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Quasiparticle pictures and graphs - from perturbative to non-perturbative linked-cluster expansions

Kris Cöster

Published Dec 1, 2015• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

A fundamental principle in condensed matter physics is the effective description in terms of quasiparticles. The high-energy part of the system is accounted for by renormalized properties of the quasiparticles, providing both, an accurate description and interpretation of the relevant low-energy physics. We consider two classes of methods suited to provide effective quasiparticle descriptions in the thermodynamic limit: (non-perturbative) linked-cluster expansions ((N)LCEs) and continuous unitary transformations (CUTs). We focus specifically on the combination of both methods, providing a different perspective and solutions to existing challenges. LCEs provide high-order series expansions in a perturbation parameter, by combining effective Hamiltonians determined on finite clusters. We introduce a white-graph expansion for the method of perturbative continuous unitary transformations when implemented as an LCE. The essential idea behind an expansion in white graphs is to perform an optimized bookkeeping during the calculation by exploiting the model-independent effective Hamiltonian in second quantization and the associated inherent cluster additivity. This approach is shown to be especially well suited for microscopic models with many coupling constants, since the total number of relevant graphs is drastically reduced. The white-graph expansion is exemplified for a two-dimensional quantum spin model, illustrating its efficiency. In NLCEs, the perturbative treatment of finite clusters is replaced by a numerical exact (block) diagonalization. While LCEs are restricted due to their perturbative nature, the non-perturbative variant is not. In graph-based continuous unitary transformations (gCUTs), the block diagonalization is achieved by a non-perturbative CUT performed on finite clusters. The central objective of this thesis is a modification of the gCUT scheme, allowing to treat two kinds of major issues, denoted by pseudo and genuine decay, occuring for NLCEs due to the non-perturbative treatment of clusters. Indeed, one finds surprising effects caused by the non-perturbative renormalization. In particular, we identify a fundamental challenge for any non-perturbative approach based on finite clusters resulting from the reduced symmetry on graphs, most importantly the breaking of translational symmetry when targeting the properties of excited states. This can be traced back to the appearance of intruder states in the low-energy spectrum, which represent a major obstacle in quasi-degenerate perturbation theory. Here, a generalized notion of cluster additivity is introduced, which is used to formulate an optimized scheme of gCUTs, allowing to solve and to physically understand this major issue. Most remarkably, our improved scheme demands to go beyond the paradigm of using the exact eigenvectors on graphs. We demonstrate that the modified scheme is correct in the non-perturbative regime. Even at quantum criticality, the scheme gives valid results. To determine the critical behavior, one must rely on extrapolation schemes. We introduce a generic approach to extract critical properties from sequences of numerical data which is directly relevant for NLCEs. The scheme is applied to the quantum phase transition between the dimerized and the isotropic spin 1/2 Heisenberg chain. Finally, we investigate a scenario where the gapped quasiparticle excitation is not stable for all momenta, i.e., the one-particle mode merges with the continuum for certain momenta and one observes quasiparticle decay. In this case, intruder states merging with the low-energy spectrum on finite clusters represent genuine physics of the system. Again, a proper renormalization on finite clusters satisfies the generalized cluster additivity. Our adjusted renormalization approach performed on finite clusters does not necessarily lead to a full decoupling of the quasiparticle subspaces and the remaining interactions are part of the effective description. The resulting effective Hamiltonian can be analyzed to describe quasiparticle decay in the thermodynamic limit. The modified scheme is applied to four-leg spin 1/2 Heisenberg ladders, providing insights into the spectral properties. Overall, this thesis presents several important developments for the derivation of effective quasiparticle pictures in quantum spin models via perturbative and non-perturbative LCEs, opening various opportunities for future investigations.

DOI
10.17877/de290r-16955

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A fundamental principle in condensed matter physics is the effective description in terms of quasiparticles. The high-energy part of the system is accounted for by renormalized properties of the quasiparticles, providing both, an accurate description and interpretation of the relevant low-energy physics. We consider two classes of methods suited to provide effective quasiparticle descriptions in the thermodynamic limit: (non-perturbative) linked-cluster expansions ((N)LCEs) and continuous unitary transformations (CUTs). We focus specifically on the combination of both methods, providing a different perspective and solutions to existing challenges. LCEs provide high-order series expansions in a perturbation parameter, by combining effective Hamiltonians determined on finite clusters. We introduce a white-graph expansion for the method of perturbative continuous unitary transformations when implemented as an LCE. The essential idea behind an expansion in white graphs is to perform an optimized bookkeeping during the calculation by exploiting the model-independent effective Hamiltonian in second quantization and the associated inherent cluster additivity. This approach is shown to be especially well suited for microscopic models with many coupling constants, since the total number of relevant graphs is drastically reduced. The white-graph expansion is exemplified for a two-dimensional quantum spin model, illustrating its efficiency. In NLCEs, the perturbative treatment of finite clusters is replaced by a numerical exact (block) diagonalization. While LCEs are restricted due to their perturbative nature, the non-perturbative variant is not. In graph-based continuous unitary transformations (gCUTs), the block diagonalization is achieved by a non-perturbative CUT performed on finite clusters. The central objective of this thesis is a modification of the gCUT scheme, allowing to treat two kinds of major issues, denoted by pseudo and genuine decay, occuring for NLCEs due to the non-perturbative treatment of clusters. Indeed, one finds surprising effects caused by the non-perturbative renormalization. In particular, we identify a fundamental challenge for any non-perturbative approach based on finite clusters resulting from the reduced symmetry on graphs, most importantly the breaking of translational symmetry when targeting the properties of excited states. This can be traced back to the appearance of intruder states in the low-energy spectrum, which represent a major obstacle in quasi-degenerate perturbation theory. Here, a generalized notion of cluster additivity is introduced, which is used to formulate an optimized scheme of gCUTs, allowing to solve and to physically understand this major issue. Most remarkably, our improved scheme demands to go beyond the paradigm of using the exact eigenvectors on graphs. We demonstrate that the modified scheme is correct in the non-perturbative regime. Even at quantum criticality, the scheme gives valid results. To determine the critical behavior, one must rely on extrapolation schemes. We introduce a generic approach to extract critical properties from sequences of numerical data which is directly relevant for NLCEs. The scheme is applied to the quantum phase transition between the dimerized and the isotropic spin 1/2 Heisenberg chain. Finally, we investigate a scenario where the gapped quasiparticle excitation is not stable for all momenta, i.e., the one-particle mode merges with the continuum for certain momenta and one observes quasiparticle decay. In this case, intruder states merging with the low-energy spectrum on finite clusters represent genuine physics of the system. Again, a proper renormalization on finite clusters satisfies the generalized cluster additivity. Our adjusted renormalization approach performed on finite clusters does not necessarily lead to a full decoupling of the quasiparticle subspaces and the remaining interactions are part of the effective description. The resulting effective Hamiltonian can be analyzed to describe quasiparticle decay in the thermodynamic limit. The modified scheme is applied to four-leg spin 1/2 Heisenberg ladders, providing insights into the spectral properties. Overall, this thesis presents several important developments for the derivation of effective quasiparticle pictures in quantum spin models via perturbative and non-perturbative LCEs, opening various opportunities for future investigations.
We identify a fundamental challenge for any non-perturbative approach based on finite clusters resulting from the reduced symmetry on graphs, most importantly the breaking of translational symmetry, when targeting the properties of excited states. This can be traced back to the appearance of intruder states in the low-energy spectrum, which represent a major obstacle in quasi-degenerate perturbation theory. Here a generalized notion of cluster additivity is introduced, which is used to formulate an optimized scheme of graph-based continuous unitary transformations allowing to solve and to physically understand this major issue. Most remarkably, our improved scheme demands to go beyond the paradigm of using the exact eigenvectors on graphs.
Open quantum many-body systems are commonly described by Lindblad master equations, yet the treatment of Lindbladian operators in the thermodynamic limit remains a major challenge. We develop a framework for constructing effective quasiparticle-conserving Lindbladian operators directly in the thermodynamic limit. Our approach extends continuous similarity transformations to non-Hermitian open quantum systems and enables the systematic block diagonalization of Lindbladians with respect to the quasiparticle (qp) number. We formulate two complementary methods. The first, projective continuous similarity transformations (pcst++), generalizes perturbative continuous unitary transformations to Lindblad operators so that a linked-cluster expansion allows us to obtain high-order series expansions of the infinite system. The second, deepCST, extends directly evaluated enhanced perturbative continuous unitary transformations by combining the same qp-conserving generator with a perturbative truncation scheme that yields non-perturbative effective Lindbladian operators directly in thermodynamic limit. We apply pcst++ and deepCST to the dissipative transverse-field Ising chain with local dissipation. We focus on the low-Ising regime. We purify the Lindbladian by splitting each spin into two sites. A spin flip then corresponds to two qps. We derive and analyze the effective, qp-conserving Lindbladian in the sectors with zero to two qps. We show how the Ising interaction renormalizes the decay rates of elementary spin-flip excitations and provides the microscopic mechanism for a competition between coherent interactions and dissipation. Our work establishes perturbative and non-perturbative continuous similarity transformations as a versatile tool for deriving effective qp pictures of open quantum many-body systems in the thermodynamic limit.
We introduce a white-graph expansion for the method of perturbative continuous unitary transformations when implemented as a linked-cluster expansion. The essential idea behind an expansion in white graphs is to perform an optimized bookkeeping during the calculation by exploiting the model-independent effective Hamiltonian in second quantization and the associated inherent cluster additivity. This approach is shown to be especially well suited for microscopic models with many coupling constants, since the total number of relevant graphs is drastically reduced. The white-graph expansion is exemplified for a two-dimensional quantum spin model of coupled two-leg XXZ ladders.
We propose a quantum algorithm for computing one-quasiparticle excitation energies in the thermodynamic limit by combining numerical linked-cluster expansions (NLCEs) and the variational quantum eigensolver (VQE). Our approach uses VQE to block-diagonalize the cluster Hamiltonian through a single-unitary transformation. This unitary is then postprocessed using the projective cluster-additive transformation (PCAT) to ensure cluster additivity, a key requirement for NLCE convergence. We benchmark our method on the transverse-field Ising model (TFIM) in one and two dimensions, and with longitudinal field, computing one-quasiparticle dispersions in the high-field polarized phase. We compare two cost function classes, trace minimization and variance based, demonstrating their effectiveness with the Hamiltonian variational ansatz (HVA). For pure TFIM, ⌈N/2⌉\lceil N/2 \rceil⌈N/2⌉ layers of HVA suffice: NLCE+VQE matches exact diagonalization. For TFIM with longitudinal field, where parity symmetry breaks and PCAT becomes essential, both ⌈N/2⌉\lceil N/2 \rceil⌈N/2⌉ and NNN layers of HVA converge with increasing cluster size, with NNN layers providing improved accuracy. Our results establish PCAT as a cluster-additive framework that extends variational quantum algorithms to excited-state calculations in the thermodynamic limit via NLCE. While demonstrated with VQE, the PCAT postprocessing approach, which requires only low-energy eigenspace information, applies to any quantum eigenstate preparation method.
The emergence of complex behavior out of simple elementary building blocks is a typical property of condensed matter systems. While the individual constituents may be well-studied, strongly interacting many-particle systems can give rise to novel collective behavior that can not be understood by considering the individual properties alone. Effective models are a powerful tool to handle this complexity: Instead of aiming at a full description a complex many-particle system on the high-energy scale, an effective model covers only those degrees of freedom which are essential for the low-energy physics. While the high-energy degrees of freedom are integrated out, they influence the low-energy degrees of freedom due to a renormalization of the effective coupling constants. In particular, the concept of the quasi-particle allows for the description of a strongly-interacting many-particle excitations in terms of a simple objects with similar degrees of freedom as a dispersive elementary particle, which gives rise to phenomena like quasi-particle bound states or quasi-particle decay. This thesis aims at the application and methodological improvement of a systematic and well-controlled framework to derive effective low-energy models, denoted as Continuous Unitary Transformations (CUT). In this method, a Hamiltonian is mapped continuously to an effective basis, in which the low-energy degrees of freedom can be interpreted as quasi-particles. Mathematically, the transformation is parametrized by a flow parameter and is represented as a differential equation, denoted as flow equation, while the direction of the transformation is controlled by the generator scheme. As foundation of our studies, we use the sCUT method, in which the types of possible interaction terms are fixed by a truncation scheme. In a common project, we established a new flavor of CUT, called epCUT. It allows us to derive the effective Hamiltonian in a perturbation series. In contrast to the already existent pCUT method, epCUT can handle system with a non-equidistant spectrum as well. Moreover, we discovered the deepCUT method, the non-perturbative twin of epCUT. While it bears large similarities to sCUT, it replaces the cumbersome definition of an appropriate truncation scheme by the order of the flow equation system. Compared to sCUT, deepCUT offers a larger robustness while the ambiguities of the truncation scheme are eliminated. My contribution comprises the computational, parallelized construction of the flow equation system as well. In another project, we investigated the breakdown of the conventional, particle-sorting generator schemes in system with strongly overlapping quasi-particle sub-spaces and identified the emergence of a spectrum unbounded from below due to truncation errors as origin of the divergence. As a testing ground, we used a system of two coupled bosonic degrees of freedom. To overcome these problems, we developed a family of three novel variational generator schemes, denoted as scalar, vectorial and tensorial optimization. After this, we investigated the dimerized, two-dimensional S=1/2 Heisenberg model with an emphasis on the quantum phase transition between a magnetically disordered and a magnetically ordered phase using sCUT. Parametrizing the starting point by a variational parameter, we were able to describe the spontaneous breaking of the SU(2) spin symmetry by CUT for the first time. We were able to calculate the ground state energy and the dispersion of triplons, and magnons, respectively, in both phases. However, we were not able to provide quantitative results for the spontaneous magnetization. Furthermore, we found a way to derive an optimal starting point for the integration of the flow equations that is independent on the particularities of the model and does not require a parametrization by a variational parameter. As a further application, we analyzed the S=1 Heisenberg chain by means of deepCUT. To this end, we mapped the system to an extended S=1/2 Heisenberg ladder with the help of a variational parameter. Using the variational generator schemes developed before, we were able to decouple the low-energy spectrum and to calculate spectral densities. In this investigation, we found an indication for a S=0 bound state. Furthermore, we were able to find some signs of spontaneous quasi-particle decay, but a quantitatively correct description is pending.
Quasiparticle properties of quantum magnets with long-range interactions are investigated by high-order linked-cluster expansions in the thermodynamic limit. It is established that perturbative continuous unitary transformations on white graphs are a promising and flexible approach to treat long-range interactions in quantum many-body systems. We exemplify this scheme for the one-dimensional transverse-field Ising chain with long-range interactions. For this model, the elementary quasiparticle gap is determined allowing to access the quantum-critical regime including critical exponents and multiplicative logarithmic corrections for the ferro- and antiferromagnetic case.