No Arabic abstract
We present a fully analytically solvable family of models with many-body cluster interaction and Ising interaction. This family exhibits two phases, dubbed cluster and Ising phases, respectively. The critical point turns out to be independent of the cluster size $n+2$ and is reached exactly when both interactions are equally weighted. For even $n$ we prove that the cluster phase corresponds to a nematic ordered phase and in the case of odd $n$ to a symmetry protected topological ordered phase. Though complex, we are able to quantify the multi-particle entanglement content of neighboring spins. We prove that there exists no bipartite or, in more detail, no $n+1$-partite entanglement. This is possible since the non-trivial symmetries of the Hamiltonian restrict the state space. Indeed, only if the Ising interaction is strong enough (local) genuine $n+2$-partite entanglement is built up. Due to their analytically solvableness the $n$-cluster-Ising models serve as a prototype for studying non trivial-spin orderings and due to their peculiar entanglement properties they serve as a potential reference system for the performance of quantum information tasks.
Ergodicity in quantum many-body systems is - despite its fundamental importance - still an open problem. Many-body localization provides a general framework for quantum ergodicity, and may therefore offer important insights. However, the characterization of many-body localization through simple observables is a difficult task. In this article, we introduce a measure for distances in Hilbert space for spin-1/2 systems that can be interpreted as a generalization of the Anderson localization length to the many-body Hilbert space. We show that this many-body localization length is equivalent to a simple local observable in real space, which can be measured in experiments of superconducting qubits, polar molecules, Rydberg atoms, and trapped ions. Using the many-body localization length and a necessary criterion for ergodicity that it provides, we study many-body localization and quantum ergodicity in power-law-interacting Ising models subject to disorder in the transverse field. Based on the nonequilibrium dynamical renormalization group, numerically exact diagonalization, and an analysis of the statistics of resonances we find a many-body localized phase at infinite temperature for small power-law exponents. Within the applicability of these methods, we find no indications of a delocalization transition.
We study the phase diagram of a class of models in which a generalized cluster interaction can be quenched by Ising exchange interaction and external magnetic field. We characterize the various phases through winding numbers. They may be ordinary phases with local order parameter or exotic ones, known as symmetry protected topologically ordered phases. Quantum phase transitions with dynamical critical exponents z = 1 or z = 2 are found. Quantum phase transitions are analyzed through finite-size scaling of the geometric phase accumulated when the spins of the lattice perform an adiabatic precession. In particular, we quantify the scaling behavior of the geometric phase in relation with the topology and low energy properties of the band structure of the system.
We use low-depth quantum circuits, a specific type of tensor networks, to classify two-dimensional symmetry-protected topological many-body localized phases. For (anti-)unitary on-site symmetries we show that the (generalized) third cohomology class of the symmetry group is a topological invariant; however our approach leaves room for the existence of additional topological indices. We argue that our classification applies to quasi-periodic systems in two dimensions and systems with true random disorder within times which scale superexponentially with the inverse interaction strength. Our technique might be adapted to supply arguments suggesting the same classification for two-dimensional symmetry-protected topological ground states with a rigorous proof.
Frustration of classical many-body systems can be used to distinguish ferromagnetic interactions from anti-ferromagnetic ones via the Toulouse conditions. A quantum version of the Toulouse conditions provides a similar classification based on the local ground states. We compute the global ground states for a family of models with Heisenberg-like interactions and analyse their behaviour with respect to frustration, entanglement and degeneracy. For that we develop analytical and numerical analysing tools capable to quantify the interplay between those three quantities. We find that the quantum Toulouse conditions provide a proper classification, however, refinements can be found. Our results show how the different local ground states affect the interplay and pave the way for further generalisation and possible applications to other quantum many-body systems.
We study the statistics of the work done, the fluctuation relations and the irreversible entropy production in a quantum many-body system subject to the sudden quench of a control parameter. By treating the quench as a thermodynamic transformation we show that the emergence of irreversibility in the nonequilibrium dynamics of closed many-body quantum systems can be accurately characterized. We demonstrate our ideas by considering a transverse quantum Ising model that is taken out of equilibrium by the instantaneous switching of the transverse field.