Publications

Order by: publication date number of citations

• Analysis of the buildup of spatiotemporal correlations and their bounds outside of the light cone

  Nils O. Abeling, Lorenzo Cevolani, Stefan Kehrein

  SciPost Phys. 5, 052 (2018) · published 26 November 2018 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  In non-relativistic quantum theories the Lieb-Robinson bound defines an effective light cone with exponentially small tails outside of it. In this work we use it to derive a bound for the time evolution of the correlation function of two local disjoint observables if the initial state has a power-law decay. We show that the exponent of the power-law of the bound is identical to the initial (equilibrium) decay. We explicitly verify this result by studying the full dynamics of the susceptibilities and correlations in the exactly solvable Luttinger model after a sudden quench from the non-interacting to the interacting model.

  5 citations

• Higher categorical symmetries and gauging in two-dimensional spin systems

  Clement Delcamp, Apoorv Tiwari

  SciPost Phys. 16, 110 (2024) · published 23 April 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We present a framework to systematically investigate higher categorical symmetries in two-dimensional spin systems. Though exotic, such generalised symmetries have been shown to naturally arise as dual symmetries upon gauging invertible symmetries. Our framework relies on an approach to dualities whereby dual quantum lattice models only differ in a choice of module 2-category over some input fusion 2-category. Given an arbitrary two-dimensional spin system with an ordinary symmetry, we explain how to perform the (twisted) gauging of any of its sub-symmetries. We then demonstrate that the resulting model has a symmetry structure encoded into the Morita dual of the input fusion 2-category with respect to the corresponding module 2-category. We exemplify this approach by specialising to certain finite group generalisations of the transverse-field Ising model, for which we explicitly define lattice symmetry operators organised into fusion 2-categories of higher representations of higher groups.

  5 citations

• Twisted-bilayer FeSe and the Fe-based superlattices

  Paul M. Eugenio, Oskar Vafek

  SciPost Phys. 15, 081 (2023) · published 6 September 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We derive BM-like continuum models for the bands of superlattice heterostructures formed out of Fe-chalcogenide monolayers: (I) a single monolayer experiencing an external periodic potential, and (II) twisted bilayers with long-range moire tunneling. A symmetry derivation for the inter-layer moire tunnelling is provided for both the $\Gamma$ and $M$ high-symmetry points. In this paper, we focus on moire bands formed from hole-band maxima centered on $\Gamma$, and show the possibility of moire bands with $C=0$ or ±1 topological quantum numbers without breaking time-reversal symmetry. In the $C=0$ region for $\theta→0$ (and similarly in the limit of large superlattice period for I), the system becomes a square lattice of 2D harmonic oscillators. We fit our model to FeSe and argue that it is a viable platform for the simulation of the square Hubbard model with tunable interaction strength.

  5 citations

• Entanglement gap, corners, and symmetry breaking

  Vincenzo Alba

  SciPost Phys. 10, 056 (2021) · published 8 March 2021 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We investigate the finite-size scaling of the lowest entanglement gap $\delta\xi$ in the ordered phase of the two-dimensional quantum spherical model (QSM). The entanglement gap decays as $\delta\xi=\Omega/\sqrt{L\ln(L)}$. This is in contrast with the purely logarithmic behaviour as $\delta\xi=\pi^2/\ln(L)$ at the critical point. The faster decay in the ordered phase reflects the presence of magnetic order. We analytically determine the constant $\Omega$, which depends on the low-energy part of the model dispersion and on the geometry of the bipartition. In particular, we are able to compute the corner contribution to $\Omega$, at least for the case of a square corner.

  5 citations

• Scale-free non-Hermitian skin effect in a boundary-dissipated spin chain

  He-Ran Wang, Bo Li, Fei Song, Zhong Wang

  SciPost Phys. 15, 191 (2023) · published 13 November 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We study the open XXZ spin chain with a $PT$-symmetric non-Hermitian boundary field. We find an interaction-induced scale-free non-Hermitian skin effect by using the coordinate Bethe Ansatz. The steady-state and the ground state in the $PT$ broken phase are constructed, and the formulas of their eigen-energies in the thermodynamic limit are obtained. The differences between the many-body scale-free states and the boundary string states are explored, and the transition between the two at the isotropic point is investigated. We also discuss an experimental scheme to verify our results.

  5 citations

• Geodesic geometry of 2+1-D Dirac materials subject to artificial, quenched gravitational singularities

  Seth M. Davis, Matthew S. Foster

  SciPost Phys. 12, 204 (2022) · published 27 June 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The spatial modulation of the Fermi velocity for gapless Dirac electrons in quantum materials is mathematically equivalent to the problem of massless fermions on a certain class of curved spacetime manifolds. We study null geodesic lensing through these manifolds, which are dominated by curvature singularities, such as nematic singularity walls (where the Dirac cone flattens along one direction). Null geodesics lens across these walls, but do so by perfectly collimating to a local transit angle. Nevertheless, nematic walls can trap null geodesics into stable or metastable orbits characterized by repeated transits. We speculate about the role of induced one-dimensionality for such bound orbits in 2D dirty d-wave superconductivity.

  5 citations

• Strictly local one-dimensional topological quantum error correction with symmetry-constrained cellular automata

  Nicolai Lang, Hans Peter Büchler

  SciPost Phys. 4, 007 (2018) · published 31 January 2018 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Active quantum error correction on topological codes is one of the most promising routes to long-term qubit storage. In view of future applications, the scalability of the used decoding algorithms in physical implementations is crucial. In this work, we focus on the one-dimensional Majorana chain and construct a strictly local decoder based on a self-dual cellular automaton. We study numerically and analytically its performance and exploit these results to contrive a scalable decoder with exponentially growing decoherence times in the presence of noise. Our results pave the way for scalable and modular designs of actively corrected one-dimensional topological quantum memories.

  5 citations

• A symmetry principle for gauge theories with fractons

  Yuji Hirono, Minyoung You, Stephen Angus, Gil Young Cho

  SciPost Phys. 16, 050 (2024) · published 20 February 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Fractonic phases are new phases of matter that host excitations with restricted mobility. We show that a certain class of gapless fractonic phases are realized as a result of spontaneous breaking of continuous higher-form symmetries whose conserved charges do not commute with spatial translations. We refer to such symmetries as nonuniform higher-form symmetries. These symmetries fall within the standard definition of higher-form symmetries in quantum field theory, and the corresponding symmetry generators are topological. Worldlines of particles are regarded as the charged objects of 1-form symmetries, and mobility restrictions can be implemented by introducing additional 1-form symmetries whose generators do not commute with spatial translations. These features are realized by effective field theories associated with spontaneously broken nonuniform 1-form symmetries. At low energies, the theories reduce to known higher-rank gauge theories such as scalar/vector charge gauge theories, and the gapless excitations in these theories are interpreted as Nambu-Goldstone modes for higher-form symmetries. Due to the nonuniformity of the symmetry, some of the modes acquire a gap, which is the higher-form analogue of the inverse Higgs mechanism of spacetime symmetries. The gauge theories have emergent nonuniform magnetic symmetries, and some of the magnetic monopoles become fractonic. We identify the 't Hooft anomalies of the nonuniform higher-form symmetries and the corresponding bulk symmetry-protected topological phases. By this method, the mobility restrictions are fully determined by the choice of the commutation relations of charges with translations. This approach allows us to view existing (gapless) fracton models such as the scalar/vector charge gauge theories and their variants from a unified perspective and enables us to engineer theories with desired mobility restrictions.

  5 citations

• Beyond Gross-Pitaevskii equation for 1D gas: quasiparticles and solitons

  Jakub Kopyciński, Maciej Łebek, Maciej Marciniak, Rafał Ołdziejewski, Wojciech Górecki, Krzysztof Pawłowski

  SciPost Phys. 12, 023 (2022) · published 14 January 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Describing properties of a strongly interacting quantum many-body system poses a serious challenge both for theory and experiment. In this work, we study excitations of one-dimensional repulsive Bose gas for arbitrary interaction strength using a hydrodynamic approach. We use linearization to study particle (type-I) excitations and numerical minimization to study hole (type-II) excitations. We observe a good agreement between our approach and exact solutions of the Lieb-Liniger model for the particle modes and discrepancies for the hole modes. Therefore, the hydrodynamical equations find to be useful for long-wave structures like phonons and of a limited range of applicability for short-wave ones like narrow solitons. We discuss potential further applications of the method.

  5 citations

• An introduction to kinks in $\varphi^4$-theory

  Mariya Lizunova, Jasper van Wezel

  SciPost Phys. Lect. Notes 23 (2021) · published 3 February 2021 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  As a low-energy effective model emerging in disparate fields throughout all of physics, the ubiquitous $\varphi^4$-theory is one of the central models of modern theoretical physics. Its topological defects, or kinks, describe stable, particle-like excitations that play a central role in processes ranging from cosmology to particle physics and condensed matter theory. In these lecture notes, we introduce the description of kinks in $\varphi^4$-theory and the various physical processes that govern their dynamics. The notes are aimed at advanced undergraduate students, and emphasis is placed on stimulating qualitative insight into the rich phenomenology encountered in kink dynamics. The appendices contain more detailed derivations, and allow enquiring students to also obtain a quantitative understanding. Topics covered include the topological classification of stable solutions, kink collisions, the formation of bions, resonant scattering of kinks, and kink-impurity interactions.

  5 citations