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

Physica Scripta

Generalized phase-space techniques in mixed-(1/2, S) Heisenberg models: Wigner negativity and Rényi entropy

Nizar Ahami, M. El Baz

Published Mar 2, 2026• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract Quantum phases in low-dimensional mixed-spin systems continue to attract significant interest due to their rich correlation structure and relevance to modern quantum technologies. Here, we investigate the one-dimensional mixed spin-(1/2, S ) Heisenberg model in an external magnetic field using a phase-space formulation based on the generalized Wigner function. Focusing on mixed-spin (1/2, 1) and (1/2, 3/2) systems, we show that phase-space indicators, including Rényi entropies and Wigner negativity, provide a complementary characterization of quantum phases and correlations, consistent with phase structures obtained from conventional observables. Our analysis reveals three robust regions in the phase diagram: ferrimagnetic, quantum–spin–liquid-like, and fully polarized. Ground-state level crossings emerge near the corresponding boundaries, marking finite-size precursors of thermodynamic phase transitions. By combining phase-space diagnostics with finite-size scaling, we identify how quantum correlations evolve toward the thermodynamic limit. These results deepen the understanding of correlation-driven phases in mixed-spin chains and establish phase-space methods as powerful tools for analyzing complex quantum magnetic systems.

DOI
10.1088/1402-4896/ae4c2c

Related papers

Quantum Ferrimagnets

Ramin Abolfath, H. Hamidian, A. Langari

We study quantum ferrimagnets in one, two, and three dimensions by using a variety of methods and approximations. These include: (i) a treatment based on the spin coherent state path-integral formulation of quantum ferrimagnets by taking into account the leading order quantum and thermal fluctuations (ii) a field-theoretical (non-linear $σ$-model type) formulation of the special case of one-dimensional quantum ferrimagnets at zero temperature (iii) an effective description in terms of dimers and quantum rotors, and (iv) a quantum renormalization group study of ferrimagnetic Heisenberg chains. Some of the formalism discussed here can be used for a unified treatment of both ferromagnets and antiferromagnets in the semiclassical limit. We show that the low (high) energy effective Hamiltonian of a (S_1, S_2) Heisenberg ferrimagnet is a ferromagnetic (antiferromagnetic) Heisenberg model. We also study the phase diagram of quantum ferrimagnets in the presence of an external magnetic field h ($h_{c1} < h < h_{c2}$) and show that the low- and the high-field phases correspond respectively to the classical Néel and the fully polarized ferromagnetic states. We also calculate the transition temperature for the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless phase transition in the special case of two-dimensional quantum ferrimagnets.

arXiv:cond-mat/9901063•Jan 8, 1999•1 citation

Computational Methods for the Measurement of Entanglement in Condensed Matter Systems

Ann B. Kallin

At the interface of quantum information and condensed matter physics, the study of entanglement in quantum many-body systems requires a new toolset which combines concepts from each. This thesis introduces a set of computational methods to study phases and phase transitions in lattice models of quantum systems, using the Renyi entropies as a means of quantifying entanglement. The scaling of entanglement entropy can give valuable insight into the phase of a condensed matter system. It can be used to detect exotic types of phases, to pinpoint transitions between phases, and can give us universal information about a system. \nThe first approach in this thesis is a technique to measure entanglement in finite size \nlattice systems using zero-temperature quantum Monte Carlo simulations. The algorithm \nis developed, implemented, and used to explore anomalous entanglement scaling terms in \nthe spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet. \nIn the second part of this thesis, a new and complementary numerical technique is introduced to study entanglement not just in finite size systems, but as we approach the thermodynamic limit. This “numerical linked-cluster expansion” is used to study two different systems at their quantum critical points — continuous phase transitions occurring at zero temperature, at which these systems exhibit universal properties. Remarkably, these universal properties can be reflected in the scaling of entanglement. \nEntanglement offers a new perspective on condensed matter systems, one which takes us closer to genuinely understanding what goes on in these materials at the quantum mechanical level. This thesis demonstrates the first steps in developing an extensive list of computational tools that can be used to study entanglement over a wide range of interacting quantum many-body systems. With the ever increasing computational power available, it may be only a matter of time before these tools are used to create a comprehensive framework for the characterization of condensed matter phases and phase transitions.

•Jun 19, 2014•0 citations

Correlated spin liquids in the quantum kagome antiferromagnet at finite field: a renormalization group analysis

Santanu Pal, Anirban Mukherjee, Siddhartha Lal

We analyze the antiferromagnetic spin-1/2 XXZ model on the kagome lattice at finite external magnetic field with the help of a non-perturbative zero-temperature renormalization group (RG) technique. The exact nature of the ground and excited state properties (e.g. gapped or gapless spectrum etc) of this system are still debated. Approximate methods have typically been adopted towards understanding the low-energy spectrum. Following the work of Kumar et al (2014 Phys. Rev. B 90 174409), we use a Jordan–Wigner transformation to map the spin problem into one of spinless fermions (spinons) in the presence of a statistical gauge field, and with nearest-neighbor interactions. While the work of Kumar et al was confined mostly to the plateau at 1/3-filling (magnetization per site) in the XY regime, we analyze the role of inter-spinon interactions in shaping the phases around this plateau in the entire XXZ model. The RG phase diagram obtained contains three spin liquid phases whose position is determined as a function of the exchange anisotropy and the energy scale for fluctuations arising from spinon scattering. Two of these spins liquids are topologically ordered states of matter with gapped, degenerate states on the torus. The gap for one of these phases corresponds to the one-spinon band gap of the Azbel–Hofstadter spectrum for the XY part of the Hamiltonian, while the other arises from two-spinon interactions. The Heisenberg point of this problem is found to lie within the interaction gapped spin liquid phase, in broad agreement with a recent experimental finding. The third phase is an algebraic spin liquid with a gapless Dirac spectrum for spinon excitations, and possess properties that show departures from the Fermi liquid paradigm. The three phase boundaries correspond to critical theories, and meet at a SU (2)-symmetric multicritical point. This special critical point agrees well with the gap-closing transition point predicted by Kumar et al . We discuss the relevance of our findings to various recent experiments, as well as results obtained from other theoretical analyses.

arXiv:1811.05222•New Journal of Physics•Feb 11, 2019•15 citations

Quantum phase diagram of the spin- 1 2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the square-kagome lattice: A tensor network study

Saeed S. Jahromi, Yasir Iqbal

We study the ground-state phase diagram of the spin-$1/2$ antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model on the square-kagome lattice using infinite projected entangled-pair states (iPEPS). By systematically varying the ratio of exchange couplings on triangular and square plaquettes, we establish a complete quantum phase diagram in the thermodynamic limit. In the intermediate-coupling regime, we identify four distinct nonmagnetic phases that are unambiguously characterized as valence-bond crystals (VBCs) by their symmetry-inequivalent patterns of strong and weak spin-spin correlations. These include a plaquette crossed-dimer VBC, a loop-six VBC stabilized around the isotropic point, a generalized pinwheel VBC with reduced rotational symmetry, and a decorated loop-six VBC proximate to ferrimagnetic order. We determine the phase boundaries using a combination of bond-resolved correlation functions, entanglement entropy, and magnetization. For transitions not accompanied by sharp entanglement signatures, we extract the spin gap from finite-field simulations, allowing us to distinguish gapped and gapless VBC phases. At larger coupling ratios, the system undergoes transitions into imperfect and perfect ferrimagnetic states. Our results resolve long-standing ambiguities in the square-kagome Heisenberg model and provide a quantitatively reliable reference for future theoretical and experimental studies of frustrated quantum magnets.

arXiv:2503.07689•Physical review. B./Physical review. B•Mar 10, 2026•1 citation

Cluster-based Haldane phases, bound magnon crystals and quantum spin liquids of a mixed spin-1 and spin-1/2 Heisenberg octahedral chain

Katarína Karľová, Jozef Strečka, Taras Verkholyak

The mixed spin-1 and spin-1/2 Heisenberg octahedral chain with regularly alternating monomeric spin-1 sites and square-plaquette spin-1/2 sites is investigated using a variational technique, localized-magnon approach, exact diagonalization, and density-matrix renormalization-group method. The investigated model has, in a magnetic field, an extraordinarily rich ground-state phase diagram, which includes the uniform and cluster-based Haldane phases, two ferrimagnetic phases of Lieb-Mattis type, two quantum spin liquids, two bound magnon crystals, in addition to the fully polarized ferromagnetic phase. The lowest-energy eigenstates in a highly frustrated parameter region belong to flatbands and, hence, low-temperature thermodynamics above the bound magnon-crystal ground states can be satisfactorily described within the localized-magnon approach. The variational method provides exact evidence for the magnon-crystal phase with a character of the monomer-tetramer ground state at zero field, whereas another magnon-crystal phase with a single bound magnon at each square plaquette is found in a high-field region. A diversity of quantum ground states gives rise to manifold zero-temperature magnetization curves, which may involve up to four wide intermediate plateaus at zero, one-sixth, one-third, and two-thirds of the saturation magnetization, two quantum spin-liquid regions, and two tiny plateaus at one-ninth and one-twelfth of the saturation magnetization corresponding to the fragmentized cluster-based Haldane phases.

arXiv:1904.02889•Physical review. B./Physical review. B•Sep 4, 2019•16 citations

Peculiarities in pseudo-transitions of a mixed spin-(1/2, 1) Ising–Heisenberg double-tetrahedral chain in an external magnetic field

Onofre Rojas, Jozef Strečka, Oleg Derzhko +1 more

Recently, it has been rigorously verified that several one-dimensional (1D) spin models may exhibit a peculiar pseudo-transition accompanied with anomalous response of thermodynamic quantities in a close vicinity of pseudo-critical temperature. In the present work we will introduce and exactly solve a mixed spin-(1/2,1) Ising-Heisenberg double-tetrahedral chain in an external magnetic field as another particular example of 1D lattice-statistical model with short-range interactions that displays a pseudo-transition of this type. The investigated model exhibits at zero temperature three ferrimagnetic phases, three frustrated phases, and one saturated paramagnetic phase. The ground-state phase diagram involves five unusual interfaces (phase boundaries), at which the residual entropy per site equals to a larger entropy of one of two coexisting phases. Four such interfaces are between a non-degenerate ferrimagnetic phase and a macroscopically degenerate frustrated phase, while one interface is between two non-degenerate ferrimagnetic phases. Though thermal excitations typically destroy all fingerprints of zero-temperature phase transitions of 1D lattice-statistical models with short-range forces, the mixed spin-(1/2,1) Ising-Heisenberg double-tetrahedral chain is quite robust with respect to thermal excitations and it displays peculiar pseudo-transitions close to all five aforementioned interfaces.

arXiv:1908.07286•Journal of Physics Condensed Matter•Oct 3, 2019•28 citations
Abstract Quantum phases in low-dimensional mixed-spin systems continue to attract significant interest due to their rich correlation structure and relevance to modern quantum technologies. Here, we investigate the one-dimensional mixed spin-(1/2, S ) Heisenberg model in an external magnetic field using a phase-space formulation based on the generalized Wigner function. Focusing on mixed-spin (1/2, 1) and (1/2, 3/2) systems, we show that phase-space indicators, including Rényi entropies and Wigner negativity, provide a complementary characterization of quantum phases and correlations, consistent with phase structures obtained from conventional observables. Our analysis reveals three robust regions in the phase diagram: ferrimagnetic, quantum–spin–liquid-like, and fully polarized. Ground-state level crossings emerge near the corresponding boundaries, marking finite-size precursors of thermodynamic phase transitions. By combining phase-space diagnostics with finite-size scaling, we identify how quantum correlations evolve toward the thermodynamic limit. These results deepen the understanding of correlation-driven phases in mixed-spin chains and establish phase-space methods as powerful tools for analyzing complex quantum magnetic systems.
We study quantum ferrimagnets in one, two, and three dimensions by using a variety of methods and approximations. These include: (i) a treatment based on the spin coherent state path-integral formulation of quantum ferrimagnets by taking into account the leading order quantum and thermal fluctuations (ii) a field-theoretical (non-linear σσσ-model type) formulation of the special case of one-dimensional quantum ferrimagnets at zero temperature (iii) an effective description in terms of dimers and quantum rotors, and (iv) a quantum renormalization group study of ferrimagnetic Heisenberg chains. Some of the formalism discussed here can be used for a unified treatment of both ferromagnets and antiferromagnets in the semiclassical limit. We show that the low (high) energy effective Hamiltonian of a (S_1, S_2) Heisenberg ferrimagnet is a ferromagnetic (antiferromagnetic) Heisenberg model. We also study the phase diagram of quantum ferrimagnets in the presence of an external magnetic field h (hc1<h<hc2h_{c1} < h < h_{c2}hc1​<h<hc2​) and show that the low- and the high-field phases correspond respectively to the classical Néel and the fully polarized ferromagnetic states. We also calculate the transition temperature for the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless phase transition in the special case of two-dimensional quantum ferrimagnets.
At the interface of quantum information and condensed matter physics, the study of entanglement in quantum many-body systems requires a new toolset which combines concepts from each. This thesis introduces a set of computational methods to study phases and phase transitions in lattice models of quantum systems, using the Renyi entropies as a means of quantifying entanglement. The scaling of entanglement entropy can give valuable insight into the phase of a condensed matter system. It can be used to detect exotic types of phases, to pinpoint transitions between phases, and can give us universal information about a system. \nThe first approach in this thesis is a technique to measure entanglement in finite size \nlattice systems using zero-temperature quantum Monte Carlo simulations. The algorithm \nis developed, implemented, and used to explore anomalous entanglement scaling terms in \nthe spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet. \nIn the second part of this thesis, a new and complementary numerical technique is introduced to study entanglement not just in finite size systems, but as we approach the thermodynamic limit. This “numerical linked-cluster expansion” is used to study two different systems at their quantum critical points — continuous phase transitions occurring at zero temperature, at which these systems exhibit universal properties. Remarkably, these universal properties can be reflected in the scaling of entanglement. \nEntanglement offers a new perspective on condensed matter systems, one which takes us closer to genuinely understanding what goes on in these materials at the quantum mechanical level. This thesis demonstrates the first steps in developing an extensive list of computational tools that can be used to study entanglement over a wide range of interacting quantum many-body systems. With the ever increasing computational power available, it may be only a matter of time before these tools are used to create a comprehensive framework for the characterization of condensed matter phases and phase transitions.
We analyze the antiferromagnetic spin-1/2 XXZ model on the kagome lattice at finite external magnetic field with the help of a non-perturbative zero-temperature renormalization group (RG) technique. The exact nature of the ground and excited state properties (e.g. gapped or gapless spectrum etc) of this system are still debated. Approximate methods have typically been adopted towards understanding the low-energy spectrum. Following the work of Kumar et al (2014 Phys. Rev. B 90 174409), we use a Jordan–Wigner transformation to map the spin problem into one of spinless fermions (spinons) in the presence of a statistical gauge field, and with nearest-neighbor interactions. While the work of Kumar et al was confined mostly to the plateau at 1/3-filling (magnetization per site) in the XY regime, we analyze the role of inter-spinon interactions in shaping the phases around this plateau in the entire XXZ model. The RG phase diagram obtained contains three spin liquid phases whose position is determined as a function of the exchange anisotropy and the energy scale for fluctuations arising from spinon scattering. Two of these spins liquids are topologically ordered states of matter with gapped, degenerate states on the torus. The gap for one of these phases corresponds to the one-spinon band gap of the Azbel–Hofstadter spectrum for the XY part of the Hamiltonian, while the other arises from two-spinon interactions. The Heisenberg point of this problem is found to lie within the interaction gapped spin liquid phase, in broad agreement with a recent experimental finding. The third phase is an algebraic spin liquid with a gapless Dirac spectrum for spinon excitations, and possess properties that show departures from the Fermi liquid paradigm. The three phase boundaries correspond to critical theories, and meet at a SU (2)-symmetric multicritical point. This special critical point agrees well with the gap-closing transition point predicted by Kumar et al . We discuss the relevance of our findings to various recent experiments, as well as results obtained from other theoretical analyses.
We study the ground-state phase diagram of the spin-1/21/21/2 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model on the square-kagome lattice using infinite projected entangled-pair states (iPEPS). By systematically varying the ratio of exchange couplings on triangular and square plaquettes, we establish a complete quantum phase diagram in the thermodynamic limit. In the intermediate-coupling regime, we identify four distinct nonmagnetic phases that are unambiguously characterized as valence-bond crystals (VBCs) by their symmetry-inequivalent patterns of strong and weak spin-spin correlations. These include a plaquette crossed-dimer VBC, a loop-six VBC stabilized around the isotropic point, a generalized pinwheel VBC with reduced rotational symmetry, and a decorated loop-six VBC proximate to ferrimagnetic order. We determine the phase boundaries using a combination of bond-resolved correlation functions, entanglement entropy, and magnetization. For transitions not accompanied by sharp entanglement signatures, we extract the spin gap from finite-field simulations, allowing us to distinguish gapped and gapless VBC phases. At larger coupling ratios, the system undergoes transitions into imperfect and perfect ferrimagnetic states. Our results resolve long-standing ambiguities in the square-kagome Heisenberg model and provide a quantitatively reliable reference for future theoretical and experimental studies of frustrated quantum magnets.
The mixed spin-1 and spin-1/2 Heisenberg octahedral chain with regularly alternating monomeric spin-1 sites and square-plaquette spin-1/2 sites is investigated using a variational technique, localized-magnon approach, exact diagonalization, and density-matrix renormalization-group method. The investigated model has, in a magnetic field, an extraordinarily rich ground-state phase diagram, which includes the uniform and cluster-based Haldane phases, two ferrimagnetic phases of Lieb-Mattis type, two quantum spin liquids, two bound magnon crystals, in addition to the fully polarized ferromagnetic phase. The lowest-energy eigenstates in a highly frustrated parameter region belong to flatbands and, hence, low-temperature thermodynamics above the bound magnon-crystal ground states can be satisfactorily described within the localized-magnon approach. The variational method provides exact evidence for the magnon-crystal phase with a character of the monomer-tetramer ground state at zero field, whereas another magnon-crystal phase with a single bound magnon at each square plaquette is found in a high-field region. A diversity of quantum ground states gives rise to manifold zero-temperature magnetization curves, which may involve up to four wide intermediate plateaus at zero, one-sixth, one-third, and two-thirds of the saturation magnetization, two quantum spin-liquid regions, and two tiny plateaus at one-ninth and one-twelfth of the saturation magnetization corresponding to the fragmentized cluster-based Haldane phases.
Recently, it has been rigorously verified that several one-dimensional (1D) spin models may exhibit a peculiar pseudo-transition accompanied with anomalous response of thermodynamic quantities in a close vicinity of pseudo-critical temperature. In the present work we will introduce and exactly solve a mixed spin-(1/2,1) Ising-Heisenberg double-tetrahedral chain in an external magnetic field as another particular example of 1D lattice-statistical model with short-range interactions that displays a pseudo-transition of this type. The investigated model exhibits at zero temperature three ferrimagnetic phases, three frustrated phases, and one saturated paramagnetic phase. The ground-state phase diagram involves five unusual interfaces (phase boundaries), at which the residual entropy per site equals to a larger entropy of one of two coexisting phases. Four such interfaces are between a non-degenerate ferrimagnetic phase and a macroscopically degenerate frustrated phase, while one interface is between two non-degenerate ferrimagnetic phases. Though thermal excitations typically destroy all fingerprints of zero-temperature phase transitions of 1D lattice-statistical models with short-range forces, the mixed spin-(1/2,1) Ising-Heisenberg double-tetrahedral chain is quite robust with respect to thermal excitations and it displays peculiar pseudo-transitions close to all five aforementioned interfaces.