Real space renormalization group theory of the percolation model

A cluster expansion renormalization group method in real space is-developed to determine the critical properties of the percolation model. In contrast to previous renormalization group approaches, this method considers the cluster size distribution (free energy) rather than the site or bond probability distribution (coupling constants) and satisfies the basic renormalization group requirement of free energy conservation. In the construction of the renormalization group transformation, new couplings are generated which alter the topological structure of the clusters and which must be introduced in the original system. Predicted values of the critical exponents appear to converge to presumed exact values as higher orders in the expansion are considered. The method can in principle be extended to different lattice structures, as well as to different dimensions of space.This paper is dedicated to Prof. Philippe Choquard.     

Real space renormalization group investigation of three-dimensional Ising spin glasses

Using real space renormalization group techniques we determine the phase diagram of bond dilute frustrated nearest-neighbor Ising three-dimensional simple cubic (sc) and body-centered cubic (bcc) systems.     

Phase transitions and renormalization group hamiltonian densities in the 80 diperiodic space groups

Phase transitions for systems with diperiodic symmetry are discussed. Direct group-theoretical methods are employed to obtain a list of possible commensurate lower-symmetry phases (subgroups) which are induced by a single order parameter. The lower-symmetry phases for all 80 diperiodic space groups are given, along with specific details of the group-subgroup relationships. Results for the 17 two-dimensional space groups are also contained in our list. The renormalization-group Hamiltonian densities for the diperiodics are calculated. The 12 densities listed constitute the complete set of densities which may arise in the diperiodic space groups. Critical properties for the diperiodics can thus be obtained from analysis of these densities.     

The renormalization group and quantum edge states

The role of edge states in phenomena like the quantum Hall effect is well known, and the basic physics has a wide field-theoretic interest. In this paper we introduce a new model exhibiting quantum Hall-like features. We show how the choice of boundary conditions for a one-particle Schrödinger equation can give rise to states localized at the edge of the system. We consider both the example of a free particle and the more involved example of a particle in a magnetic field. In each case, edge states arise from a non-trivial scaling limit involving the boundary condition, and chirality of the boundary condition plays an essential role. Second quantization of these quantum mechanical systems leads to a multi-particle ground state carrying a persistent current at the edge. We show that the theory quantized with this vacuum displays an “anomaly” at the edge which is the mark of a quantized Hall conductivity in the presence of an external magnetic field. These models therefore possess characteristics which make them indistinguishable from the quantum Hall effect at macroscopic distances. We also offer interpretations for the physics of such boundary conditions which may have a bearing on the nature of the excitations in these models.     

Real space renormalization group with effective interactions: applications to 2-D spin lattices

The Blochs theory of effective Hamiltonians has been used to improve the Real Space Renormalization Group approach. The effective interactions between elementary blocks of a periodic lattice can be extracted from the knowledge of the spectrum of the dimers or trimers of blocks. The potentialities of the method are illustrated on a series of quasi 1-D and 2-D problems. The spin gap of two-leg ladders is calculated and an estimate of the impact of ferromagnetic couplings between two-leg ladders on the gap is presented. The method satisfactorily identifies the phase transitions in the 1/5-depleted square lattice as well as in the spin-frustrated Shastry-Sutherland lattice. The J ₂/J ₁ checkerboard lattice is studied and a location of the phase transition between the Néel phase and the dimer phase is proposed.Received: 11 June 2004, Published online: 30 September 2004PACS: 71.10.-W Theories and models of many-electron systems - 71.15.Nc Total energy and cohesive energy calculations - 75.10.-b General theory and models of magnetic ordering     

Single-block renormalization group: quantum mechanical problems

We reformulate the density matrix renormalization group method (DMRG) in terms of a single block, instead of the standard left and right blocks used in the construction of the superblock. This version of the DMRG, which we call the puncture renormalization group (PRG), makes easy and natural the extension of the DMRG to higher-dimensional lattices. To test numerically this proposal, we study several quantum mechanical models in one, two and three dimensions. In 1D the performance of the standard DMRG is much better than its PRG version, however, for 2D models the PRG is more efficient than the DMRG in a variety of circumstances. In 3D the PRG performs also quite well.     

Phase boundary of the square-lattice Ising antiferromagnet by real space renormalization group methods

The transition temperature of the square lattice Ising antiferromagnet at finite magnetic field is calculated by three different approximations within the real space renormalization group approach. The most refined approximation is an extension of Kadanoff's potential moving method to a larger cell-size. The results of this approximation are in good agreement with recent Monte Carlo simulations and the Müller-Hartmann/Zittartz conjecture for the phase boundary.     

Real-time renormalization group and charge fluctuations in quantum dots

We develop a perturbative renormalization-group method in real time to describe nonequilibrium properties of discrete quantum systems coupled linearly to an environment. We include energy broadening and dissipation and develop a cutoff-independent formalism. We present quantitatively reliable results for the linear and nonlinear conductance in the mixed-valence and empty-orbital regime of the nonequilibrium Anderson impurity model with finite on-site Coulomb repulsion.     

Real-space renormalization group for two-dimensional quantum spin systems

A generalization of the Niemeijer and Van Leeuwen real-space renormalization group method for quantum lattice spin systems is presented. A proposed rotationally invariant transformation which preserves the symmetry of the spin space is applied to several quantum systems on a triangular lattice. For the spin-1/2XY-model in both first- and second-order cumulant expansions a nontrivial fixed point exists, giving in the best approximation a critical interactionK _XY ^c =0.453 and critical exponent =1.65. A method of the reduction of the generalized arbitrary spin anisotropic Heisenberg model to the spin-half model is presented.     

Bimetric renormalization group flows in quantum Einstein gravity

The formulation of an exact functional renormalization group equation for quantum Einstein gravity necessitates that the underlying effective average action depends on two metrics, a dynamical metric giving the vacuum expectation value of the quantum field, and a background metric supplying the coarse graining scale. The central requirement of “background independence” is met by leaving the background metric completely arbitrary. This bimetric structure entails that the effective average action may contain three classes of interactions: those built from the dynamical metric only, terms which are purely background, and those involving a mixture of both metrics. This work initiates the first study of the full-fledged gravitational RG flow, which explicitly accounts for this bimetric structure, by considering an ansatz for the effective average action which includes all three classes of interactions. It is shown that the non-trivial gravitational RG fixed point central to the asymptotic safety program persists upon disentangling the dynamical and background terms. Moreover, upon including the mixed terms, a second non-trivial fixed point emerges, which may control the theory’s IR behavior.     

Nonequilibrium functional renormalization group for interacting quantum systems

We propose a nonequilibrium version of functional renormalization within the Keldysh formalism by introducing a complex-valued flow parameter in the Fermi or Bose functions of each reservoir. Our cutoff scheme provides a unified approach to equilibrium and nonequilibrium situations. We apply it to nonequilibrium transport through an interacting quantum wire coupled to two reservoirs and show that the nonequilibrium occupation induces new power law exponents for the conductance.     

Migdal renormalization group approach to quantum spin systems

The Migdal RG approximation is extended to quantum spin systems such as the Heisenberg and XY-models. This yields the non-existence of phase transition in the two-dimensional Heisenberg model. The phase transition of the two-dimensional XY-model is also studied.     

The XY model and Kadanoff's variational real space renormalization group

The XY model in d dimensions is studied by means of a variational real space renormalization group transformation. Contrary to an earlier computation in the same framework for the d = 2 case, we find that a low order operator basis truncation is highly unstable. For certain values of the variational parameter p the renormalization group flow can display period doubling sequences towards a chaotic regime. The behavior in the d = 3 case is very similar.     

How to track renormalization group flows in parameter space

A method to track Monte Carlo renormalization group trajectories without searching in a large parameter space is described. The method involves the use of the microcanonical ensemble using Creutz's demons. The two-dimensional Ising model with three couplings is used to demonstrate the efficiency of the method in approximately locating the fixed point.     

The density matrix renormalization group for ab initio quantum chemistry

During the past 15 years, the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) has become increasingly important for ab initio quantum chemistry. Its underlying wavefunction ansatz, the matrix product state (MPS), is a low-rank decomposition of the full configuration interaction tensor. The virtual dimension of the MPS, the rank of the decomposition, controls the size of the corner of the many-body Hilbert space that can be reached with the ansatz. This parameter can be systematically increased until numerical convergence is reached. The MPS ansatz naturally captures exponentially decaying correlation functions. Therefore DMRG works extremely well for noncritical one-dimensional systems. The active orbital spaces in quantum chemistry are however often far from one-dimensional, and relatively large virtual dimensions are required to use DMRG for ab initio quantum chemistry (QC-DMRG). The QC-DMRG algorithm, its computational cost, and its properties are discussed. Two important aspects to reduce the computational cost are given special attention: the orbital choice and ordering, and the exploitation of the symmetry group of the Hamiltonian. With these considerations, the QC-DMRG algorithm allows to find numerically exact solutions in active spaces of up to 40 electrons in 40 orbitals.