Quantum ising model with staggered interaction

The spectrum of a quantum Ising model with staggered interaction is solved exactly for periodic, antiperiodic and free boundary conditions. The properties of the ground state and the excitation spectrum are investigated at the phase transition points, and the conformal theory and the finite size scaling hypothesis are tested along the critical line. The conformally invariant Hamiltonian is found to be independent of the staggering field in the finite size scaling limit.Work performed within the research program of the Sonderforschungsbereich 125     

Entanglement in quantum critical phenomena

Entanglement, one of the most intriguing features of quantum theory and a main resource in quantum information science, is expected to play a crucial role also in the study of quantum phase transitions, where it is responsible for the appearance of long-range correlations. We investigate, through a microscopic calculation, the scaling properties of entanglement in spin chain systems, both near and at a quantum critical point. Our results establish a precise connection between concepts of quantum information, condensed matter physics, and quantum field theory, by showing that the behavior of critical entanglement in spin systems is analogous to that of entropy in conformal field theories. We explore some of the implications of this connection.     

Numerical renormalization-group study of the Bose-Fermi Kondo model

We extend the numerical renormalization-group method to Bose-Fermi Kondo models (BFKMs), describing a local moment coupled to a conduction band and a dissipative bosonic bath. We apply the method to the Ising-symmetry BFKM with a bosonic bath spectral function eta(omega) proportional omega(s), of interest in connection with heavy-fermion criticality. For 0 < s < 1, an interacting critical point, characterized by hyperscaling of exponents and omega/T scaling, describes a quantum phase transition between Kondo-screened and localized phases. A connection is made to other results for the BFKM and the spin-boson model.     

Universal ratios in the 2D tricritical ising model

We consider the universality class of the two-dimensional tricritical Ising model. The scaling form of the free energy leads to the definition of universal ratios of critical amplitudes which may have experimental relevance. We compute these universal ratios by a combined use of results coming from perturbed conformal field theory, integrable quantum field theory, and numerical methods.     

Off-criticality behaviour of the Blume-Capel quantum chain as a check of Zamolodchikov's conjecture

Using finite-size numerical calculations, we study the off-criticality behaviour of the Blume-Capel quantum chain in the neighbourhood of the tricritical Ising point. Moving from the tricritical point in the into the disordered region, we find masses and thresholds in agreement with the structure proposed by Zamolodchikov from conformal field theory. Moving in opposite directions, the spectrum is degenerate between the Z₂-even and Z₂-odd sectors, suggesting an underlying supersymmetry. The free-particle energy-momentum relation and the scaling properties off criticality are checked.     

Entanglement entropy of 2D conformal quantum critical points: hearing the shape of a quantum drum

The entanglement entropy of a pure quantum state of a bipartite system A union or logical sumB is defined as the von Neumann entropy of the reduced density matrix obtained by tracing over one of the two parts. In one dimension, the entanglement of critical ground states diverges logarithmically in the subsystem size, with a universal coefficient that for conformally invariant critical points is related to the central charge of the conformal field theory. We find that the entanglement entropy of a standard class of z=2 conformal quantum critical points in two spatial dimensions, in addition to a nonuniversal "area law" contribution linear in the size of the AB boundary, generically has a universal logarithmically divergent correction, which is completely determined by the geometry of the partition and by the central charge of the field theory that describes the critical wave function.     

Boundary form factors in finite volume

We describe the volume dependence of matrix elements of local boundary fields to all orders in inverse powers of the volume. Using the scaling boundary Lee–Yang model as testing ground, we compare the matrix elements extracted from boundary truncated conformal space approach to exact form factors obtained using the bootstrap method. We obtain solid confirmation for the boundary form factor bootstrap, which is different from all previously available tests in that it is a non-perturbative and direct comparison of exact form factors to multi-particle matrix elements of local operators, computed from the Hamiltonian formulation of the quantum field theory.     

Explicit Examples of Conformal Invariance

We study examples where conformal invariance implies rational critical indices, triviality of the underlying quantum field theory, and emergence of hypergeometric functions as solutions of the field equations.     

Entanglement of low-energy excitations in conformal field theory

In a quantum critical chain, the scaling regime of the energy and momentum of the ground state and low-lying excitations are described by conformal field theory (CFT). The same holds true for the von Neumann and Rényi entropies of the ground state, which display a universal logarithmic behavior depending on the central charge. In this Letter we generalize this result to those excited states of the chain that correspond to primary fields in CFT. It is shown that the nth Rényi entropy is related to a 2n-point correlator of primary fields. We verify this statement for the critical XX and XXZ chains. This result uncovers a new link between quantum information theory and CFT.     

Conformal Invariance and the Lanczos Method Studies of Ashkin-Teller Quantum chain

The low-lying energy spectrum of quantum Ashkin-Teller chain in the critical region is calculated by using Lanczos method. According to conformal theory, the scaling dimensions Χ and the normalizing factor ε are obtained from the energy spectrum.     

Chiral scale and conformal invariance in 2D quantum field theory

It is well known that a local, unitary Poincaré-invariant 2D quantum field theory with a global scaling symmetry and a discrete non-negative spectrum of scaling dimensions necessarily has both a left and a right local conformal symmetry. In this Letter, we consider a chiral situation beginning with only a left global scaling symmetry and do not assume Lorentz invariance. We find that a left conformal symmetry is still implied, while right translations are enhanced either to a right conformal symmetry or a left U(1) Kac-Moody symmetry.     

Renormalizable 4D Quantum Gravity as a Perturbed Theory from CFT

We study the renormalizable quantum gravity formulated as a perturbed theory from conformal field theory (CFT) on the basis of conformal gravity in four dimensions. The conformal mode in the metric field is managed non-perturbatively without introducing its own coupling constant so that conformal symmetry becomes exact quantum mechanically as a part of diffeomorphism invariance. The traceless tensor mode is handled in the perturbation with a dimensionless coupling constant indicating asymptotic freedom, which measures a degree of deviation from CFT. Higher order renormalization is carried out using dimensional regularization, in which the Wess-Zumino integrability condition is applied to reduce indefiniteness existing in higher-derivative actions. The effective action of quantum gravity improved by renormalization group is obtained. We then make clear that conformal anomalies are indispensable quantities to preserve diffeomorphism invariance. Anomalous scaling dimensions of the cosmological constant and the Planck mass are calculated. The effective cosmological constant is obtained in the large number limit of matter fields.     

Harmonic measure of critical curves

Fractal geometry of critical curves appearing in 2D critical systems is characterized by their harmonic measure. For systems described by conformal field theories with central charge c < or = 1, scaling exponents of the harmonic measure have been computed by Duplantier [Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 1363 (2000)10.1103/PhysRevLett.84.1363] by relating the problem to boundary two-dimensional gravity. We present a simple argument connecting the harmonic measure of critical curves to operators obtained by fusion of primary fields and compute characteristics of the fractal geometry by means of regular methods of conformal field theory. The method is not limited to theories with c < or = 1.     

Dynamical correlation functions and finite-size scaling in the Ruij senaars-Schneider model

The trigonometric Ruijsenaars-Schneider model is diagonalized by means of the Macdonald symmetric functions. We evaluate the dynamical density-density correlation function and the one-particle retarded Green function as well as their thermodynamic limit. Based on these results and finite-size scaling analysis, we show that the low-energy behavior of the model is described by the C = 1 Gaussian conformal field theory under a new fractional selection rule for the quantum numbers labefing the critical exponents.     

Conformal field theories and critical phenomena

In this article we present a brief review of the conformal symmetry and the two-dimensional conformal quantum field theories. As concrete applications of the conformal theories to the critical phenomena in statistical systems, we calculate the value of central charge and the anomalous scale dimensions of the Z ₂ symmetric quantum chain with boundary condition. The results are compatible with the prediction of the conformal field theories.     

Nonperiodic ising quantum chains and conformal invariance

In a recent paper, Luck investigated the critical behavior of one-dimensional Ising quantum chains with coupling constants modulated according to general nonperiodic sequences. In this note, we take a closer look at the case where the sequences are obtained from (two-letter) substituion rules and at the consequences of Luck's results at criticality. They imply that only for a certain class of substitution rules is the long-distance behavior still described by thec=1/2 conformal field theory of a free Majorana fermion as for the periodic Ising quantum chain, whereas the general case does not lead to a conformally invariant scaling limit.     

The O(n) Model on the Annulus

We use Coulomb gas methods to derive an explicit form for the scaling limit of the partition function of the critical O(n) model on an annulus, with free boundary conditions, as a function of its modulus. This correctly takes into account the magnetic charge asymmetry and the decoupling of the null states. It agrees with an earlier conjecture based on Bethe ansatz and quantum group symmetry, and with all known results for special values of n. It gives new formulae for percolation (the probability that a cluster connects the two opposite boundaries) and for self-avoiding loops (the partition function for a single loop wrapping non-trivially around the annulus.) The limit n→0 also gives explicit examples of partition functions in logarithmic conformal field theory.     

Nonabelions in the fractional quantum hall effect

Applications of conformal field theory to the theory of fractional quantum Hall systems are discussed. In particular, Laughlin's wave function and its cousins are interpreted as conformal blocks in certain rational conformal field theories. Using this point of view a hamiltonian is constructed for electrons for which the ground state is known exactly and whose quasihole excitations have nonabelian statistics; we term these objects “nonabelions”. It is argued that universality classes of fractional quantum Hall systems can be characterized by the quantum numbers and statistics of their excitations. The relation between the order parameter in the fractional quantum Hall effect and the chiral algebra in rational conformal field theory is stressed, and new order parameters for several states are given.     

Inflation and conformal invariance: the perspective from radial quantization

According to the dS/CFT correspondence, correlators of fields generated during a primordial de Sitter phase are constrained by three‐dimensional conformal invariance. Using the properties of radially quantized conformal field theories and the operator‐state correspondence, we glean information on some points. The Higuchi bound on the masses of spin‐s states in de Sitter is a direct consequence of reflection positivity in radially quantized CFT₃ and the fact that scaling dimensions of operators are energies of states. The partial massless states appearing in de Sitter correspond from the boundary CFT₃ perspective to boundary states with highest weight for the conformal group. Finally, we discuss the inflationary consistency relations and the role of asymptotic symmetries which transform asymptotic vacua to new physically inequivalent vacua by generating long perturbation modes. We show that on the CFT₃ side, asymptotic symmetries have a nice quantum mechanics interpretation. For instance, acting with the asymptotic dilation symmetry corresponds to evolving states forward (or backward) in “time” and the charge generating the asymptotic symmetry transformation is the Hamiltonian itself.