Publications

Order by: publication date number of citations

• Phase transitions of wave packet dynamics in disordered non-Hermitian systems

  Helene Spring, Viktor Könye, Fabian A. Gerritsma, Ion Cosma Fulga, Anton R. Akhmerov

  SciPost Phys. 16, 120 (2024) · published 3 May 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Disorder can localize the eigenstates of one-dimensional non-Hermitian systems, leading to an Anderson transition with a critical exponent of 1. We show that, due to the lack of energy conservation, the dynamics of individual, real-space wave packets follows a different behavior. Both transitions between localization and unidirectional amplification, as well as transitions between distinct propagating phases become possible. The critical exponent of the transition is close to 1/2 in propagating-propagating and (de)localization transitions.

• Nonlinear sigma model description of deconfined quantum criticality in arbitrary dimensions

  Da-Chuan Lu

  SciPost Phys. Core 6, 047 (2023) · published 6 July 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  In this paper, we propose using the nonlinear sigma model (NLSM) with the Wess-Zumino-Witten (WZW) term as a general description of deconfined quantum critical points that separate two spontaneously symmetry-breaking (SSB) phases in arbitrary dimensions. In particular, we discuss the suitable choice of the target space of the NLSM, which is in general the homogeneous space G/K, where $G$ is the UV symmetry and $K$ is generated by ${\mathfrak k}={\mathfrak h}_1\cap {\mathfrak h}_2$, and ${\mathfrak h}_i$ is the Lie algebra of the unbroken symmetry in each SSB phase. With this specific target space, the symmetry defects in both SSB phases are on equal footing, and their intertwinement is captured by the WZW term. The DQCP transition is then tuned by proliferating the symmetry defects. By coupling the $G/K$ NLSM with the WZW term to the background gauge field, the 't Hooft anomaly of this theory can be determined. The bulk symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phase that cancels the anomaly is described by the relative Chern-Simons term in odd spacetime dimensions or mixed $\theta$ term in even dimensions. We construct and discuss a series of models with Grassmannian symmetry defects in 3+1d. We also provide the fermionic model that reproduces the $G/K$ NLSM with the WZW term.

• Anomaly of $(2+1)$-dimensional symmetry-enriched topological order from $(3+1)$-dimensional topological quantum field theory

  Weicheng Ye, Liujun Zou

  SciPost Phys. 15, 004 (2023) · published 10 July 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Symmetry acting on a (2+1)$D$ topological order can be anomalous in the sense that they possess an obstruction to being realized as a purely (2+1)$D$ on-site symmetry. In this paper, we develop a (3+1)$D$ topological quantum field theory to calculate the anomaly indicators of a (2+1)$D$ topological order with a general symmetry group $G$, which may be discrete or continuous, Abelian or non-Abelian, contain anti-unitary elements or not, and permute anyons or not. These anomaly indicators are partition functions of the (3+1)$D$ topological quantum field theory on a specific manifold equipped with some $G$-bundle, and they are expressed using the data characterizing the topological order and the symmetry actions. Our framework is applied to derive the anomaly indicators for various symmetry groups, including $\mathbb{Z}_2\times\mathbb{Z}_2$, $\mathbb{Z}_2^T\times\mathbb{Z}_2^T$, $SO(N)$, $O(N)^T$, $SO(N)\times \mathbb{Z}_2^T$, etc, where $\mathbb{Z}_2$ and $\mathbb{Z}_2^T$ denote a unitary and anti-unitary order-2 group, respectively, and $O(N)^T$ denotes a symmetry group $O(N)$ such that elements in $O(N)$ with determinant $-1$ are anti-unitary. In particular, we demonstrate that some anomaly of $O(N)^T$ and $SO(N)\times \mathbb{Z}_2^T$ exhibit symmetry-enforced gaplessness, i.e., they cannot be realized by any symmetry-enriched topological order. As a byproduct, for $SO(N)$ symmetric topological orders, we derive their $SO(N)$ Hall conductance.

• Exact one-particle density matrix for SU(N) fermionic matter-waves in the strong repulsive limit

  Andreas Osterloh, Juan Polo, Wayne J. Chetcuti, Luigi Amico

  SciPost Phys. 15, 006 (2023) · published 11 July 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We consider a gas of repulsive $N$-component fermions confined in a ring-shaped potential, subjected to an effective magnetic field. For large repulsion strengths, we work out a Bethe ansatz scheme to compute the two-point correlation matrix and then the one-particle density matrix. Our results hold in the mesoscopic regime of finite but sufficiently large number of particles and system size that are not accessible by numerics. We access the momentum distribution of the system and analyse its specific dependence of interaction, magnetic field and number of components $N$. In the context of cold atoms, the exact computation of the correlation matrix to determine the interference patterns that are produced by releasing cold atoms from ring traps is carried out.

• Gapful electrons in a vortex core in granular superconductors

  Dmitry E. Kiselov, Mikhail A. Skvortsov, Mikhail V. Feigel'man

  SciPost Phys. 15, 008 (2023) · published 12 July 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We calculate the quasiparticle density of states (DoS) inside the vortex core in a granular superconductor, generalizing the classical solution applicable for dirty superconductors. A discrete version of the Usadel equation for a vortex is derived and solved numerically for a broad range of parameters. Electron DoS is found to be gapful when the coherence length $\xi$ becomes comparable to the distance between neighboring grains $l$. Minigap magnitude $E_g$ grows from zero at $\xi \approx 1.4 l$ to third of superconducting gap $\Delta_0 $ at $\xi \approx 0.5 l$. The absence of low-energy excitations is the main ingredient needed to understand strong suppression of microwave dissipation recently observed in a mixed state of granular Al.

• 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.

• Universal Chern number statistics in random matrix fields

  Or Swartzberg, Michael Wilkinson, Omri Gat

  SciPost Phys. 15, 015 (2023) · published 19 July 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We investigate the probability distribution of Chern numbers (quantum Hall conductance integers) for a parametric version of the GUE random matrix ensemble, which is a model for a chaotic or disordered system. The numerically-calculated single-band Chern number statistics agree well with predictions based on an earlier study [O. Gat and M. Wilkinson, SciPost Phys., 10, 149, (2021)] of the statistics of the quantum adiabatic curvature, when the parametric correlation length is small. However, contrary to an earlier conjecture, we find that the gap Chern numbers are correlated, and that the correlation is weak but slowly-decaying. Also, the statistics of weighted sums of Chern numbers differs markedly from predictions based upon the hypothesis that gap Chern numbers are uncorrelated. All our results are consistent with the universality hypothesis described in the earlier paper, including in the previously unstudied regime of large correlation length, where the Chern statistics is highly non-Gaussian.

• 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.

• Bloch-Lorentz magnetoresistance oscillations in delafossites

  Kostas Vilkelis, Lin Wang, Anton Akhmerov

  SciPost Phys. 15, 019 (2023) · published 20 July 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Recent measurements of the out-of-plane magnetoresistance of delafossites (PdCoO$_2$ and PtCoO$_2$) observed oscillations closely resembling the Aharonov-Bohm effect. Here, we show that the magnetoresistance oscillations are explained by the Bloch-like oscillations of the out-of-plane electron trajectories. We develop a semiclassical theory of these Bloch-Lorentz oscillations and show that they are a consequence of the ballistic motion and quasi-2D dispersion of delafossites. Our model identifies the sample wall scattering to be the most likely factor limiting the visibility of these Bloch-Lorentz oscillations in existing experiments.

• Chaos enhancement in large-spin chains

  Yael Lebel, Lea F. Santos, Yevgeny Bar Lev

  SciPost Phys. 15, 022 (2023) · published 21 July 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We study the chaotic properties of a large-spin XXZ chain with onsite disorder and a small number of excitations above the fully polarized state. We show that while the classical limit, which is reached for large spins, is chaotic, enlarging the spin suppresses quantum chaos features. We examine ways to facilitate chaos by introducing additional terms to the Hamiltonian. Interestingly, perturbations that are diagonal in the basis of product states in the $z$-direction do not lead to significant enhancement of chaos, while off-diagonal perturbations restore chaoticity for large spins, so that only three excitations are required to achieve strong level repulsion and ergodic eigenstates.