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Physical Review Letters

Numerical Simulation of Finite-Temperature Field Theory for Interacting Bosons

Kris T. Delaney, Henri Orland, Glenn H. Fredrickson

Published Feb 19, 2020• 14 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We report a stable and efficient complex Langevin sampling scheme for performing approximation-free numerical simulations directly on the path-integral coherent-states field theory for an assembly of interacting bosons. We apply the method to generate the λ line of critical phase transitions associated with Bose-Einstein condensation in a model ϕ^{4} scalar field theory. The new approach enjoys near-linear scaling in the resolved (d+1) spatial and imaginary-time dimensions and should be particularly efficient for the study of dense systems at low temperature.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.124.070601

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We report a stable and efficient complex Langevin sampling scheme for performing approximation-free numerical simulations directly on the path-integral coherent-states field theory for an assembly of interacting bosons. We apply the method to generate the λ line of critical phase transitions associated with Bose-Einstein condensation in a model ϕ^{4} scalar field theory. The new approach enjoys near-linear scaling in the resolved (d+1) spatial and imaginary-time dimensions and should be particularly efficient for the study of dense systems at low temperature.
Quantitative numerical analyses of interacting dilute Bose-Einstein condensates are most often based on semiclassical approximations. Since the complex-valued field-theoretic action of the Bose gas does not offer itself to the direct application of standard Monte Carlo techniques, simulations beyond their scope by now almost exclusively rely on quantum-mechanical techniques. Here we explore an alternative approach based on a Langevin-type sampling in an extended state space, known as the complex Langevin (CL) algorithm. While the use of the CL technique has a long-standing history in high-energy physics, in particular in the simulation of QCD at finite baryon density, applications to ultracold atoms are still in their infancy. Here we examine the applicability of the CL approach for a one- and two-component, three-dimensional nonrelativistic Bose gas in thermal equilibrium, below and above the Bose-Einstein phase transition. By comparison with analytic descriptions at the Gaussian level, including Bogoliubov and Hartree-Fock theory, we find that the method allows computing reliably and efficiently observables in the regime of experimentally accessible parameters. Close to the transition, quantum corrections lead to a shift of the critical temperature which we reproduce within the numerical range known in the literature. With this work, we aim to provide a first test of CL as a potential out-of-the-box tool for the simulation of experimentally realistic situations, including trapping geometries and multicomponent (or multiple species) models.
The thermodynamic stability of quantized vortex patterns in rotating Bose-Einstein condensates is assessed at finite temperature using complex Langevin sampling. We construct a temperature-rotation frequency phase diagram and find that that vortices are stabilized at lower rotation speeds by the addition of quantum and thermal fluctuations. The coherent states field theoretic representation of the imaginary time path integral enables efficient simulation of large systems at finite temperature, and the complex Langevin simulation scheme bypasses the sign problems that arise from the complex-valued coherent states fields as well as the gauge potential describing solid body rotation. Field operators allow us to generate high-resolution images of particle and momentum density of the cloud. Quantized vortices appear as dark spots on density images, and vector plots of cloud momentum detail circulation around each vortex.
We present a new exact method to numerically compute the thermodynamical properties of an interacting Bose gas in the canonical ensemble. As in our previous paper (Carusotto I, Castin Y and Dalibard J 2001 Phys. Rev. A 63 023606), we write the density operator ρ as an average of Hartree dyadics | N :ϕ 1 ⟩⟨ N :ϕ 2 | and we find stochastic evolution equations for the wavefunctions ϕ 1,2 such that the exact imaginary-time evolution of ρ is recovered after averaging over noise. In this way, the thermal equilibrium density operator can be obtained for any temperature T . The method is then applied to study the thermodynamical properties of a homogeneous one-dimensional N -boson system: although Bose-Einstein condensation cannot occur in the thermodynamical limit, a macroscopic occupation of the lowest mode of a finite system is observed at sufficiently low temperatures. If k B T >>µ, the main effect of interactions is to suppress density fluctuations and to reduce their correlation length. Different effects such as a spatial antibunching of the atoms are predicted for the opposite k B T ⩽µ regime. Our exact stochastic calculations have been compared with existing approximate theories.
We introduce and benchmark an improved algorithm for complex Langevin simulations of bosonic coherent state path integrals. Our approach utilizes a Strang splitting of the imaginary-time propagator rather than the conventional linear-order Taylor expansion, allowing us to construct an action that incorporates higher-order terms at negligible computational cost. The resulting algorithm enjoys guaranteed linear stability independent of the imaginary-time discretization, enabling more resource-efficient simulations. We demonstrate this improved performance for single-species bosons and for two-component bosons with Rashba spin-orbit coupling.
This chapter addresses phase transitions and dynamic scaling occurring in systems comprised of interacting indistinguishable quantum particles, for which entanglement correlations are crucial. It first describes how the dynamics (in real time) and thermodynamics (in imaginary time) of quantum many-particle Hamiltonians can be mapped onto field theories based on coherent-state path integrals. While bosons are described by complex-valued fields, fermions are represented by anticommuting Grassmann variables. Since quantum-mechanical systems are of inherently dynamical nature, the corresponding field theory action entails d + 1 dimensions, with time playing a special role. For Hamiltonians that incorporate only two-particle interactions, we can make contact with the previously studied Langevin equations, yet with effectively multiplicative rather than additive noise. As an illustration, this formalism is applied to deduce fundamental properties of weakly interacting boson superfluids. Whereas Landau–Ginzburg theory already provides a basic hydrodynamic description, the Gaussian approximation allows the computation of density correlations, the Bose condensate fraction, and the normal- and superfluid densities from the particle current correlations. We next establish that quantum fluctuations are typically irrelevant for thermodynamic critical phenomena, provided that T c > 0, and readily extend finite-size scaling theory to the imaginary time axis to arrive at general scaling forms for the free energy. Intriguing novel phenomena emerge in the realm of genuine quantum phase transitions at zero temperature, governed by other control parameters such as particle density, interaction or disorder strengths.
Abstract Chapter 6 discusses the extension of field-theoretic representations, models, and numerical methods to treat the dynamical evolution of systems that are out of equilibrium. For Bose fluids and magnets, this entails the use of coherent state fields on complex contours with real and imaginary time segments. Complex Langevin sampling of such non-equilibrium field theories provides access to finite temperature dynamics with full quantum fluctuations, both near and far from equilibrium. For classical polymers, approximations are required to address chain entanglement and time-dependent couplings between chain conformations and collective field variables. Current approaches to mesoscopic field-based polymer dynamics are described, along with their numerical implementation.