This work is devoted to the study of some spectral properties of random Schrödinger operators. It is divided into two parts: 1. A study of localization for multi-particle systems on quantum graphs. 2. An abstract formulation of some Wegner estimates, followed by a list of applications for concrete models. In Chapter 1 we try to introduce the problems and the results of this thesis in an elementary way. The first part occupies chapters 2 and 3. Chapter 2 essentially reproduces our article "Anderson Localization for a multi-particle quantum graph" [97] on this subject. In Chapter 3 we discuss some additional properties of our model, and we give alternative proofs to some results of Chapter 2. The second part occupies chapters 4 and 5. Chapter 4 essentially reproduces our article "Some abstract Wegner estimates with applications" [98]. In Chapter 5 we continue the study of Wegner estimates by giving more abstract theorems in Section 5.2 and yet more applications in Section 5.3. We conclude with two appendices A and B. In the first one we explain the theory of generalized eigenfunction expansions in great detail. In Appendix B, we prove some classical results used in the text.
This work is devoted to the study of some spectral properties of random Schrödinger operators. It is divided into two parts: 1. A study of localization for multi-particle systems on quantum graphs. 2. An abstract formulation of some Wegner estimates, followed by a list of applications for concrete models. In Chapter 1 we try to introduce the problems and the results of this thesis in an elementary way. The first part occupies chapters 2 and 3. Chapter 2 essentially reproduces our article "Anderson Localization for a multi-particle quantum graph" [97] on this subject. In Chapter 3 we discuss some additional properties of our model, and we give alternative proofs to some results of Chapter 2. The second part occupies chapters 4 and 5. Chapter 4 essentially reproduces our article "Some abstract Wegner estimates with applications" [98]. In Chapter 5 we continue the study of Wegner estimates by giving more abstract theorems in Section 5.2 and yet more applications in Section 5.3. We conclude with two appendices A and B. In the first one we explain the theory of generalized eigenfunction expansions in great detail. In Appendix B, we prove some classical results used in the text.
This thesis is devoted to the study of quantum disordered systems, with applications ranging from Anderson localization to quantum computation. We focus on models defined on tree graphs, or on their finite size regularizations: random graphs. This allows for exact mean-field approaches. The first part deals with the Anderson localization problem. We obtain analytical results on the fast decay of the density of states near its edge (the \\textit{Lifshitz tail regime}), as well as a rigorous estimate on the localization threshold in the large connectivity limit. We also study the analogous model for bosons. In a second part, we study the quantum adiabatic algorithm and obtain results on its efficiency in solving a realistic problem, the coloring one, as well as analytical predictions for its performance in solving more generic problems. Finally, we also discuss how this quantum algorithm compares with a classical approximation for it.
Ever since the introduction of the Anderson model in 1958, physicists and mathematicians alike have been interested in the effects of disorder on quantum mechanical systems. For example, it is known that transport is suppressed for an electron moving about in a random environment, which follows from localization results proven for the Anderson model. Quantum spin systems provide a relatively simple starting point when one is interested in studying many-body systems. Here we investigate a random block operator arising from the anisotropic xy-spin chain model. Allowing for arbitrary nontrivial single-site distributions, we prove a zero-velocity Lieb-Robinson bound under the assumption of dynamical localization at all energies. After a preliminary study of basic properties and location of the almost-sure spectrum of this random block operator, we apply a transfer matrix formalism and prove contractivity and irreducibility properties of the Furstenberg group and, in particular, positivity of Lyapunov exponents at all nonzero energies. Then in the general setting of random block Jacobi matrices, we establish a Thouless formula, and under contractivity and irreducibility assumptions, we conclude dynamical localization via multiscale analysis by proving a Wegner estimate and an initial length scale estimate. Finally we apply our general results to prove localization for the special case of the Ising model, and we discuss a critical energy that arises.
Localisation d’Anderson dans des systèmes quantiques interagissants Dans cette thèse nous étudions au niveau théorique le comportement des particules quantiques (électrons, atomes, photons, etc.) se mouvant dans un milieu désordonné et sujets à la localisation d’Anderson. Pour des particules non interagissantes, le spectre de l’énergie peut posséder un ou plus points critiques, où les fonctions d’onde étendues deviennent localisées, en donnant lieu à une transition de phase métal-isolant connue comme Transition d’Anderson.Une question fondamentale est si et comment les transitions d’Anderson survivent dans des systèmesquantiques interagissants. Dans cet ouvrage, nous étudions un modèle simple décrivant le cas de deux particules dans un réseau désordonné et sujettes à des interactions mutuelles à courte portée. En combinant des simulations numériques sur une grande échelle avec des techniques à la fonction de Green, nous montrons que les transitions d’Anderson à deux particules se produisent en trois dimensions et explorons le diagramme de phase dans l’espace de l’énergie, du désordre et de l’interaction.Cette dernière présente une structure riche, caractérisée par un double renfoncement de la limite de phase, engendrée par la compétition entre les états de diffusion et les états liés de la paire. Nous prouvons aussi que les annonces précédentes concernant l’apparition de transitions d’Anderson en deux dimensions étaient essentiellement dues à des effets de taille finie.Un deuxième problème que nous abordons dans cette thèse est celui de l’occurrence de transitions métal-isolant en deux dimensions pour une particule en la présence d’un potentiel spatialement corrélé et sujette à des interactions spin-orbite, modélisées par les couplages Rashba-Dresselhaus. On éclaire que, indépendamment des propriétés du désordre, il y a un régime où l’énergie critique dépend linéairement du paramètre de désordre. La pente et l’intercepte sont étudiées en voisinage du point de symétrie spin-hélice persistant, dans lequel la symétrie SU(2) est restaurée et la transition métal-isolant disparaît.
I first give an overview of the thesis and Matrix Product States (MPS) representation of quantum spin chains with an improvement on the conventional notation. The rest of this thesis is divided into two parts. The first part is devoted to eigenvalues of quantum many-body systems (QMBS). I introduce Isotropic Entanglement, which draws from various tools in random matrix theory and free probability theory (FPT) to accurately approximate the eigenvalue distribution of QMBS on a line with generic interactions. Next, I discuss the energy distribution of one particle hopping random Schrödinger operator in 1D from FPT in context of the Anderson model. The second part is devoted to ground states and gap of QMBS. I first give the necessary background on frustration free (FF) Hamiltonians, real and imaginary time evolution within MPS representation and a numerical implementation. I then prove the degeneracy and FF condition for quantum spin chains with generic local interactions, including corrections to our earlier assertions. I then summarize my efforts in proving lower bounds for the entanglement of the ground states, which includes some new results, with the hope that they inspire future work resulting in solving the conjecture given therein. Next I discuss two interesting measure zero examples where FF Hamiltonians are carefully constructed to give unique ground states with high entanglement. One of the examples (i.e., d=4) has not appeared elsewhere. In particular, we calculate the Schmidt numbers exactly, entanglement entropies and introduce a novel technique for calculating the gap which may be of independent interest. The last chapter elaborates on one of the measure zero examples (i.e., d=3) which is the first example of a FF translation-invariant spin-1 chain that has a unique highly entangled ground state and exhibits signatures of a critical behavior.
In this Thesis we study several aspects of potential scattering in non-relativistic quantum mechanics. In the first part, we study the concept of time delay. More precisely, after an elementary introduction to the theory (chapter I), we clarify in chapter II the role played by the localizing regions in the definition of global time delay. In chapter III, we generalize the concept to arbitrary conditions of observation for the scattered particle (conditional time delay). In chapters IV and V, we address the problem of the measure of time delay by physical clocks and, more specifically, by the Larmor clock which exploit the mechanism of precession of a spin in a magnetic field. In the second part, we are interested in the spectral property of time delay, its connection with Levinson's theorem, and the application of the latter to one-dimensional systems. We derive Levinson's theorem in chapter VI, using as a single ingredient the completeness of physical states. In chapter VII, we apply Levinson's result to determine the number of bound-states of a finite periodic potential, as a function of its period. For this, we use the factorization property of the scattering matrix which we derive in chapter VIII in the more general situation of a particle with position-dependent mass. In the third part, we are concerned by time-dependent potentials. In chapter IX, we generalize the concept of time delay, and for the particular case of a periodic variation we derive a Levinson theorem. In chapter X, we consider potentials with very slow or very rapid variations in time. The low and high frequency limits are derived as well as their first corrections, and their physical significance discussed.