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

Criticality and Excitation Gap in Quantum Systems: Applications of Continuous Matrix Product States in Imaginary Time

Emanuele Tirrito, Shi-Ju Ran, Maciej Lewenstein

Published Aug 23, 2016• 2 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

We demonstrate an efficient method that allows for simultaneous determination of the ground state, low energy excitation properties and excitation gap in quantum many body systems. To this aim we first use the \textit{ab-initio} optimization principle of tensor networks (TN), to show that the infinite density matrix renormalization group (iDMRG) in the real space is associated in a natural manner to the infinite time-evolving block decimation (iTEBD) implemented on a continuous matrix product state (MPS), and defined in imaginary time. We illustrate this association showing that the (imaginary) time matrix product state (MPS) in iTEBD reproduces accurately the properties of the two-dimensional (2D) classical Ising model, verifying in this way that the time MPS corresponds to a well-defined physical state. We apply then our scheme to the one-dimensional (1D) quantum Ising chain, where the time MPS is defined in continuous imaginary time. It is found that the time MPS at or close to the critical point is always maximally entangled, but gives essentially different correlations than those obtained from iDMRG; we argue that these correlations describe the dynamic correlations for the ground state.

Related papers

Studying Criticality and Excitations of One Dimensional Systems by Time Matrix Product States

Emanuele Tirrito, Luca Tagliacozzo, Maciej Lewenstein +1 more

(Please refer to arXiv:1810.08050, which has completely different aims but contains all the main contents of this paper) In this work, we propose to access the information of criticality and excitations of one-dimensional quantum systems by a matrix product state (MPS) defined in the (imaginary) time direction. This state, dubbed as time MPS (tMPS), is a boundary state of tensor network (TN) that represents the ground-state simulation after Trotter-Suzuki decomposition. We show that the tMPS exhibits the structure of the continuous MPS originally proposed for the field theories. The information of excitations, e.g., dynamic correlation length and energy gap, can be accurately calculated from the tMPS. The non-universal renormalization of velocity of the excitations is given by a ratio between the correlations of the ground state and the tMPS. When the system is at the quantum critical point, the tMPS is found to show the logarithmic scaling law, where the scaling coefficient gives the central charge that characterizes the criticality of the theory. Our work also implies that the spectra of the transfer matrices defined by the ground state and tMPS provide information of the low-lying masses of the theory in the continuous limit. This could help to understand the role of the finiteness of the bond dimension as an infra red regulator. Furthermore, we show from the perspective of methodology that, the tMPS emerges from a generalized TN ab-initio optimization principle scheme, which unifies the infinite density matrix renormalization group and the infinite time-evolving block decimation algorithms.

arXiv:1608.06544•Aug 23, 2016•2 citations

Transfer matrices and excitations with matrix product states

V Zauner, D Draxler, L Vanderstraeten +6 more

We use the formalism of tensor network states to investigate the relation between static correlation functions in the ground state of local quantum many-body Hamiltonians and the dispersion relations of the corresponding low-energy excitations. In particular, we show that the matrix product state transfer matrix (MPS-TM)—a central object in the computation of static correlation functions—provides important information about the location and magnitude of the minima of the low-energy dispersion relation(s), and we present supporting numerical data for one-dimensional lattice and continuum models as well as two-dimensional lattice models on a cylinder. We elaborate on the peculiar structure of the MPS-TM’s eigenspectrum and give several arguments for the close relation between the structure of the low-energy spectrum of the system and the form of the static correlation functions. Finally, we discuss how the MPS-TM connects to the exact quantum transfer matrix of the model at zero temperature. We present a renormalization group argument for obtaining finite bond dimension approximations of the MPS, which allows one to reinterpret variational MPS techniques (such as the density matrix renormalization group) as an application of Wilson’s numerical renormalization group along the virtual (imaginary time) dimension of the system.

arXiv:1408.5140•New Journal of Physics•May 6, 2015•80 citations

Bang-bang algorithms for quantum many-body ground states: A tensor network exploration

Ruoshui Wang, Timothy H. Hsieh, Guifré Vidal

We use matrix product techniques to investigate the performance of two algorithms for obtaining the ground state of a quantum many-body Hamiltonian $H={H}_{A}+{H}_{B}$ in infinite systems. The first algorithm is a generalization of the quantum approximate optimization algorithm and uses a quantum computer to evolve an initial product state into an approximation of the ground state of $H$ by alternating between ${H}_{A}$ and ${H}_{B}$. We show for the one-dimensional (1D) quantum Ising model that the accuracy in representing a gapped ground state improves exponentially with the number of alternations. The second algorithm is the variational imaginary time ansatz, which uses a classical computer to simulate the ground state via alternating imaginary time steps with ${H}_{A}$ and ${H}_{B}$. We find for the 1D quantum Ising model that an accurate approximation to the ground state is obtained with a total imaginary time $\ensuremath{\tau}$ that grows only logarithmically with the inverse energy gap $1/\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}$ of $H$. This is much faster than imaginary time evolution by $H$, which would require $\ensuremath{\tau}\ensuremath{\sim}1/\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}$.

arXiv:2208.00271•Physical review. B./Physical review. B•Nov 17, 2022•5 citations

Matrix Product State, Quantum Entanglement, and Criticality in the One-Dimensional Dimerized Antiferromagnetic Heisenberg Model

Guanghua Liu, Guang-Shan Tian

The matrix product state (MPS) is utilized to investigate the ground state properties and quantum phase transitions (QPTs) of the dimerized antiferromagnetic Heisenberg (DAH) model. The ground state MPS wavefunctions determined by the infinite time-evolving block decimation (iTEBD) algorithm are shown to be very efficient descriptions of DAH model. In the thermodynamic limit, the quantum entanglement, the bond energy, and the nearest-neighbor correlations are calculated. It is revealed that the singular behavior of the bipartite entanglement can detect the QPTs directly. The critical point J c 2 = 1.0 is determined evidently, and the quantum phase transition is argued to belong to the second-order category. At the critical point, logarithmic divergent character of the block entanglement is observed, and the system can be described by a free bosonic field theory.

Communications in Theoretical Physics•Aug 1, 2012•8 citations

Transfer matrices and excitations with matrix product states

Valentin Zauner-Stauber, Damian Draxler, Laurens Vanderstraeten +6 more

We investigate the relation between static correlation functions in the ground state of local quantum many-body Hamiltonians and the dispersion relations of the corresponding low energy excitations using the formalism of tensor network states. In particular, we show that the Matrix Product State Transfer Matrix (MPS-TM) - a central object in the computation of static correlation functions - provides important information about the location and magnitude of the minima of the low energy dispersion relation(s) and present supporting numerical data for one-dimensional lattice and continuum models as well as two-dimensional lattice models on a cylinder. We elaborate on the peculiar structure of the MPS-TM's eigenspectrum and give several arguments for the close relation between the structure of the low energy spectrum of the system and the form of static correlation functions. Finally, we discuss how the MPS-TM connects to the exact Quantum Transfer Matrix (QTM) of the model at zero temperature. We present a renormalization group argument for obtaining finite bond dimension approximations of MPS, which allows to reinterpret variational MPS techniques (such as the Density Matrix Renormalization Group) as an application of Wilson's Numerical Renormalization Group along the virtual (imaginary time) dimension of the system.

•Jan 1, 2015•74 citations

Identifying Criticality in Higher Dimensions by Time Matrix Product State

Cheng Peng, Shi-Ju Ran, Maciej Lewenstein +1 more

Characterizing criticality in quantum many-body systems of dimension $\ge 2$ is one of the most important challenges of the contemporary physics. In principle, there is no generally valid theoretical method that could solve this problem. In this work, we propose an efficient approach to identify the criticality of quantum systems in higher dimensions. Departing from the analysis of the numerical renormalization group flows, we build a general equivalence between the higher-dimensional ground state and a one-dimensional (1D) quantum state defined in the imaginary time direction in terms of the so-called time matrix product state (tMPS). We show that the criticality of the targeted model can be faithfully identified by the tMPS, using the mature scaling schemes of correlation length and entanglement entropy in 1D quantum theories. We benchmark our proposal with the results obtained for the Heisenberg anti-ferromagnet on honeycomb lattice. We demonstrate critical scaling relation of the tMPS for the gapless case, and a trivial scaling for the gapped case with spatial anisotropy. The critical scaling behaviors are insensitive to the system size, suggesting the criticality can be identified in small systems. Our tMPS scheme for critical scaling shows clearly that the spin-1/2 kagomé Heisenberg antiferromagnet has a gapless ground state. More generally, the present study indicates that the 1D conformal field theories in imaginary time provide a very useful tool to characterize the criticality of higher dimensional quantum systems.

arXiv:1708.07288•Aug 24, 2017•2 citations
We demonstrate an efficient method that allows for simultaneous determination of the ground state, low energy excitation properties and excitation gap in quantum many body systems. To this aim we first use the \textit{ab-initio} optimization principle of tensor networks (TN), to show that the infinite density matrix renormalization group (iDMRG) in the real space is associated in a natural manner to the infinite time-evolving block decimation (iTEBD) implemented on a continuous matrix product state (MPS), and defined in imaginary time. We illustrate this association showing that the (imaginary) time matrix product state (MPS) in iTEBD reproduces accurately the properties of the two-dimensional (2D) classical Ising model, verifying in this way that the time MPS corresponds to a well-defined physical state. We apply then our scheme to the one-dimensional (1D) quantum Ising chain, where the time MPS is defined in continuous imaginary time. It is found that the time MPS at or close to the critical point is always maximally entangled, but gives essentially different correlations than those obtained from iDMRG; we argue that these correlations describe the dynamic correlations for the ground state.
(Please refer to arXiv:1810.08050, which has completely different aims but contains all the main contents of this paper) In this work, we propose to access the information of criticality and excitations of one-dimensional quantum systems by a matrix product state (MPS) defined in the (imaginary) time direction. This state, dubbed as time MPS (tMPS), is a boundary state of tensor network (TN) that represents the ground-state simulation after Trotter-Suzuki decomposition. We show that the tMPS exhibits the structure of the continuous MPS originally proposed for the field theories. The information of excitations, e.g., dynamic correlation length and energy gap, can be accurately calculated from the tMPS. The non-universal renormalization of velocity of the excitations is given by a ratio between the correlations of the ground state and the tMPS. When the system is at the quantum critical point, the tMPS is found to show the logarithmic scaling law, where the scaling coefficient gives the central charge that characterizes the criticality of the theory. Our work also implies that the spectra of the transfer matrices defined by the ground state and tMPS provide information of the low-lying masses of the theory in the continuous limit. This could help to understand the role of the finiteness of the bond dimension as an infra red regulator. Furthermore, we show from the perspective of methodology that, the tMPS emerges from a generalized TN ab-initio optimization principle scheme, which unifies the infinite density matrix renormalization group and the infinite time-evolving block decimation algorithms.
We use the formalism of tensor network states to investigate the relation between static correlation functions in the ground state of local quantum many-body Hamiltonians and the dispersion relations of the corresponding low-energy excitations. In particular, we show that the matrix product state transfer matrix (MPS-TM)—a central object in the computation of static correlation functions—provides important information about the location and magnitude of the minima of the low-energy dispersion relation(s), and we present supporting numerical data for one-dimensional lattice and continuum models as well as two-dimensional lattice models on a cylinder. We elaborate on the peculiar structure of the MPS-TM’s eigenspectrum and give several arguments for the close relation between the structure of the low-energy spectrum of the system and the form of the static correlation functions. Finally, we discuss how the MPS-TM connects to the exact quantum transfer matrix of the model at zero temperature. We present a renormalization group argument for obtaining finite bond dimension approximations of the MPS, which allows one to reinterpret variational MPS techniques (such as the density matrix renormalization group) as an application of Wilson’s numerical renormalization group along the virtual (imaginary time) dimension of the system.
We use matrix product techniques to investigate the performance of two algorithms for obtaining the ground state of a quantum many-body Hamiltonian H=HA+HBH={H}_{A}+{H}_{B}H=HA​+HB​ in infinite systems. The first algorithm is a generalization of the quantum approximate optimization algorithm and uses a quantum computer to evolve an initial product state into an approximation of the ground state of HHH by alternating between HA{H}_{A}HA​ and HB{H}_{B}HB​. We show for the one-dimensional (1D) quantum Ising model that the accuracy in representing a gapped ground state improves exponentially with the number of alternations. The second algorithm is the variational imaginary time ansatz, which uses a classical computer to simulate the ground state via alternating imaginary time steps with HA{H}_{A}HA​ and HB{H}_{B}HB​. We find for the 1D quantum Ising model that an accurate approximation to the ground state is obtained with a total imaginary time $\ensuremath{\tau}$ that grows only logarithmically with the inverse energy gap $1/\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}$ of HHH. This is much faster than imaginary time evolution by HHH, which would require $\ensuremath{\tau}\ensuremath{\sim}1/\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}$.
The matrix product state (MPS) is utilized to investigate the ground state properties and quantum phase transitions (QPTs) of the dimerized antiferromagnetic Heisenberg (DAH) model. The ground state MPS wavefunctions determined by the infinite time-evolving block decimation (iTEBD) algorithm are shown to be very efficient descriptions of DAH model. In the thermodynamic limit, the quantum entanglement, the bond energy, and the nearest-neighbor correlations are calculated. It is revealed that the singular behavior of the bipartite entanglement can detect the QPTs directly. The critical point J c 2 = 1.0 is determined evidently, and the quantum phase transition is argued to belong to the second-order category. At the critical point, logarithmic divergent character of the block entanglement is observed, and the system can be described by a free bosonic field theory.
We investigate the relation between static correlation functions in the ground state of local quantum many-body Hamiltonians and the dispersion relations of the corresponding low energy excitations using the formalism of tensor network states. In particular, we show that the Matrix Product State Transfer Matrix (MPS-TM) - a central object in the computation of static correlation functions - provides important information about the location and magnitude of the minima of the low energy dispersion relation(s) and present supporting numerical data for one-dimensional lattice and continuum models as well as two-dimensional lattice models on a cylinder. We elaborate on the peculiar structure of the MPS-TM's eigenspectrum and give several arguments for the close relation between the structure of the low energy spectrum of the system and the form of static correlation functions. Finally, we discuss how the MPS-TM connects to the exact Quantum Transfer Matrix (QTM) of the model at zero temperature. We present a renormalization group argument for obtaining finite bond dimension approximations of MPS, which allows to reinterpret variational MPS techniques (such as the Density Matrix Renormalization Group) as an application of Wilson's Numerical Renormalization Group along the virtual (imaginary time) dimension of the system.
Characterizing criticality in quantum many-body systems of dimension ≥2\ge 2≥2 is one of the most important challenges of the contemporary physics. In principle, there is no generally valid theoretical method that could solve this problem. In this work, we propose an efficient approach to identify the criticality of quantum systems in higher dimensions. Departing from the analysis of the numerical renormalization group flows, we build a general equivalence between the higher-dimensional ground state and a one-dimensional (1D) quantum state defined in the imaginary time direction in terms of the so-called time matrix product state (tMPS). We show that the criticality of the targeted model can be faithfully identified by the tMPS, using the mature scaling schemes of correlation length and entanglement entropy in 1D quantum theories. We benchmark our proposal with the results obtained for the Heisenberg anti-ferromagnet on honeycomb lattice. We demonstrate critical scaling relation of the tMPS for the gapless case, and a trivial scaling for the gapped case with spatial anisotropy. The critical scaling behaviors are insensitive to the system size, suggesting the criticality can be identified in small systems. Our tMPS scheme for critical scaling shows clearly that the spin-1/2 kagomé Heisenberg antiferromagnet has a gapless ground state. More generally, the present study indicates that the 1D conformal field theories in imaginary time provide a very useful tool to characterize the criticality of higher dimensional quantum systems.