Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:2603.17835

Quasi-local Edge Mode in XXX Spin Chain/Circuit with Interaction Boundary Defect

Tomaž Prosen

cond-mat.stat-mechcond-mat.str-elmath-phquant-phSubmitted Mar 18, 2026• Announced Mar 19, 2026• 0 citations• Revised Jun 11, 2026 (v2)
v1 · Mar 18, 2026v2 · Jun 11, 2026
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We study the Heisenberg spin-1/2 model on a semi-infinite chain - or, equivalently, a trotterized unitary SU(2) symmetric six-vertex quantum circuit - with a boundary defect where the interaction between the two spins nearest the edge differs from that in the bulk. For sufficiently strong boundary interaction we explicitly construct a conserved operator quasi-localized near the boundary using a matrix-product ansatz. This quasi-local edge mode leads to non-decaying boundary correlation functions, corresponding to a nonzero boundary Drude weight. The correlation length of the edge mode diverges at a finite critical value of the boundary interaction, signaling a transition to ergodic boundary dynamics for subcritical interactions.

Comments
6+5 pages in revtex with 5+1 pdf figures, v2: introduction rewritten and references added

Related papers

Two-channel Kondo behavior in the quantum XX chain with a boundary defect

Yicheng Tang, Pradip Kattel, J. H. Pixley +1 more

We demonstrate that a boundary defect in the single spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ quantum $XX$ chain exhibits two-channel Kondo physics. Due to the presence of the defect, the edge spin fractionalizes into two Majorana fermions, out of which one decouples, and one is overscreened by the free fermion in bulk, leading to non-trivial boundary behavior characteristic of the two-channel Kondo model. When the ratio of boundary to bulk coupling exceeds a critical value of $\sqrt{2}$, a massive boundary-bound mode is exponentially localized near the impurity site for strong impurity coupling. This leads to unusual behavior in physical quantities, such as the $g$-function not being monotonic. We compute the $g-$function of the impurity from both thermodynamic and entanglement entropy calculations and show that it takes a non-integer value of $\sqrt{2}$ just as in the two-channel Kondo problem.

arXiv:2501.16415•Physical review. B./Physical review. B•Jul 14, 2025•4 citations

Quasilocal conservation laws in XXZ spin-1/2 chains: Open, periodic and twisted boundary conditions

Tomaž Prosen

A continuous family of quasilocal exact conservation laws is constructed in the anisotropic Heisenberg (XXZ) spin-1/2 chain for periodic (or twisted) boundary conditions and for a set of commensurate anisotropies densely covering the entire easy plane interaction regime. All local conserved operators follow from the standard (Hermitian) transfer operator in fundamental representation (with auxiliary spin s=1/2), and are all even with respect to a spin flip operation. However, the quasilocal family is generated by differentiation of a non-Hermitian highest weight transfer operator with respect to a complex auxiliary spin representation parameter s and includes also operators of odd parity. For a finite chain with open boundaries the time derivatives of quasilocal operators are not strictly vanishing but result in operators localized near the boundaries of the chain. We show that a simple modification of the non-Hermitian transfer operator results in exactly conserved, but still quasilocal operators for periodic or generally twisted boundary conditions. As an application, we demonstrate that implementing the new exactly conserved operator family for estimating the high-temperature spin Drude weight results, in the thermodynamic limit, in exactly the same lower bound as for almost conserved family and open boundaries. Under the assumption that the bound is saturating (suggested by agreement with previous thermodynamic Bethe ansatz calculations) we propose a simple explicit construction of infinite time averages of local operators such as the spin current.

arXiv:1406.2258•Nuclear Physics B•Jul 29, 2014•121 citations

The Kondo effect in the quantum XX spin chain

Pradip Kattel, Yicheng Tang, J. H. Pixley +1 more

Abstract We investigate the boundary phenomena that arise in a finite-size XX spin chain interacting through an XX interaction with a spin − 1 2 impurity located at its edge. Upon Jordan–Wigner transformation, the model is described by a quadratic Fermionic Hamiltonian. Our work displays, within this ostensibly simple model, the emergence of the Kondo effect, a quintessential hallmark of strongly correlated physics. We also show how the Kondo cloud shrinks and turns into a single particle bound state as the impurity coupling increases beyond a critical value. In more detail, using both Bethe Ansatz and exact diagonalization techniques, we show that the local moment of the impurity is screened by different mechanisms depending on the ratio of the boundary and bulk coupling J imp J . When the ratio falls below the critical value 2 , the impurity is screened via the Kondo effect. However, when the ratio between the coupling exceeds the critical value 2 an exponentially localized bound mode is formed at the impurity site which screens the spin of the impurity in the ground state. We show that the boundary phase transition is reflected in local ground state properties by calculating the spinon density of states, the magnetization at the impurity site in the presence of a global magnetic field, and the finite temperature susceptibility of the impurity. We find that the spinon density of states in the Kondo phase has the characteristic Lorentzian peak that moves from the Fermi level to the maximum energy of the spinon as the impurity coupling is increased and becomes a localized bound mode in the bound mode phase. Moreover, the impurity magnetization and the finite temperature impurity susceptibility behave differently in the two phases. When the boundary coupling J imp exceeds the critical value 2 J , the model is no longer boundary conformal invariant as a massive bound mode appears at the impurity site.

arXiv:2401.04207•Journal of Physics A Mathematical and Theoretical•May 29, 2024•6 citations

NEAR-BOUNDARY AND BULK REGIONS OF A SEMI-INFINITE TWO-DIMENSIONAL HEISENBERG ANTIFERROMAGNET

Niina Voropajeva, A. Sherman

Using the spin-wave approximation elementary excitations of a semi-infinite two-dimensional $S=\frac12$ Heisenberg antiferromagnet are considered. The spectrum consists of bulk modes -- standing spin waves and a quasi-one-dimensional mode of boundary spin waves. These latter excitations eject bulk modes from two boundary rows of sites, thereby dividing the antiferromagnet into two regions with different dominant excitations. As a result absolute values of nearest-neighbor spin correlations on the edge exceed the bulk value.

•Jan 1, 2009•1 citation

NEAR-BOUNDARY AND BULK REGIONS OF A SEMI-INFINITE TWO-DIMENSIONAL HEISENBERG ANTIFERROMAGNET

N. VOROPAJEVA, A. SHERMAN

Using the spin-wave approximation elementary excitations of a semi-infinite two-dimensional S = ½ Heisenberg antiferromagnet are considered. The spectrum consists of bulk modes — standing spin waves and a quasi-one-dimensional mode of boundary spin waves. These latter excitations eject bulk modes from two boundary rows of sites, thereby dividing the antiferromagnet into two regions with different dominant excitations. As a result, absolute values of nearest-neighbor spin correlations on the edge exceed the bulk value.

arXiv:0912.4958•Modern Physics Letters B•Aug 27, 2010•1 citation

Exact strong zero modes in quantum circuits and spin chains with non-diagonal boundary conditions

Sascha Gehrmann, Fabian H. L. Essler

We construct exact strong zero mode operators (ESZM) in integrable quantum circuits and the spin-1/2 XXZ chain for general open boundary conditions, which break the bulk U(1) symmetry of the time evolution operators. We show that the ESZM is localized around one of the boundaries and induces infinite boundary coherence times. Finally, we prove that the ESZM becomes spatially non-local under the map that relates the spin-1/2 XXZ chain to the asymmetric simple exclusion process, which suggests that it does not play a significant role in the dynamics of the latter.

cond-mat.stat-mechCross-listedarXiv:2511.05490•SciPost Physics•Nov 10, 2025•2 citations
We study the Heisenberg spin-1/2 model on a semi-infinite chain - or, equivalently, a trotterized unitary SU(2) symmetric six-vertex quantum circuit - with a boundary defect where the interaction between the two spins nearest the edge differs from that in the bulk. For sufficiently strong boundary interaction we explicitly construct a conserved operator quasi-localized near the boundary using a matrix-product ansatz. This quasi-local edge mode leads to non-decaying boundary correlation functions, corresponding to a nonzero boundary Drude weight. The correlation length of the edge mode diverges at a finite critical value of the boundary interaction, signaling a transition to ergodic boundary dynamics for subcritical interactions.
We demonstrate that a boundary defect in the single spin-12\frac{1}{2}21​ quantum XXXXXX chain exhibits two-channel Kondo physics. Due to the presence of the defect, the edge spin fractionalizes into two Majorana fermions, out of which one decouples, and one is overscreened by the free fermion in bulk, leading to non-trivial boundary behavior characteristic of the two-channel Kondo model. When the ratio of boundary to bulk coupling exceeds a critical value of 2\sqrt{2}2​, a massive boundary-bound mode is exponentially localized near the impurity site for strong impurity coupling. This leads to unusual behavior in physical quantities, such as the ggg-function not being monotonic. We compute the g−g-g−function of the impurity from both thermodynamic and entanglement entropy calculations and show that it takes a non-integer value of 2\sqrt{2}2​ just as in the two-channel Kondo problem.
A continuous family of quasilocal exact conservation laws is constructed in the anisotropic Heisenberg (XXZ) spin-1/2 chain for periodic (or twisted) boundary conditions and for a set of commensurate anisotropies densely covering the entire easy plane interaction regime. All local conserved operators follow from the standard (Hermitian) transfer operator in fundamental representation (with auxiliary spin s=1/2), and are all even with respect to a spin flip operation. However, the quasilocal family is generated by differentiation of a non-Hermitian highest weight transfer operator with respect to a complex auxiliary spin representation parameter s and includes also operators of odd parity. For a finite chain with open boundaries the time derivatives of quasilocal operators are not strictly vanishing but result in operators localized near the boundaries of the chain. We show that a simple modification of the non-Hermitian transfer operator results in exactly conserved, but still quasilocal operators for periodic or generally twisted boundary conditions. As an application, we demonstrate that implementing the new exactly conserved operator family for estimating the high-temperature spin Drude weight results, in the thermodynamic limit, in exactly the same lower bound as for almost conserved family and open boundaries. Under the assumption that the bound is saturating (suggested by agreement with previous thermodynamic Bethe ansatz calculations) we propose a simple explicit construction of infinite time averages of local operators such as the spin current.
Abstract We investigate the boundary phenomena that arise in a finite-size XX spin chain interacting through an XX interaction with a spin − 1 2 impurity located at its edge. Upon Jordan–Wigner transformation, the model is described by a quadratic Fermionic Hamiltonian. Our work displays, within this ostensibly simple model, the emergence of the Kondo effect, a quintessential hallmark of strongly correlated physics. We also show how the Kondo cloud shrinks and turns into a single particle bound state as the impurity coupling increases beyond a critical value. In more detail, using both Bethe Ansatz and exact diagonalization techniques, we show that the local moment of the impurity is screened by different mechanisms depending on the ratio of the boundary and bulk coupling J imp J . When the ratio falls below the critical value 2 , the impurity is screened via the Kondo effect. However, when the ratio between the coupling exceeds the critical value 2 an exponentially localized bound mode is formed at the impurity site which screens the spin of the impurity in the ground state. We show that the boundary phase transition is reflected in local ground state properties by calculating the spinon density of states, the magnetization at the impurity site in the presence of a global magnetic field, and the finite temperature susceptibility of the impurity. We find that the spinon density of states in the Kondo phase has the characteristic Lorentzian peak that moves from the Fermi level to the maximum energy of the spinon as the impurity coupling is increased and becomes a localized bound mode in the bound mode phase. Moreover, the impurity magnetization and the finite temperature impurity susceptibility behave differently in the two phases. When the boundary coupling J imp exceeds the critical value 2 J , the model is no longer boundary conformal invariant as a massive bound mode appears at the impurity site.
Using the spin-wave approximation elementary excitations of a semi-infinite two-dimensional S=12S=\frac12S=21​ Heisenberg antiferromagnet are considered. The spectrum consists of bulk modes -- standing spin waves and a quasi-one-dimensional mode of boundary spin waves. These latter excitations eject bulk modes from two boundary rows of sites, thereby dividing the antiferromagnet into two regions with different dominant excitations. As a result absolute values of nearest-neighbor spin correlations on the edge exceed the bulk value.
Using the spin-wave approximation elementary excitations of a semi-infinite two-dimensional S = ½ Heisenberg antiferromagnet are considered. The spectrum consists of bulk modes — standing spin waves and a quasi-one-dimensional mode of boundary spin waves. These latter excitations eject bulk modes from two boundary rows of sites, thereby dividing the antiferromagnet into two regions with different dominant excitations. As a result, absolute values of nearest-neighbor spin correlations on the edge exceed the bulk value.
We construct exact strong zero mode operators (ESZM) in integrable quantum circuits and the spin-1/2 XXZ chain for general open boundary conditions, which break the bulk U(1) symmetry of the time evolution operators. We show that the ESZM is localized around one of the boundaries and induces infinite boundary coherence times. Finally, we prove that the ESZM becomes spatially non-local under the map that relates the spin-1/2 XXZ chain to the asymmetric simple exclusion process, which suggests that it does not play a significant role in the dynamics of the latter.