Ground-state factorization and correlations with broken symmetry
Bruno Tomasello, Davide Rossini, Alioscia Hamma +1 more
We show how the phenomenon of factorization in a quantum many-body system is of collective nature. To this aim we study the quantum discord Q in the one-dimensional XY model in a transverse field. We analyze the behavior of Q at both the critical point and at the non-critical factorizing field. The factorization is found to be governed by an exponential scaling law for Q . We also address the thermal effects fanning out from the anomalies occurring at zero temperature. Close to the quantum phase transition, Q exhibits a finite-temperature crossover with universal scaling behavior, while the factorization phenomenon results in a non-trivial pattern of correlations present at low temperature.
arXiv:1012.4270•Europhysics Letters (EPL)•Sep 23, 2011•63 citations