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arXiv:2507.04557 · New Journal of Physics

Universal shape-dependence of quantum entanglement in disordered magnets

Natalie Love, István A. Kovács

Published Jan 1, 2026• 0 citations
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Abstract

Abstract Disordered quantum magnets are not only experimentally relevant, but offer efficient computational methodologies to calculate the low energy states as well as various measures of quantum correlations. We present a systematic analysis of quantum entanglement in the paradigmatic random transverse-field Ising model in two dimensions, using an efficient implementation of the asymptotically exact strong disorder renormalization group method. The phase diagram is known to be governed by three distinct infinitely disordered fixed points (IDFPs) that we study here. For square subsystems, it has been recently established that quantum entanglement has a universal logarithmic correction due to the corners of the subsystem at all three IDFPs. This corner contribution has been proposed as an ‘entanglement susceptibility’, a useful tool to locate the phase transition and measure the correlation length critical exponent. Towards a deeper understanding, we quantify how the corner contribution depends on the shape of the subsystem. While the corner contribution remains universal, the shape-dependence is qualitatively different in each universality class, also confirmed by line segment subsystems, a special case of skeletal entanglement. Therefore, unlike in conformally invariant systems, in general different subsystem shapes are versatile probes to unveil new universal information on phase transitions in disordered quantum systems.

DOI
10.1088/1367-2630/ae3795

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Abstract Disordered quantum magnets are not only experimentally relevant, but offer efficient computational methodologies to calculate the low energy states as well as various measures of quantum correlations. We present a systematic analysis of quantum entanglement in the paradigmatic random transverse-field Ising model in two dimensions, using an efficient implementation of the asymptotically exact strong disorder renormalization group method. The phase diagram is known to be governed by three distinct infinitely disordered fixed points (IDFPs) that we study here. For square subsystems, it has been recently established that quantum entanglement has a universal logarithmic correction due to the corners of the subsystem at all three IDFPs. This corner contribution has been proposed as an ‘entanglement susceptibility’, a useful tool to locate the phase transition and measure the correlation length critical exponent. Towards a deeper understanding, we quantify how the corner contribution depends on the shape of the subsystem. While the corner contribution remains universal, the shape-dependence is qualitatively different in each universality class, also confirmed by line segment subsystems, a special case of skeletal entanglement. Therefore, unlike in conformally invariant systems, in general different subsystem shapes are versatile probes to unveil new universal information on phase transitions in disordered quantum systems.
Quantum entanglement at critical points is often marked by universal characteristics. Here, the entanglement entropy is calculated at the quantum multicritical point of the random transverse-field Ising model (RTIM). We use an efficient implementation of the strong disorder renormalization group method in two and three dimensions for two types of disorder. For cubic subsystems we find a universal logarithmic corner contribution to the area law $bln(\ensuremath{\ell})$ that is independent of the form of disorder. Our results agree qualitatively with those at the quantum critical points of the RTIM, but with new bbb prefactors due to having both geometric and quantum fluctuations at play. By studying the vicinity of the multicritical point, we demonstrate that the corner contribution serves as an ``entanglement susceptibility,'' a useful tool to locate the phase transition and to measure the correlation length critical exponents.
Computing the subleading logarithmic term in the entanglement entropy (EE) of (2+1)d quantum many-body systems remains a significant challenge, despite its central role in revealing universal information about quantum states and quantum critical points (QCPs). Building on recent algorithmic advances that enable the stable calculation of EE as an exponential observable~\cite{zhouIncremental2024,zhangIntegral2024,liaoExtracting2024}, we develop a {\it bubble basis} projector quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) algorithm to precisely and efficiently compute the universal corner of EE at QCPs in a (2+1)d square-lattice transverse-field Ising model augmented with a four-body interaction. Turning on this interaction allows us to trace an Ising critical line, reaching the tricritical point, and then a line of first-order phase transition. In (2+1)d, the tricritical point is described by the Gaussian theory, where a theoretical calculation of the corner logarithmic term in the 2nd Rényi entropy term is available~\cite{UniversalCasini2007}. Our QMC results are in quantitative agreement with this theoretical value, providing a highly nontrivial benchmark of the algorithm. Furthermore, we also study the Rényi EE at the Ising critical line and on the first-order transition line, obtaining results consistent with theoretical expectations. These findings establish the long-sought connection between the universal values of an exactly solvable limit and those of a strongly correlated regime at (2+1)d.
Quantifying entanglement of multiple subsystems is a challenging open problem in interacting quantum systems. Here, we focus on two subsystems of length $\ensuremath{\ell}$ separated by a distance $r=\ensuremath{\alpha}\ensuremath{\ell}$ and quantify their entanglement negativity (E\mathcal{E}E) and mutual information (I\mathcal{I}I) in critical random Ising chains. We find universal constant $\mathcal{E}(\ensuremath{\alpha})$ and $\mathcal{I}(\ensuremath{\alpha})$ over any distances, using the asymptotically exact strong disorder renormalization group method. Our results are qualitatively different from both those in the clean Ising model and random spin chains of a singlet ground state, like the spin-12\frac{1}{2}21​ random Heisenberg chain and the random XX chain. While for random singlet states $\mathcal{I}(\ensuremath{\alpha})/\mathcal{E}(\ensuremath{\alpha})=2$, in the random Ising chain this universal ratio is strongly $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ dependent. This deviation between systems contrasts with the behavior of the entanglement entropy of a single subsystem, for which the various random critical chains and clean models give the same qualitative behavior. The reason is that E\mathcal{E}E and I\mathcal{I}I are sensitive to higher order correlations in the ground-state structure. Therefore, studying multipartite entanglement provides additional universal information in random quantum systems, beyond what we can learn from a single subsystem.
We study the scaling properties of entanglement entropy (EE) near the quantum critical points in interacting random antiferromagnetic (AFM) spin chains. Using density-matrix renormalization group, we compute the half-chain EE near the topological phase transition between the Haldane and random singlet phases in a disordered spin-1 chain. It is found to diverge logarithmically in system size with an effective central charge ceff=1.17(4){c}_{\mathrm{eff}}=1.17(4)ceff​=1.17(4) at the quantum critical point (QCP). Moreover, a scaling analysis of EE yields the correlation length exponent $\ensuremath{\nu}=2.28(5)$. Our unbiased calculation establishes that the QCP is in the universality class of the infinite-randomness fixed point predicted by previous studies based on the strong disorder renormalization group technique. However, in the disordered spin-1/2 Majumdar-Ghosh chain, where a valence bond solid phase is unstable to disorder, the crossover length exponent obtained from a scaling analysis of EE disagrees with the expectation based on the Imry-Ma argument. We provide a possible explanation.
Entanglement scaling provides a powerful probe of universal properties at quantum critical points. In two dimensions, contributions originating from a corner-shaped bipartition exhibit a universal scaling, which is determined by the underlying conformal field theory. We develop a method to extract this corner entanglement entropy from projected entangled pair states directly in the thermodynamic limit. When applied to models at a quantum critical point, we show that the corner contribution exhibits scaling with the effective correlation length, in agreement with the hypothesis of finite-entanglement scaling. Our results for the corner coefficients are consistent with other methods, demonstrating the efficiency of our method for diagnosing strongly-correlated quantum critical points in two dimensions.
In a D=2+1D=2+1D=2+1 quantum critical system, the entanglement entropy across a boundary with a corner contains a subleading logarithmic scaling term with a universal coefficient. It has been conjectured that this coefficient is, to leading order, proportional to the number of field components NNN in the associated O(N)\text{O}(N)O(N) continuum ${\ensuremath{\phi}}^{4}$ field theory. Using density matrix renormalization group calculations combined with the powerful numerical linked cluster expansion technique, we confirm this scenario for the O(2)\text{O}(2)O(2) Wilson-Fisher fixed point in a striking way, through direct calculation at the quantum critical points of two very different microscopic models. The value of this corner coefficient is, to within our numerical precision, twice the coefficient of the Ising fixed point. Our results add to the growing body of evidence that this universal term in the R\'enyi entanglement entropy reflects the number of low-energy degrees of freedom in a system, even for strongly interacting theories.