Publications

Order by: publication date number of citations

• Conformal boundary conditions for a 4d scalar field

  Lorenzo Di Pietro, Edoardo Lauria, Pierluigi Niro

  SciPost Phys. 16, 090 (2024) · published 3 April 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We construct unitary, stable, and interacting conformal boundary conditions for a free massless scalar in four dimensions by coupling it to edge modes living on a boundary. The boundary theories we consider are bosonic and fermionic QED$_3$ with $N_f$ flavors and a Chern-Simons term at level $k$, in the large-$N_f$ limit with fixed $k/N_f$. We find that interacting boundary conditions only exist when $k≠ 0$. To obtain this result we compute the $\beta$ functions of the classically marginal couplings at the first non-vanishing order in the large-$N_f$ expansion, and to all orders in $k/N_f$ and in the couplings. To check vacuum stability we also compute the large-$N_f$ effective potential. We compare our results with the the known conformal bootstrap bounds.

  1 citation

• Higher-group symmetry in finite gauge theory and stabilizer codes

  Maissam Barkeshli, Yu-An Chen, Po-Shen Hsin, Ryohei Kobayashi

  SciPost Phys. 16, 089 (2024) · published 3 April 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  A large class of gapped phases of matter can be described by topological finite group gauge theories. In this paper, we show how such gauge theories possess a higher-group global symmetry, which we study in detail. We derive the $d$-group global symmetry and its 't Hooft anomaly for topological finite group gauge theories in $(d+1)$ space-time dimensions, including non-Abelian gauge groups and Dijkgraaf-Witten twists. We focus on the 1-form symmetry generated by invertible (Abelian) magnetic defects and the higher-form symmetries generated by invertible topological defects decorated with lower dimensional gauged symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases. We show that due to a generalization of the Witten effect and charge-flux attachment, the 1-form symmetry generated by the magnetic defects mixes with other symmetries into a higher group. We describe such higher-group symmetry in various lattice model examples. We discuss several applications, including the classification of fermionic SPT phases in (3+1)D for general fermionic symmetry groups, where we also derive a simpler formula for the $[O_5] ∈ H^5(BG, U(1))$ obstruction that has appeared in prior work. We also show how the $d$-group symmetry is related to fault-tolerant non-Pauli logical gates and a refined Clifford hierarchy in stabilizer codes. We discover new logical gates in stabilizer codes using the $d$-group symmetry, such as a controlled Z gate in the (3+1) D $\mathbb{Z}_2$ toric code.

  10 citations

• A coupling prescription for post-Newtonian corrections in quantum mechanics

  Jelle Hartong, Emil Have, Niels A. Obers, Igor Pikovski

  SciPost Phys. 16, 088 (2024) · published 27 March 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The interplay between quantum theory and general relativity remains one of the main challenges of modern physics. A renewed interest in the low-energy limit is driven by the prospect of new experiments that could probe this interface. Here we develop a covariant framework for expressing post-Newtonian corrections to Schrödinger's equation on arbitrary gravitational backgrounds based on a $1/c^2$ expansion of Lorentzian geometry, where $c$ is the speed of light. Our framework provides a generic coupling prescription of quantum systems to gravity that is valid in the intermediate regime between Newtonian gravity and General Relativity, and that retains the focus on geometry. At each order in $1/c^2$ this produces a nonrelativistic geometry to which quantum systems at that order couple. By considering the gauge symmetries of both the nonrelativistic geometries and the $1/c^2$ expansion of the complex Klein-Gordon field, we devise a prescription that allows us to derive the Schrödinger equation and its post-Newtonian corrections on a gravitational background order-by-order in $1/c^2$. We also demonstrate that these results can be obtained from a $1/c^2$ expansion of the complex Klein-Gordon Lagrangian. We illustrate our methods by performing the $1/c^2$ expansion of the Kerr metric up to $\mathcal{O}(c^{-2})$, which leads to a special case of the Hartle-Thorne metric. The associated Schrödinger equation captures novel and potentially measurable effects.

  5 citations

• Anomalies of generalized symmetries from solitonic defects

  Lakshya Bhardwaj, Mathew Bullimore, Andrea E. V. Ferrari, Sakura Schäfer-Nameki

  SciPost Phys. 16, 087 (2024) · published 26 March 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We propose the general idea that 't Hooft anomalies of generalized global symmetries can be understood in terms of the properties of solitonic defects, which generically are non-topological defects. The defining property of such defects is that they act as sources for background fields of generalized symmetries. 't Hooft anomalies arise when solitonic defects are charged under these generalized symmetries. We illustrate this idea for several kinds of anomalies in various spacetime dimensions. A systematic exploration is performed in 3d for 0-form, 1-form, and 2-group symmetries, whose 't Hooft anomalies are related to two special types of solitonic defects, namely vortex line defects and monopole operators. This analysis is supplemented with detailed computations of such anomalies in a large class of 3d gauge theories. Central to this computation is the determination of the gauge and 0-form charges of a variety of monopole operators: these involve standard gauge monopole operators, but also fractional gauge monopole operators, as well as monopole operators for 0-form symmetries. The charges of these monopole operators mainly receive contributions from Chern-Simons terms and fermions in the matter content. Along the way, we interpret the vanishing of the global gauge and ABJ anomalies, which are anomalies not captured by local anomaly polynomials, as the requirement that gauge monopole operators and mixed monopole operators for 0-form and gauge symmetries have non-fractional integer charges.

  5 citations

• Beyond braid statistics: Constructing a lattice model for anyons with exchange statistics intrinsic to one dimension

  Sebastian Nagies, Botao Wang, Adam C. Knapp, André Eckardt, Nathan L. Harshman

  SciPost Phys. 16, 086 (2024) · published 26 March 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Anyons obeying fractional exchange statistics arise naturally in two dimensions: Hard-core two-body constraints make the configuration space of particles not simply-connected. The braid group describes how topologically-inequivalent exchange paths can be associated to non-trivial geometric phases for abelian anyons. Braid-anyon exchange statistics can also be found in one dimension (1D), but this requires broken Galilean invariance to distinguish different ways for two anyons to exchange. However, recently it was shown that an alternative form of exchange statistics can occur in 1D because hard-core three-body constraints also make the configuration space not simply-connected. Instead of the braid group, the topology of exchange paths and their associated non-trivial geometric phases are described by the traid group. In this article we propose a first concrete model realizing this alternative form of anyonic exchange statistics. Starting from a bosonic lattice model that implements the desired geometric phases with number-dependent Peierls phases, we then define anyonic operators so that the kinetic energy term in the Hamiltonian becomes local and quadratic with respect to them. The ground-state of this traid-anyon-Hubbard model exhibits several indications of exchange statistics intermediate between bosons and fermions, as well as signs of emergent approximate Haldane exclusion statistics. The continuum limit results in a Galilean invariant Hamiltonian with eigenstates that correspond to previously constructed continuum wave functions for traid anyons. This provides not only an a-posteriori justification of our lattice model, but also shows that our construction serves as an intuitive approach to traid anyons, i.e. anyons intrinsic to 1D.

• Quantum parameter estimation with many-body fermionic systems and application to the Hall effect

  Olivier Giraud, Mark-Oliver Goerbig, Daniel Braun

  SciPost Phys. 16, 085 (2024) · published 25 March 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We calculate the quantum Fisher information for a generic many-body fermionic system in a pure state depending on a parameter. We discuss the situations where the parameter is imprinted in the basis states, in the state coefficients, or both. In the case where the parameter dependence of coefficients results from a Hamiltonian evolution, we derive a particularly simple expression for the quantum Fisher information. We apply our findings to the quantum Hall effect, and evaluate the quantum Fisher information associated with the optimal measurement of the magnetic field for a system in the ground state of the effective Hamiltonian. The occupation of electron states with high momentum enforced by the Pauli principle leads to a "super-Heisenberg" scaling of the sensitivity with a power law that depends on the geometry of the sensor.

• Anomalous Luttinger equivalence between temperature and curved spacetime: From black holes to thermal quenches

  Baptiste Bermond, Maxim Nikolaevich Chernodub, Adolfo G. Grushin, David Carpentier

  SciPost Phys. 16, 084 (2024) · published 25 March 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Building on the idea of Tolman and Ehrenfest that heat has weight, Luttinger established a deep connection between gravitational fields and thermal transport. However, this relation does not include anomalous quantum fluctuations that become paramount in strongly curved spacetime. In this work, we revisit the celebrated Tolman-Ehrenfest and Luttinger relations and show how to incorporate the quantum energy scales associated with these fluctuations, captured by gravitational anomalies of quantum field theories. We point out that such anomalous fluctuations naturally occur in the quantum atmosphere of a black hole. Our results reveal that analogous fluctuations are also observable in thermal conductors in flat-space time provided local temperature varies strongly. As a consequence, we establish that the gravitational anomalies manifest themselves naturally in non-linear thermal response of a quantum wire. In addition, we propose a systematic way to identify thermal analogues of black hole's anomalous quantum fluctuations associated to gravitational anomalies. We identify their signatures in propagating energy waves following a thermal quench, as well as in the energy density of heating Floquet states induced by repeated thermal quenches.

  1 citation

• Thouless pumping in Josephson junction arrays

  Stavros Athanasiou, Ida Egholm Nielsen, Matteo M. Wauters, Michele Burrello

  SciPost Phys. 16, 083 (2024) · published 22 March 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Recent advancements in fabrication techniques have enabled unprecedented clean interfaces and gate tunability in semiconductor-superconductor heterostructures. Inspired by these developments, we propose protocols to realize Thouless quantum pumping in electrically tunable Josephson junction arrays. We analyze, in particular, the implementation of the Rice-Mele and the Harper-Hofstadter pumping schemes, whose realization would validate these systems as flexible platforms for quantum simulations. We investigate numerically the long-time behavior of chains of controllable superconducting islands in the Coulomb-blockaded regime. Our findings provide new insights into the dynamics of periodically driven interacting systems and highlight the robustness of Thouless pumping with respect to boundary effects typical of superconducting circuits.

  1 citation

• Variational quantum gate optimization at the pulse level

  Sean Greenaway, Francesco Petiziol, Hongzheng Zhao, Florian Mintert

  SciPost Phys. 16, 082 (2024) · published 22 March 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We experimentally investigate the viability of a variational quantum gate optimization protocol informed by the underlying physical Hamiltonian of fixed-frequency transmon qubits. Through the successful experimental optimization of two and three qubit quantum gates the utility of the scheme for obtaining gates based on static effective Hamiltonians is demonstrated. The limits of such a strategy are investigated through the optimization of a time-dependent, Floquet-engineered gate, however parameter drift is identified as a key limiting factor preventing the implementation of such a scheme which the variational optimization protocol is unable to overcome.

• Exploring kinetically induced bound states in triangular lattices with ultracold atoms: Spectroscopic approach

  Ivan Morera Navarro, Christof Weitenberg, Klaus Sengstock, Eugene Demler

  SciPost Phys. 16, 081 (2024) · published 20 March 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Quantum simulations with ultracold fermions in triangular optical lattices have recently emerged as a new platform for studying magnetism in frustrated systems. Experimental realizations of the Fermi Hubbard model revealed striking contrast between magnetism in bipartite and triangular lattices. In bipartite lattices magnetism is strongest at half filling, and doped charge carriers tend to suppress magnetic correlations. In triangular-type lattices for large U/t and t>0, antiferromagnetism (ferromagnetism) gets enhanced by doping away from n=1 with holes (doublons) because kinetic energy of dopants can be lowered through developing magnetic correlations, corresponding to formation of magnetic polarons. Snapshots of many-body states obtained with quantum gas microscopes demonstrated existence of magnetic polarons by revealing the magnetic correlations around dopants at temperatures that considerably exceed superexchange energy scale. In this paper we discuss theoretically that additional insight into properties of magnetic polarons in triangular lattices can be achieved using spectroscopic experiments with ultracold atoms. We consider starting from a spin polarized state with small hole doping and applying a two-photon Raman photoexcitation, which transfers atoms into a different spin state. We show that such magnon injection spectra exhibit a separate peak corresponding to formation of a bound state between a hole and a magnon. This polaron peak is separated from the simple magnon spectrum by energy proportional to single particle tunneling and can be easily resolved with currently available experimental techniques. For some momentum transfer there is an additional peak corresponding to photoexciting a bound state between two holes and a magnon. We point out that in two component Bose mixtures in triangular lattices one can also create dynamical magnetic polarons, with one hole and one magnon forming a repulsive bound state.