First, an algebraic criterion for integrability is discussed -the so-called `superintegrability'- and some results on the classification of superintegrable quantum spin Hamiltonians based on sl(2) are obtained. Next, the massive phases of the Z_n-chiral Potts quantum spin chain (a model that violates parity) are studied in detail. It is shown that the excitation spectrum of the massive high-temperature phase can be explained in terms of n-1 fundamental quasiparticles. We compute correlation functions from a perturbative and numerical evaluation of the groundstate for the Z_3-chain. In addition to an exponential decay we observe an oscillating contribution. The oscillation length seems to be related to the asymmetry of the dispersion relations. We show that this relation is exact at special values of the parameters for general Z_n using a form factor expansion. Finally, we discuss several aspects of extended conformal algebras (W-algebras). We observe an analogy between boundary conditions for Z_n-spin chains and W-algebras and then turn to statements about the structure of W-algebras. In particular, we briefly summarize results on unifying structures present in the space of all quantum W-algebras.
First, an algebraic criterion for integrability is discussed -the so-called `superintegrability'- and some results on the classification of superintegrable quantum spin Hamiltonians based on sl(2) are obtained. Next, the massive phases of the Z_n-chiral Potts quantum spin chain (a model that violates parity) are studied in detail. It is shown that the excitation spectrum of the massive high-temperature phase can be explained in terms of n-1 fundamental quasiparticles. We compute correlation functions from a perturbative and numerical evaluation of the groundstate for the Z_3-chain. In addition to an exponential decay we observe an oscillating contribution. The oscillation length seems to be related to the asymmetry of the dispersion relations. We show that this relation is exact at special values of the parameters for general Z_n using a form factor expansion. Finally, we discuss several aspects of extended conformal algebras (W-algebras). We observe an analogy between boundary conditions for Z_n-spin chains and W-algebras and then turn to statements about the structure of W-algebras. In particular, we briefly summarize results on unifying structures present in the space of all quantum W-algebras.
The massive high-temperature phase of the chiral Potts quantum chain is studied using perturbative methods. For the Z_3-chain we present high-temperature expansions for the groundstate energy and the dispersion relations of the two single-particle states as well as two-particle states at general values of the parameters. We also present a perturbative argument showing that a large class of massive Z_n-spin quantum chains have quasiparticle spectra with n-1 fundamental particles. It is known from earlier investigations that -at special values of the parameters- some of the fundamental particles exist only for limited ranges of the momentum. In these regimes our argument is not rigorous as one can conclude from a discussion of the radius of convergence of the perturbation series. We also derive correlation functions from a perturbative evaluation of the groundstate for the Z_3-chain. In addition to an exponential decay we observe an oscillating contribution. The oscillation length seems to be related to the asymmetry of the dispersion relations. We show that this relation is exact at special values of the parameters for general Z_n using a form factor expansion.
Phase diagram and two-particle structure of the Z3-chiral Potts model
We calculate the low-lying part of the spectrum of the Z3-symmetrical chiral Potts quantum chain in its self-dual and integrable versions, using numerical diagonalisation of the hamiltonian for N≤12 sites and extrapolation $N \ra \infty$. From the sequences of levels crossing we show that the massive phases have oscillatory correlation functions. We calculate the wave vector scaling exponent. In the high-temperature massive phase the pattern of the low-lying levels can be explained assuming the existence of two particles, with Z3-charge Q=1 and Q=2, and their scattering states. In the superintegrable case the Q=2-particle has twice the mass of the Q=1-particle. Exponential convergence in N is observed for the single particle gaps, while power convergence is seen for the scattering levels. In the high temperature limit of the self-dual model the parity violation in the particle dispersion relation is equivalent to the presence of a macroscopic momentum $P_m = \pm \vph/3$, where $\vph$ is the chiral angle.
Using perturbative methods we derive new results for the spectrum and correlation functions of the general Z 3 -chiral Potts quantum chain in the massive low-temperature phase. Explicit calculations of the ground-state energy and the first excitations in the zero momentum sector give excellent approximations and confirm the general statement that the spectrum in the low-temperature phase of general Z n -spin quantum chains is identical to one in the high-temperature phase where the role of charge and boundary conditions are interchanged. Using a perturbative expansion of the ground state for the Z 3 model we are able to gain some insight into correlation functions. We argue that they might be oscillating and give estimates for the oscillation length as well as the correlation length.
The authors calculate the lowest translationally invariant levels of the Z 3 - and Z 4 -symmetrical chiral Potts quantum chains, using numerical diagonalization of the Hamiltonian for N<or=12 and N<or=10 sites, respectively, and extrapolating n to infinity . In the high-temperature massive phase they find that the pattern of the low-lying zero momentum levels can be explained assuming the existence of n-1 particles carrying Z n charges Q=1, . . ., n-1 (mass m Q ), and their scattering states. In the superintegrable case the masses of the n-1 particles become proportional to their respective charges: m Q =Qm 1 . Exponential convergence in N is observed for the single-particle gaps, while power convergence is seen for the scattering levels. They also verify that qualitatively the same pattern appears for the self-dual and integrable cases. For general Z n they show that the energy-momentum relations of the particles show a parity nonconservation asymmetry which for very high temperatures is exclusive due to the presence of a macroscopic momentum P m =(1-2Q/n) phi , where phi is the chiral angle and Q is the Z n charge of the respective particle.
Phase transitions of second order play an important role in solid state physics. It is in their nature that they occur only in systems that are composed from an infinite number of components since, only that way, the necessary conditions for this (for example, scale invariance) are granted. Such a system at a second order phase transition is called critical. The infinite number of particles poses a particular challenge, even for the description of classical systems. Quantum mechanical systems, however, are distinctly more difficult to treat in this context, since the dimension of their state space grows exponentially with the number of their particles, not to mention the fact that only a few – and usually only one-dimensional – quantum systems are exactly solvable. One of these exactly solvable one-dimensional quantum systems is the SU(N) Haldane-Shastry spin chain that may be regarded as the archetype of long-range spin chains. Moreover, it is critical in the continuum limit and its effective low-energy theory is the so-called SU(N)_1 Wess-Zumino-Witten model. It is a quantum field theory which is not only conformally invariant, so, in particular, scale invariant, but, furthermore, exhibits additional symmetry in the shape of an infinite extension of the Lie algebra su(N) associated with SU(N). Recent studies show that, from these very structures of the SU(N)_1 WZW model, one can, in turn, derive spin systems, whose arrangement is not necessarily the one of a spin chain, but even two-dimensional distributions of the spins in the plane are possible. These systems are again characterized by long-range interactions, comparable to those of the Haldane-Shastry spin chain, which is also obtained as a result of an appropriate choice of parameters. \n \nIn this thesis, we extend the construction already known for the SU(N) case to the supersymmetric case GL(m|n). Here, we construct explicitly both, a special quantum state as well as a Hamiltonian that projects this quantum state to zero. We also discuss the Hamiltonian in the special case of the GL(1|1) spin chain and compare it to the respective GL(1|1) Haldane-Shastry spin chain on a bipartite state space. Both are critical and we identify the corresponding conformal field theories. Subsequently, we describe a generalization of this system in terms of two parameters and explain how its spectrum was found. It is then analyzed and its continuum limit is determined. In doing so, it shows that the system displays criticality only for generic values of one of the two parameters.
We find the rules which count the energy levels of the 3 state superintegrable chiral Potts model and demonstrate that these rules are complete. We then derive the complete spectrum of excitations in the thermodynamic limit in the massive phase and demonstrate the existence of excitations which do not have a quasi-particle form. The physics of these excitations is compared with the BCS superconductivity spectrum and the counting rules are compared with the closely related S=1 XXZ spin chain.