Publications

Order by: publication date number of citations

• Dual applications of Chebyshev polynomials method: Efficiently finding thousands of central eigenvalues for many-spin systems

  Haoyu Guan, Wenxian Zhang

  SciPost Phys. 11, 103 (2021) · published 8 December 2021 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Computation of a large group of interior eigenvalues at the middle spectrum is an important problem for quantum many-body systems, where the level statistics provides characteristic signatures of quantum chaos. We propose an exact numerical method, dual applications of Chebyshev polynomials (DACP), to simultaneously find thousands of central eigenvalues, where the level space decreases exponentially with the system size. To disentangle the near-degenerate problem, we employ twice the Chebyshev polynomials, to construct an exponential semicircle filter as a preconditioning step and to generate a large set of proper basis states in the desired subspace. Numerical calculations on Ising spin chain and spin glass shards confirm the correctness and efficiency of DACP. As numerical results demonstrate, DACP is $30$ times faster than the state-of-the-art shift-invert method for the Ising spin chain while $8$ times faster for the spin glass shards. In contrast to the shift-invert method, the computation time of DACP is only weakly influenced by the required number of eigenvalues, which renders it a powerful tool for large scale eigenvalues computations. Moreover, the consumed memory also remains a small constant (5.6 GB) for spin-$1/2$ systems consisting of up to $20$ spins, making it desirable for parallel computing.

  2 citations

• Entropy-driven phase behavior of associative polymer networks

  Lorenzo Rovigatti, Francesco Sciortino

  SciPost Phys. 15, 163 (2023) · published 16 October 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Polymer chains decorated with a fraction of monomers capable of forming reversible bonds form transient polymer networks that are important in soft and biological systems. If chains are flexible and the attractive monomers are all of the same species, the network formation occurs continuously as density increases. By contrast, it has been recently shown [Phys. Rev. Lett. 129, 047801 (2022)] that, if the attractive monomers are of two different and alternating types, the entropic gain of swapping intra-molecular bonds for inter-molecular connections induces a first order phase transition in the fully-bonded (i.e. low-temperature or, equivalently, large monomer-monomer attraction strength) limit and the network forms abruptly on increasing density. Here we use simulations to show that this phenomenon is robust with respect to thermal fluctuations, disorder and change in the polymer architecture, demonstrating its generality and likely relevance for the wide class of materials that can be modelled as associative (transient) polymer networks.

  2 citations

• Single-boson exchange formulation of the Schwinger-Dyson equation and its application to the functional renormalization group

  Miriam Patricolo, Marcel Gievers, Kilian Fraboulet, Aiman Al-Eryani, Sarah Heinzelmann, Pietro M. Bonetti, Alessandro Toschi, Demetrio Vilardi, Sabine Andergassen

  SciPost Phys. 18, 078 (2025) · published 4 March 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We extend the recently introduced single-boson exchange formulation to the computation of the self-energy from the Schwinger–Dyson equation (SDE). In particular, we derive its expression both in diagrammatic and in physical channels. The simple form of the single-boson exchange SDE, involving only the bosonic propagator and the fermion-boson vertex, but not the rest function, allows for an efficient numerical implementation. We furthermore discuss its implications in a truncated unity solver, where a restricted number of form factors introduces an information loss in the projection of the momentum dependence that in general affects the equivalence between the different channel representations. In the application to the functional renormalization group, we find that the convergence in the number of form factors depends on the channel representation of the SDE. For the two-dimensional Hubbard model at weak coupling, the pseudogap opening driven by antiferromagnetic fluctuations is captured already by a single ($s$-wave) form factor in the magnetic channel representation, differently to the density and superconducting channels.

  2 citations

• Interfacially adsorbed bubbles determine the shape of droplets

  Alessio Squarcini, Antonio Tinti

  SciPost Phys. 15, 164 (2023) · published 16 October 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The characterization of density correlations in the presence of strongly fluctuating interfaces has always been considered a difficult problem in statistical mechanics. Here we study - by using recently developed exact field-theoretical techniques - density correlations for an interface with endpoints on a wall forming a droplet in 2D. Our framework applies to interfaces entropically repelled by a hard wall as well as to wetting transitions. In the former case bubbles adsorbed on the interface are taken into account by the theory which yields a systematic treatment of finite-size corrections to one- and two-point functions and show how these are related to Brownian excursions. Our analytical predictions are confirmed by Monte Carlo simulations without free parameters. We also determine one- and two-point functions at wetting by using integrable boundary field theory. We show that correlations are long ranged for entropic repulsion and at wetting. For both regimes we investigate correlations in momentum space by generalizing the notion of interface structure factor to semi-confined systems. Distinctive signatures of the two regimes manifest in the structure factor through a term that we identify on top of the capillary-wave one.

  2 citations

• Apparent fine tunings for field theories with broken space-time symmetries

  Alberto Nicolis, Ira Z. Rothstein

  SciPost Phys. 16, 045 (2024) · published 9 February 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We exhibit a class of effective field theories that have hierarchically small Wilson coefficients for operators that are not protected by symmetries but are not finely tuned. These theories possess bounded target spaces and vacua that break space-time symmetries. We give a physical interpretation of these theories as generalized solids with open boundary conditions. We show that these theories realize unusual RG flows where higher dimensional (seemingly irrelevant) operators become relevant even at weak coupling. Finally, we present an example of a field theory whose vacuum energy relaxes to a hierarchically small value compared to the UV cut-off.

  2 citations

• One-form symmetries and the 3d $\mathcal{N}=2$ $A$-model: Topologically twisted indices and CS theories

  Cyril Closset, Elias Furrer, Osama Khlaif

  SciPost Phys. 18, 066 (2025) · published 24 February 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We study three-dimensional $\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetric Chern–Simons-matter gauge theories with a one-form symmetry in the $A$-model formalism on $\Sigma_g× S^1$. We explicitly compute expectation values of topological line operators that implement the one-form symmetry. This allows us to compute the topologically twisted index on the closed Riemann surface $\Sigma_g$ for any real compact gauge group $G$ as long as the ground states are all bosonic. All computations are carried out in the effective $A$-model on $\Sigma_g$, whose $S^1$ ground states are the so-called Bethe vacua. We discuss how the 3d one-form symmetry acts on the Bethe vacua, and also how its 't Hooft anomaly constrains the vacuum structure. In the special case of the $SU(N)_K$ $\mathcal{N}=2$ Chern–Simons theory, we obtain results for the $(SU(N)/\mathbb{Z}_r)^{\theta}_K$ $\mathcal{N}=2$ Chern–Simons theories, for all non-anomalous $\mathbb{Z}_r \subseteq \mathbb{Z}_N$ subgroups of the centre of the gauge group, and with a $\mathbb{Z}_r$ $\theta$-angle turned on. In the special cases with $N$ even, ${N\over r}$ odd and ${K\over r}$ even, we find a mixed 't Hooft anomaly between gravity and the $\mathbb{Z}_r^{(1)}$ one-form symmetry of the $SU(N)_K$ theory, and the infrared 3d TQFT after gauging is spin. In all cases, we count the Bethe states and the higher-genus states in terms of refinements of Jordan's totient function. This counting gives us the twisted indices if and only if the infrared 3d TQFT is bosonic. Our results lead to precise conjectures about integrality of indices, which appear to have a strong number-theoretic flavour. Note: this paper directly builds upon unpublished notes by Brian Willett from 2020.

  2 citations

• Bilateral photon emission from a vibrating mirror and multiphoton entanglement generation

  Alberto Mercurio, Enrico Russo, Fabio Mauceri, Salvatore Savasta, Franco Nori, Vincenzo Macrì, Rosario Lo Franco

  SciPost Phys. 18, 067 (2025) · published 24 February 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Entanglement plays a crucial role in the development of quantum-enabled devices. One significant objective is the deterministic creation and distribution of entangled states, achieved, for example, through a mechanical oscillator interacting with confined electromagnetic fields. In this study, we explore a cavity resonator containing a two-sided perfect mirror. Although the mirror separates the cavity modes into two independent confined electromagnetic fields, the radiation pressure interaction gives rise to high-order effective interactions across all subsystems. Depending on the chosen resonant conditions, which are also related to the position of the mirror, we study $2n$-photon entanglement generation and bilateral photon pair emission. Demonstrating the non-classical nature of the mechanical oscillator, we provide a pathway to control these phenomena, opening potential applications in quantum technologies. Looking ahead, similar integrated devices could be used to entangle subsystems across vastly different energy scales, such as microwave and optical photons.

  2 citations

• Free energy and metastable states in the square-lattice $J_1$-$J_2$ Ising model

  Veniamin A. Abalmasov

  SciPost Phys. 16, 151 (2024) · published 6 June 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Free energy as a function of polarization is calculated for the square-lattice $J_1$-$J_2$ Ising model for $J_2 < |J_1|/2$ using the random local field approximation (RLFA) and Monte Carlo (MC) simulations. Within RLFA, it reveals a metastable state with zero polarization in the ordered phase. In addition, the Landau free energy calculated within RLFA indicates a geometric slab-droplet phase transition at low temperature, which cannot be predicted by the mean field approximation. In turn, restricted free energy calculations for finite-size samples, exact and using MC simulations, reveal metastable states with a wide range of polarization values, but with only two domains. Taking into account the dependence of the restricted free energy on the nearest-neighbor correlations allows us to identify several more metastable states. The calculations also reveal additional slab-droplet transitions at $J_2 > |J_1|/4$. These findings enrich our knowledge of the $J_1$-$J_2$ Ising model and the RLFA as a useful theoretical tool to study phase transitions in spin systems.

  2 citations

• Spectral properties of Levy Rosenzweig-Porter model via supersymmetric approach

  Elizaveta Safonova, Mikhail Feigel'man, Vladimir Kravtsov

  SciPost Phys. 18, 010 (2025) · published 10 January 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  By using the Efetov's super-symmetric formalism we computed analytically the mean spectral density $\rho(E)$ for the Lévy and the Lévy -Rosenzweig-Porter random matrices which off-diagonal elements are strongly non-Gaussian with power-law tails. This makes the standard Hubbard-Stratonovich transformation inapplicable to such problems. We used, instead, the functional Hubbard-Stratonovich transformation which allowed to solve the problem analytically for large sizes of matrices. We show that $\rho(E)$ depends crucially on the control parameter that drives the system through the transition between the ergodic and the fractal phases and it can be used as an order parameter.

  2 citations

• Comparative microscopic study of entropies and their production

  Philipp Strasberg, Joseph Schindler

  SciPost Phys. 17, 143 (2024) · published 25 November 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We study the time evolution of eleven microscopic entropy definitions (of Boltzmann-surface, Gibbs-volume, canonical, coarse-grained-observational, entanglement and diagonal type) and three microscopic temperature definitions (based on Boltzmann, Gibbs or canonical entropy). This is done for the archetypal nonequilibrium setup of two systems exchanging energy, modeled here with random matrix theory, based on numerical integration of the Schrödinger equation. We consider three types of pure initial states (local energy eigenstates, decorrelated and entangled microcanonical states) and three classes of systems: (A) two normal systems, (B) a normal and a negative temperature system and (C) a normal and a negative heat capacity system. We find: (1) All types of initial states give rise to the same macroscopic dynamics. (2) Entanglement and diagonal entropy sensitively depend on the microstate, in contrast to all other entropies. (3) For class B and C, Gibbs-volume entropies can violate the second law and the associated temperature becomes meaningless. (4) For class C, Boltzmann-surface entropies can violate the second law and the associated temperature becomes meaningless. (5) Canonical entropy has a tendency to remain almost constant. (6) For a Haar random initial state, entanglement or diagonal entropy behave similar or identical to coarse-grained-observational entropy.

  2 citations