, we introduce the dynamical analog of such a theory. Specifically, we consider local dissipative dynamics preparing an equilibrium steady-state of quantum spins on a lattice exhibiting a discrete or continuous symmetry but with extensive fluctuations in a local order parameter. We show that for all such processes, there exist asymptotically stationary symmetry-breaking states, i.e., states that become stationary in the thermodynamic limit and give a finite value to the order parameter. We give results both for discrete and continuous symmetries and explicitly show how to construct the symmetry-breaking states. Our results show in a simple way that, in large systems, local dissipative dynamics satisfying detailed balance cannot uniquely and efficiently prepare states with extensive fluctuations with respect to local operators. We discuss the implications of our results for quantum simulators and dissipative state preparation.