A spin-boson-like model with two interacting qubits is analysed. The model turns out to be exactly solvable since it is characterized by the exchange symmetry between the two spins. The explicit expressions of eigenstates and eigenenergies make it possible to analytically unveil the occurrence of first-order quantum phase transitions. The latter are physically relevant since they are characterized by abrupt changes in the two-spin subsystem concurrence, in the net spin magnetization and in the mean photon number.
A spin-boson-like model with two interacting qubits is analysed. The model turns out to be exactly solvable since it is characterized by the exchange symmetry between the two spins. The explicit expressions of eigenstates and eigenenergies make it possible to analytically unveil the occurrence of first-order quantum phase transitions. The latter are physically relevant since they are characterized by abrupt changes in the two-spin subsystem concurrence, in the net spin magnetization and in the mean photon number.
A two-interacting-qubit quantum Rabi-like model with vanishing transverse fields on the qubit pair is studied. Independently of the coupling regime, this model can be exactly and unitarily reduced to two independent single-spin quantum Rabi models, where the spin-spin coupling plays the role of the transverse field. This transformation and the analytical treatment of the single-spin quantum Rabi model provide the key to prove the integrability of our model. The existence of different first-order quantum phase transitions, characterized by discontinuous two-spin magnetization, mean photon number, and concurrence, is brought to light.
Entanglement and quantum correlations between atoms are not usually considered key ingredients of the superradiant phase transition. Here we consider the Tavis-Cummings model, a solvable system of two-levels atoms, coupled with a single-mode quantized electromagnetic field. This system undergoes a superradiant phase transition, even in a finite-size framework, accompanied by a spontaneous symmetry breaking, and an infinite sequence of energy level crossings. We find approximated expressions for the ground state, its energy, and the position of the level crossings, valid in the limit of a very large number of photons with respect to that of the atoms. In that same limit, we find that the number of photons scales quadratically with the coupling strength, and linearly with the system size, providing a new insight into the superradiance phenomenon. Resorting to novel multipartite measures, we then demonstrate that this quantum phase transition is accompanied by a crossover in the quantum correlations and entanglement between the atoms (qubits). The latters therefore represent suited order parameters for this transition. Finally, we show that these properties of the quantum phase transition persist in the thermodynamic limit.
Entanglement and quantum correlations between atoms are not usually considered key ingredients of the superradiant phase transition. Here we consider the Tavis−Cummings model, a solvable system of two-levels atoms, coupled with a single-mode quantized electromagnetic field. This system undergoes a superradiant phase transition, even in a finite-size framework, accompanied by a spontaneous symmetry breaking, and an infinite sequence of energy level crossings. We find approximated expressions for the ground state, its energy, and the position of the level crossings, valid in the limit of a very large number of photons with respect to that of the atoms. In that same limit, we find that the number of photons scales quadratically with the coupling strength, and linearly with the system size, providing a new insight into the superradiance phenomenon. Resorting to novel multipartite measures, we then demonstrate that this quantum phase transition is accompanied by a crossover in the quantum correlations and entanglement between the atoms (qubits). The latters therefore represent suited order parameters for this transition. Finally, we show that these properties of the quantum phase transition persist in the thermodynamic limit.
We investigate the quantum phase transition (QPT) in the XXZ central spin model, which can be described as a spin-21 particle coupled to N bath spins. In general, the QPT is supposed to occur only in the thermodynamical limit. In contrast, we present that the central spin model exhibits a normal-to-superradiant phase transition in the limit where the ratio of the transition frequency of the central spin to that of the bath spins and the number of bath spins tend to infinity. We give the low-energy effective Hamiltonian analytically in the normal phase and the superradiant phase, and we find that the longitudinal interaction $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}$ can significantly influence the excitation number and the coherence of the ground state. These two quantities are remarkably enhanced for the negative longitudinal interaction while suppressed for the positive longitudinal interaction. In addition, the finite-size effect on the central spin model is also illustrated through the mean-field analysis. We further exploit the quantum Fisher information to characterize the QPT and propose a measurement scheme that can be applied in practice. This work builds a connection between the qubit-spin systems and the qubit-field systems, which provides a possibility for the realization of criticality-enhanced quantum sensing in central spin systems.
We investigate the two-mode quantum Rabi model (QRM) describing the interaction between a two-level atom and a two-mode cavity field. The quantum phase transitions are found when the ratio η of transition frequency of atom to frequency of cavity field approaches infinity. We apply the Schrieffer–Wolff (SW) transformation to derive the low-energy effective Hamiltonian of the two-mode QRM, thus yielding the critical point and rich phase diagram of quantum phase transitions. The phase diagram consists of four regions: a normal phase, an electric superradiant phase, a magnetic superradiant phase and an electromagnetic superradiant phase. The quantum phase transition between the normal phase and the electric (magnetic) superradiant phase is of second order and associates with the breaking of the discrete Z 2 symmetry. On the other hand, the phase transition between the electric superradiant phase and the magnetic superradiant phase is of first order and relates to the breaking of the continuous U(1) symmetry. Several important physical quantities, for example the excitation energy and average photon number in the four phases, are derived. We find that the excitation spectra exhibit the Nambu–Goldstone mode. We calculate analytically the higher-order correction and finite-frequency exponents of relevant quantities. To confirm the validity of the low-energy effective Hamiltonians analytically derived by us, the finite-frequency scaling relation of the averaged photon numbers is calculated by numerically diagonalizing the two-mode quantum Rabi Hamiltonian.
The class of two-interacting-qubit spin–boson models with vanishing transverse fields on the spin-pair is studied. The model can be mapped exactly into two independent standard single-impurity spin–boson models where the role of the tunneling parameter is played by the spin–spin coupling. The dynamics of the magnetization are analyzed for different levels of (an)isotropy. The existence of a decoherence-free subspace, as well as of different classical regimes separated by a critical temperature, and symptoms of quantum (first-order and Kosterlitz–Thouless type) phase transitions in the Ohmic regime are brought to light.