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

Physical Review A

Effective potential for quantum correlation functions

Alessandro Cuccoli, V. Tognetti, Ruggero Vaia

Published Aug 1, 1991• 16 citations
Publisher

Abstract

A method for calculating quantum averages and static correlation functions of configurational observables is introduced, by extending a variational method, which permits the reduction of the problem to the computation of classical-like averages. This approach opens the possibility of obtaining novel results in many fields, and strongly shortens the computer time needed for numerical calculations. As an example, the well-known sine-Gordon model is considered, and its relevant quantum correlation functions are calculated on the whole temperature range.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.44.2734

Related papers

Finite-temperature renormalization of sine-Gordon field by variational method

R. Giachetti, V. Tognetti, Ruggero Vaia

A variational approach based on the path-integral formulation of the statistical mechanics is applied for calculating the partition function of the sine-Gordon field. This is done by determining an effective potential which includes, in a complete quantum way, the linear modes of the field, while treating variationally the nonlinear excitations. Using this effective potential the temperature renormalization is separately studied both for the vacuum and the one-soliton sector, recovering the total one-loop self-consistent (Hartree-Fock) renormalized approximation. A high-temperature expansion is calculated whose range of applicability is found to be much wider with respect to previous expansions of the same kind. Finally, a comparison with a Monte Carlo simulation is presented, obtaining a very good agreement with the numerical data.

Physical Review A•Mar 1, 1988•28 citations

Correlation Functions of the Quantum Sine-Gordon Model in and out of Equilibrium

Ivan Kukuljan, Spyros Sotiriadis, G. Takács

Complete information on the equilibrium behavior and dynamics of quantum field theory (QFT) is provided by multipoint correlation functions. However, their theoretical calculation is a challenging problem, even for exactly solvable models. This has recently become an experimentally relevant problem, due to progress in cold-atom experiments simulating QFT models and directly measuring higher order correlations. Here we compute correlation functions of the quantum sine-Gordon model, a prototype integrable model of central interest from both theoretical and experimental points of view. Building upon the so-called truncated conformal space approach, we numerically construct higher order correlations in a system of finite size in various physical states of experimental relevance, both in and out of equilibrium. We measure deviations from Gaussianity due to the presence of interaction and analyze their dependence on temperature, explaining the experimentally observed crossover between Gaussian and non-Gaussian regimes. We find that correlations of excited states are markedly different from the thermal case, which can be explained by the integrability of the system. We also study dynamics after a quench, observing the effects of the interaction on the time evolution of correlation functions, their spatial dependence, and their non-Gaussianity as measured by the kurtosis.

arXiv:1802.08696•Physical Review Letters•Sep 13, 2018•82 citations

Frequency moments and spectral shape of quantum chains

Alessandro Cuccoli, V. Tognetti, Alexei A. Maradudin +2 more

The spectral shape of the displacement correlation function of a quantum chain of atoms interacting through a nearest-neighbor potential is approached at all temperatures and wave vectors by the evaluation of the related frequency moments. The latter ones have been obtained, until the sixth one, by using an effective potential derived by a variational approach to the path-integral formulation of the quantum statistical mechanics. This method allows us to reduce the computation of quantum averages of time-independent functions to classical-like space integrals, so that all the tools developed for classical calculations can be again applied. Explicit results for the Lennard-Jones potential are presented and tested against extensive quantum path-integral Monte Carlo simulations, where an improved Trotter extrapolation procedure is also used. The good agreement between the two calculations confirms the apparent strong simplification introduced by the variational method in the evaluation of the quantum averages when the quantum coupling can be treated semiclassically. The reconstruction of the dynamical behavior of the system through the knowledge of a sufficient number of moments appears realistic. Explicit spectral shapes of Lennard-Jones chains are given, showing the relevance of the quantum effects.

Physical review. B, Condensed matter•Oct 1, 1992•36 citations

Sine-Gordon model at finite temperature: The method of random surfaces

M. Tóth, J. H. Pixley, D. Szász-Schagrin +2 more

The authors study here the sine-Gordon quantum field theory, relevant for many 1D gapped systems and experimental settings. Despite its integrability, computing correlation functions, especially at finite temperatures, remains challenging. Existing methods like perturbative expansions, Monte Carlo simulations, and Hamiltonian truncation have limitations. The authors develop here a numerical approach using the method of random surfaces, which is efficient, scalable, and free from the sign problem. They validate their results against established techniques and propose future applications for multipoint functions and quench dynamics.

arXiv:2408.08828•Physical review. B./Physical review. B•Apr 7, 2025•2 citations

Introduction to Part IV

V. E. Korepin, N. M. Bogoliubov, Anatoli G. Izergin

The quantum correlation functions for different exactly solvable (completely integrable) models are all constructed in a similar way. In Part IV our main example will be the nonlinear Schrödinger (NS) equation. We shall also comment on the other models: the Heisenberg antiferromagnet, the Hubbard model and so on. We shall discuss different approaches to quantum correlation functions. Our main approach leads to differential equations for quantum correlation functions. These are classical nonlinear differential equations; they are completely integrable and closely related to the original classical differential equation that was quantized (the NS equation in our case). In the first stage of calculation of correlation functions we represent them as a determinant of some Predholm integral operator (here we shall use the results of Part III). The correct language for the description of quantum correlation functions is the language of τ functions, which was developed in. This helps us to relate the differential equations for quantum correlation functions with the hierarchy of the original classical differential equation that was quantized (the NS equation in our example). In this way we solve the most difficult problem; that of the evaluation of time-and temperature-dependent correlation functions. This approach can be applied not only to correlation functions for the NS equation, but also to the sine-Gordon model, to non-relativistic fermions, to the Heisenberg antiferromagnetic with special anisotropy and to other models.

Cambridge University Press eBooks•Aug 19, 1993•0 citations

Variational Equations-of-States for Interacting Quantum Hamiltonians

Wenxin Ding

Variational methods are of fundamental importance and widely used in theoretical physics, especially for strongly interacting systems. In this work, we present a set of variational equations of state (VES) for pure states of an interacting quantum Hamiltonian. The VES can be expressed in terms of the variation of the density operators or static correlation functions. We derive the algebraic relationship between a known pure state density matrix and its variation, and obtain the VES by applying this relation to the averaged Heisenberg-equations-of-motion for the exact density matrix. Additionally, we provide a direct expression of the VES in terms of correlation functions to make it computable. We present three nontrivial applications of the VES: a perturbation calculation of correlation functions of the transverse field Ising model in arbitrary spatial dimensions, a study of a longitudinal field perturbation to the one-dimensional transverse field Ising model at the critical point and variational calculation of magnetization and ground state energy of the two-dimensional spin-1/2 Heisenberg model on a square lattice. For the second one, our results not only recover the scaling limit, but also indicate the possibility of continuous tuning of the critical exponents by adjusting the longitudinal fields differently from the scaling limit. For the Heisenberg model, we obtained results numerically comparable to established results with simple calculations. The VES approach provides a powerful and versatile tool for studying interacting quantum systems.

arXiv:2307.00812•Jul 3, 2023•1 citation
A method for calculating quantum averages and static correlation functions of configurational observables is introduced, by extending a variational method, which permits the reduction of the problem to the computation of classical-like averages. This approach opens the possibility of obtaining novel results in many fields, and strongly shortens the computer time needed for numerical calculations. As an example, the well-known sine-Gordon model is considered, and its relevant quantum correlation functions are calculated on the whole temperature range.
A variational approach based on the path-integral formulation of the statistical mechanics is applied for calculating the partition function of the sine-Gordon field. This is done by determining an effective potential which includes, in a complete quantum way, the linear modes of the field, while treating variationally the nonlinear excitations. Using this effective potential the temperature renormalization is separately studied both for the vacuum and the one-soliton sector, recovering the total one-loop self-consistent (Hartree-Fock) renormalized approximation. A high-temperature expansion is calculated whose range of applicability is found to be much wider with respect to previous expansions of the same kind. Finally, a comparison with a Monte Carlo simulation is presented, obtaining a very good agreement with the numerical data.
Complete information on the equilibrium behavior and dynamics of quantum field theory (QFT) is provided by multipoint correlation functions. However, their theoretical calculation is a challenging problem, even for exactly solvable models. This has recently become an experimentally relevant problem, due to progress in cold-atom experiments simulating QFT models and directly measuring higher order correlations. Here we compute correlation functions of the quantum sine-Gordon model, a prototype integrable model of central interest from both theoretical and experimental points of view. Building upon the so-called truncated conformal space approach, we numerically construct higher order correlations in a system of finite size in various physical states of experimental relevance, both in and out of equilibrium. We measure deviations from Gaussianity due to the presence of interaction and analyze their dependence on temperature, explaining the experimentally observed crossover between Gaussian and non-Gaussian regimes. We find that correlations of excited states are markedly different from the thermal case, which can be explained by the integrability of the system. We also study dynamics after a quench, observing the effects of the interaction on the time evolution of correlation functions, their spatial dependence, and their non-Gaussianity as measured by the kurtosis.
The spectral shape of the displacement correlation function of a quantum chain of atoms interacting through a nearest-neighbor potential is approached at all temperatures and wave vectors by the evaluation of the related frequency moments. The latter ones have been obtained, until the sixth one, by using an effective potential derived by a variational approach to the path-integral formulation of the quantum statistical mechanics. This method allows us to reduce the computation of quantum averages of time-independent functions to classical-like space integrals, so that all the tools developed for classical calculations can be again applied. Explicit results for the Lennard-Jones potential are presented and tested against extensive quantum path-integral Monte Carlo simulations, where an improved Trotter extrapolation procedure is also used. The good agreement between the two calculations confirms the apparent strong simplification introduced by the variational method in the evaluation of the quantum averages when the quantum coupling can be treated semiclassically. The reconstruction of the dynamical behavior of the system through the knowledge of a sufficient number of moments appears realistic. Explicit spectral shapes of Lennard-Jones chains are given, showing the relevance of the quantum effects.
The authors study here the sine-Gordon quantum field theory, relevant for many 1D gapped systems and experimental settings. Despite its integrability, computing correlation functions, especially at finite temperatures, remains challenging. Existing methods like perturbative expansions, Monte Carlo simulations, and Hamiltonian truncation have limitations. The authors develop here a numerical approach using the method of random surfaces, which is efficient, scalable, and free from the sign problem. They validate their results against established techniques and propose future applications for multipoint functions and quench dynamics.
The quantum correlation functions for different exactly solvable (completely integrable) models are all constructed in a similar way. In Part IV our main example will be the nonlinear Schrödinger (NS) equation. We shall also comment on the other models: the Heisenberg antiferromagnet, the Hubbard model and so on. We shall discuss different approaches to quantum correlation functions. Our main approach leads to differential equations for quantum correlation functions. These are classical nonlinear differential equations; they are completely integrable and closely related to the original classical differential equation that was quantized (the NS equation in our case). In the first stage of calculation of correlation functions we represent them as a determinant of some Predholm integral operator (here we shall use the results of Part III). The correct language for the description of quantum correlation functions is the language of τ functions, which was developed in. This helps us to relate the differential equations for quantum correlation functions with the hierarchy of the original classical differential equation that was quantized (the NS equation in our example). In this way we solve the most difficult problem; that of the evaluation of time-and temperature-dependent correlation functions. This approach can be applied not only to correlation functions for the NS equation, but also to the sine-Gordon model, to non-relativistic fermions, to the Heisenberg antiferromagnetic with special anisotropy and to other models.
Variational methods are of fundamental importance and widely used in theoretical physics, especially for strongly interacting systems. In this work, we present a set of variational equations of state (VES) for pure states of an interacting quantum Hamiltonian. The VES can be expressed in terms of the variation of the density operators or static correlation functions. We derive the algebraic relationship between a known pure state density matrix and its variation, and obtain the VES by applying this relation to the averaged Heisenberg-equations-of-motion for the exact density matrix. Additionally, we provide a direct expression of the VES in terms of correlation functions to make it computable. We present three nontrivial applications of the VES: a perturbation calculation of correlation functions of the transverse field Ising model in arbitrary spatial dimensions, a study of a longitudinal field perturbation to the one-dimensional transverse field Ising model at the critical point and variational calculation of magnetization and ground state energy of the two-dimensional spin-1/2 Heisenberg model on a square lattice. For the second one, our results not only recover the scaling limit, but also indicate the possibility of continuous tuning of the critical exponents by adjusting the longitudinal fields differently from the scaling limit. For the Heisenberg model, we obtained results numerically comparable to established results with simple calculations. The VES approach provides a powerful and versatile tool for studying interacting quantum systems.