Publications

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• Numerical study of disordered noninteracting chains coupled to a local Lindblad bath

  Viktor Berger, Andrea Nava, Jens Hjorleifur Bardarson, Claudia Artiaco

  SciPost Phys. Core 8, 080 (2025) · published 10 November 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Disorder can prevent many-body quantum systems from reaching thermal equilibrium, leading to a many-body localized phase. Recent works suggest that nonperturbative effects caused by rare regions of low disorder may destabilize the localized phase. However, numerical simulations of interacting systems are generically possible only for small system sizes, where finite-size effects might dominate. Here we perform a numerical investigation of noninteracting disordered spin chains coupled to a local Lindblad bath at the boundary. Our results reveal strong finite-size effects in the Lindbladian gap in both bath-coupled Anderson and Aubry-André-Harper models, leading to a non-monotonic behavior with the system size. We discuss the relaxation properties of a simple toy model coupled to local Lindblad baths, connecting its features to those of noninteracting localized chains. We comment on the implications of our findings for many-body systems.

  1 citation

• Automated evaluation of imaginary time strong coupling diagrams by sum-of-exponentials hybridization fitting

  Zhen Huang, Denis Golež, Hugo U. R. Strand, Jason Kaye

  SciPost Phys. 19, 121 (2025) · published 7 November 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We present an efficient separation of variables algorithm for the evaluation of imaginary time Feynman diagrams appearing in the bold pseudo-particle strong coupling expansion of the Anderson impurity model. The algorithm uses a fitting method based on AAA rational approximation and numerical optimization to obtain a sum-of-exponentials expansion of the hybridization function, which is then used to decompose the diagrams. A diagrammatic formulation of the algorithm leads to an automated procedure for diagrams of arbitrary order and topology. We also present methods of stabilizing the self-consistent solution of the pseudo-particle Dyson equation. The result is a low-cost and high-order accurate impurity solver for quantum embedding methods using general multi-orbital hybridization functions at low temperatures, appropriate for low-to-intermediate expansion orders. In addition to other benchmark examples, we use our solver to perform a dynamical mean-field theory study of a minimal model of the strongly correlated compound Ca$_2$RuO$_4$, describing the anti-ferromagnetic transition and the in- and out-of-plane anisotropy induced by spin-orbit coupling.

• calcQPI: A versatile tool to simulate quasiparticle interference

  Peter Wahl, Luke C. Rhodes, Carolina A. Marques

  SciPost Phys. Codebases 61 (2025) · published 5 November 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Quasiparticle interference imaging (QPI) provides a route to characterize electronic structure from real space images acquired using scanning tunneling microscopy. It emerges due to scattering of electrons at defects in the material. The QPI patterns encode details of the $k$-space electronic structure and its spin and orbital texture. Recovering this information from a measurement of QPI is non-trivial, requiring modelling not only of the dominant scattering vectors, but also the overlap of the wave functions with the tip of the microscope. While, in principle, it is possible to model QPI from density functional theory (DFT) calculations, for many quantum materials it is more desirable to model the QPI from a tight-binding model, where inaccuracies of the DFT calculation can be corrected. Here, we introduce an efficient code to simulate quasiparticle interference from tight-binding models using the continuum Green's function method.

  1 citation

• Codebase release 1.0 for calcQPI

  Peter Wahl, Luke C. Rhodes, Carolina A. Marques

  SciPost Phys. Codebases 61-r1.0 (2025) · published 5 November 2025 | Toggle abstract · src

  Quasiparticle interference imaging (QPI) provides a route to characterize electronic structure from real space images acquired using scanning tunneling microscopy. It emerges due to scattering of electrons at defects in the material. The QPI patterns encode details of the $k$-space electronic structure and its spin and orbital texture. Recovering this information from a measurement of QPI is non-trivial, requiring modelling not only of the dominant scattering vectors, but also the overlap of the wave functions with the tip of the microscope. While, in principle, it is possible to model QPI from density functional theory (DFT) calculations, for many quantum materials it is more desirable to model the QPI from a tight-binding model, where inaccuracies of the DFT calculation can be corrected. Here, we introduce an efficient code to simulate quasiparticle interference from tight-binding models using the continuum Green's function method.

  1 citation

• Precise quantum-geometric electronic properties from first principles

  José Luís Martins, Carlos Loia Reis, Ivo Souza

  SciPost Phys. 19, 109 (2025) · published 24 October 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The calculation of quantum-geometric properties of Bloch electrons – Berry curvature, quantum metric, orbital magnetic moment and effective mass – was implemented in a pseudopotential plane-wave code. The starting point was the first derivative of the periodic part of the wavefunction $\psi_{k}(r)$ with respect to wavevector $k$. This was evaluated with perturbation theory by solving a Sternheimer equation. Comparison of effective masses obtained from perturbation theory for silicon and gallium arsenide with carefully-converged numerical second derivatives of band energies confirmed the high precision of the method. Calculations of quantum-geometric quantities for gapped graphene were performed by adding a bespoke symmetry-breaking potential to first-principles graphene. As the two bands near the opened gap are reasonably isolated, the results could be compared with those obtained from an analytical two-band model, allowing to assess the strengths and limitations of such widely-used models. The final application was trigonal tellurium, where some quantum-geometric quantities flip sign with chirality.

• Codebase release 0.56 for TorchGDM

  Sofia Ponomareva, Adelin Patoux, Clément Majorel, Antoine Azéma, Aurélien Cuche, Christian Girard, Arnaud Arbouet, Peter R. Wiecha

  SciPost Phys. Codebases 60-r0.56 (2025) · published 22 October 2025 | Toggle abstract · src

  We present "torchGDM", a numerical framework for nano-optical simulations based on the Green's Dyadic Method (GDM). This toolkit combines a hybrid approach, allowing for both fully discretized nano-structures and structures approximated by sets of effective electric and magnetic dipoles. It supports simulations in three dimensions and for infinitely long, two-dimensional structures. This capability is particularly suited for multi-scale modeling, enabling accurate near-field calculations within or around a discretized structure embedded in a complex environment of scatterers represented by effective models. Importantly, torchGDM is entirely implemented in PyTorch, a well-optimized and GPU-enabled automatic differentiation framework. This allows for the efficient calculation of exact derivatives of any simulated observable with respect to various inputs, including positions, wavelengths or permittivity, but also intermediate parameters like Green's tensor components, which can be interesting for physics informed deep learning applications. We anticipate that this toolkit will be valuable for applications merging nano-photonics and machine learning, as well as for solving nano-photonic optimization and inverse problems, such as the global design and characterization of metasurfaces, where optical interactions between structures are critical.

  1 citation

• TorchGDM: A GPU-accelerated Python toolkit for multi-scale electromagnetic scattering with automatic differentiation

  Sofia Ponomareva, Adelin Patoux, Clément Majorel, Antoine Azéma, Aurélien Cuche, Christian Girard, Arnaud Arbouet, Peter R. Wiecha

  SciPost Phys. Codebases 60 (2025) · published 22 October 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We present "torchGDM", a numerical framework for nano-optical simulations based on the Green's Dyadic Method (GDM). This toolkit combines a hybrid approach, allowing for both fully discretized nano-structures and structures approximated by sets of effective electric and magnetic dipoles. It supports simulations in three dimensions and for infinitely long, two-dimensional structures. This capability is particularly suited for multi-scale modeling, enabling accurate near-field calculations within or around a discretized structure embedded in a complex environment of scatterers represented by effective models. Importantly, torchGDM is entirely implemented in PyTorch, a well-optimized and GPU-enabled automatic differentiation framework. This allows for the efficient calculation of exact derivatives of any simulated observable with respect to various inputs, including positions, wavelengths or permittivity, but also intermediate parameters like Green's tensor components, which can be interesting for physics informed deep learning applications. We anticipate that this toolkit will be valuable for applications merging nano-photonics and machine learning, as well as for solving nano-photonic optimization and inverse problems, such as the global design and characterization of metasurfaces, where optical interactions between structures are critical.

  1 citation

• Higgs phases and boundary criticality

  Kristian Tyn Kai Chung, Rafael Flores-Calderón, Rafael C. Torres, Pedro Ribeiro, Sergej Moroz, Paul McClarty

  SciPost Phys. 19, 105 (2025) · published 21 October 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Motivated by recent work connecting Higgs phases to symmetry protected topological (SPT) phases, we investigate the interplay of gauge redundancy and global symmetry in lattice gauge theories with Higgs fields in the presence of a boundary. The core conceptual point is that a global symmetry associated to a Higgs field, which is pure-gauge in a closed system, acts physically at the boundary under boundary conditions which allow electric flux to escape the system. We demonstrate in both Abelian and non-Abelian models that this symmetry is spontaneously broken in the Higgs regime, implying the presence of gapless edge modes. Starting with the U(1) Abelian Higgs model in 4D, we demonstrate a boundary phase transition in the 3D XY universality class separating the bulk Higgs and confining regimes. Varying the boundary coupling while preserving the symmetries shifts the location of the boundary phase transition. We then consider non-Abelian gauge theories with fundamental and group-valued Higgs matter, and identify the analogous non-Abelian global symmetry acting on the boundary generated by the total color charge. For $\mathrm{SU}{N}$ gauge theory with fundamental Higgs matter we argue for a boundary phase transition in the $\mathrm{O}{2N}$ universality class, verified numerically for $N=2,3$. For group-valued Higgs matter, the boundary theory is a principal chiral model exhibiting chiral symmetry breaking. We further demonstrate this mechanism in theories with higher-form Higgs fields. We show how the higher-form matter symmetry acts at the boundary and can spontaneously break, exhibiting a boundary confinement-deconfinement transition. We also study the electric-magnetic dual theory, demonstrating a dual magnetic defect condensation transition at the boundary. We discuss some implications and extensions of these findings and what they may imply for the relation between Higgs and SPT phases.

  1 citation

• Athermal creep deformation of ultrastable amorphous solids

  Pinaki Chaudhuri, Ludovic Berthier, Misaki Ozawa

  SciPost Phys. 19, 092 (2025) · published 10 October 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We numerically investigate the athermal creep deformation of amorphous materials having a wide range of stability. The imposed shear stress serves as the control parameter, allowing us to examine the time-dependent transient response through both the macroscopic strain and microscopic observables. Least stable samples exhibit monotonicity in the transient strain rate versus time, while more stable samples display a pronounced non-monotonic S-shaped curve, corresponding to failure by sharp shear band formation. We identify a diverging timescale associated with the fluidization process and extract the corresponding critical exponents. Our results are compared with predictions from existing scaling theories relevant to soft matter systems. The numerical findings for stable, brittle-like materials represent a challenge for theoretical descriptions. We monitor the microscopic initiation of shear bands during creep responses. Our study encompasses creep deformation across a variety of materials ranging from ductile soft matter to brittle metallic and oxide glasses, all within the same numerical framework.

• Efficient mutual magic and magic capacity with matrix product states

  Poetri Sonya Tarabunga, Tobias Haug

  SciPost Phys. 19, 085 (2025) · published 6 October 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Stabilizer Rényi entropies (SREs) probe the non-stabilizerness (or "magic") of many-body systems and quantum computers. Here, we introduce the mutual von-Neumann SRE and magic capacity, which can be efficiently computed in time $O(N\chi^3)$ for matrix product states (MPSs) of bond dimension $\chi$. We find that mutual SRE characterizes the critical point of ground states of the transverse-field Ising model, independently of the chosen local basis. Then, we relate the magic capacity to the anti-flatness of the Pauli spectrum, which quantifies the complexity of computing SREs. The magic capacity characterizes transitions in the ground state of the Heisenberg and Ising model, randomness of Clifford+T circuits, and distinguishes typical and atypical states. Finally, we make progress on numerical techniques: we design two improved Monte-Carlo algorithms to compute the mutual $2$-SRE, overcoming limitations of previous approaches based on local update. We also give improved statevector simulation methods for Bell sampling and SREs with $O(8^{N/2})$ time and $O(2^N)$ memory, which we demonstrate for $24$ qubits. Our work uncovers improved approaches to study the complexity of quantum many-body systems.

  3 citations