Configurations and observables in an Ising model with heat flow

We study a two dimensional Ising model between thermostats at different temperatures. By applying the recently introduced KQ dynamics, we show that the system reaches a steady state with coexisting phases transversal to the heat flow. The relevance of such complex states on thermodynamic or geometrical observables is investigated. In particular, we study energy, magnetization and metric properties of interfaces and clusters which, in principle, are sensitive to local features of configurations. With respect to equilibrium states, the presence of the heat flow amplifies the fluctuations of both thermodynamic and geometrical observables in a domain around the critical energy. The dependence of this phenomenon on various parameters (size, thermal gradient, interaction) is discussed also with reference to other possible diffusive models.     

Hot Bang States of Massless Fermions

According to the characterization of local thermal equilibrium states in Local Quantum Physics proposed by Buchholz et al. microscopic and corresponding macroscopic observables are computed for the model of massless, free fermions on Minkowski space. An example for a local equilibrium state describing a hot bang is given, the main step being the proof of its positivity.     

Local observables in non-abelian gauge theories

Labelling of the physical states of a non-abelian gauge theory on a lattice in terms of local observables is considered. The labelling is in terms of local color electric field observables and (separately) local color magnetic field observables. Matter fields are also included. Non-local observables required when space is multiply connected, are specified. The non-abelian version of Stokes' theorem is considered. Relevance to the continuum theory is discussed in detail.     

The Wigner Function as Distribution Function

Some entangled states have nonnegative Wigner representative function. The latter allow being viewed as a distribution function of local hidden variables. It is argued herewith that the interpretation of expectation values using such distribution functions as local hidden variable theory requires restrictions pertaining to the observables under study. The reasoning lead to support the view that violation of Bell’s inequalities that is always possible for entangled states hinges not only on the states involved but also whether the dynamical variables have their values defined even when they cannot be measured.     

On Hot Bangs and the Arrow of Time in Relativistic Quantum Field Theory

 A recently proposed method for the characterization and analysis of local equilibrium states in relativistic quantum field theory is applied to a simple model. Within this model states are identified which are locally (but not globally) in thermal equilibrium and it is shown that their local thermal properties evolve according to macroscopic equations. The largest space–time regions in which local equilibrium states can exist are timelike cones. Thus, although the model does not describe dissipative effects, such states fix in a natural manner a time direction. Moreover, generically they determine a distinguished space–time point where a singularity in the temperature (a hot bang) must have occurred if local equilibrium prevailed thereafter. The results illustrate how the breaking of the time reflection symmetry at macroscopic scales manifests itself in a microscopic setting. Received: 17 January 2003 / Accepted: 5 March 2003 Published online: 17 April 2003 Communicated by H. Araki and K. Fredenhagen     

A Generalization of Entanglement to Convex Operational Theories: Entanglement Relative to a Subspace of Observables

We define what it means for a state in a convex cone of states on a space of observables to be generalized-entangled relative to a subspace of the observables, in a general ordered linear spaces framework for operational theories. This extends the notion of ordinary entanglement in quantum information theory to a much more general framework. Some important special cases are described, in which the distinguished observables are subspaces of the observables of a quantum system, leading to results like the identification of generalized unentangled states with Lie-group-theoretic coherent states when the special observables form an irreducibly represented Lie algebra. Some open problems, including that of generalizing the semigroup of local operations with classical communication to the convex cones case, are discussed. PACS: 03.65.Ud.     

Quantum monte carlo studies of electron-electron interaction effects in conducting polymers

We discuss recent studies, using the quantum ensemble projector Monte Carlo (EPMC) method, of theoretical models of conducting polymers. Our focus is on the consequences of incorporating direct electron-electron interactions into the “standard” electron-phonon interaction models. Among the observables we examine one energetics of purely dimerized ground states, single solitons, soliton pairs, averaged spin and charge distributions, and local correlation functions.     

Large Deviations in Quantum Spin Chains

We show the full large deviation principle for KMS-states and C*-finitely correlated states on a quantum spin chain. We cover general local observables. Our main tool is Ruelle’s transfer operator method.     

Polarization States of Light and Their Quantum Tomography

The notion and main features of polarization states of light are discussed within the framework of classical and quantum optics. This notion is shown to be correctly defined for arbitrary light beams only within quantum optics by using the P-quasispin formalism developed earlier. Polarization states of quantum light are shown to be fully described by a polarization density operator (PDO) obtained via reducing the total field density operator. Theoretical foundations are given for quantum tomography of polarization states of light fields considered as a way of measuring PDO. Herewith, the main attention is paid to a method where proper polarization tomographic observables (PDO “measurers”) are used. The method is shown to be adequately formulated by means of quasi-spectral tomographic expansions of PDO in special operator bases (given by finite sums of partially orthogonal projectors), which determine probability distributions of tomographic observables as expansion coefficients. Matrix versions of such “tomographic” PDO representations are obtained. In particular, projections of these expansions on quasiclassical operator bases, determining polarization quasiprobability functions, are given. An example of experimental implementation of polarization tomography of unpolarized light (biphoton radiation with hidden polarization) is analyzed.     

Strong and weak thermalization of infinite nonintegrable quantum systems

When a nonintegrable system evolves out of equilibrium for a long time, local observables are in general expected to attain stationary expectation values, independent of the details of the initial state. But the thermalization of a closed quantum system is not yet well understood. Here we show that it presents indeed a much richer phenomenology than its classical counterpart. Using a new numerical technique, we identify two distinct regimes, strong and weak, occurring for different initial states. Strong thermalization, intrinsically quantum, happens when instantaneous local expectation values converge to the thermal ones. Weak thermalization, well known in classical systems, shows convergence to thermal values only after time averaging. Remarkably, we find a third group of states showing no thermalization, neither strong nor weak, to the time scales one can reliably simulate.     

Entanglement detection by local orthogonal observables

We propose a family of entanglement witnesses and corresponding positive maps that are not completely positive based on local orthogonal observables. As applications the entanglement witness of a 3x3 bound entangled state [P. Horodecki, Phys. Lett. A 232, 333 (1997)] is explicitly constructed and a family of dxd bound entangled states is introduced, whose entanglement can be detected by permuting local orthogonal observables. The proposed criterion of separability can be physically realized by measuring a Hermitian correlation matrix of local orthogonal observables.     

Neural network representations of quantum many-body states

Machine learning is currently the most active interdisciplinary field having numerous applications;additionally,machine-learning techniques are used to research quantum many-body problems.In this study,we first propose neural network quantum states(NNQSs)with general input observables and explore a few related properties,such as the tensor product and local unitary operation.Second,we determine the necessary and sufficient conditions for the representability of a general graph state using normalized NNQS.Finally,to quantify the approximation degree of a given pure state,we define the best approximation degree using normalized NNQSs.Furthermore,we observe that some 7V-qubit states can be represented by a normalized NNQS,such as separable pure states,Bell states and GHZ states.     

The physical meaning of quantization

After analyzing the difficulties for a local realistic interpretation of quantum theory, it is argued that such an interpretation might be possible if some new postulates are added to the standard ones. We propose a stochastic interpretation of quantum theory, which involves the need of joint probability distributions for all relevant observables. The well known problems for the existence of joint distributions are solved by assuming that neither all Hermitian operators correspond to observables nor all density matrices represent physical states. A research program along these lines is presented studying in particular the Maxwell quantum field and the Dirac field.     

A detailed analysis of 3H from Faddeev equations in configuration space

The Faddeev equations are presented in configuration space together with a method for solving the three-particle bound states. Triton observables are calculated for four realistic nucleon-nucleon interactions of Reid and of de Tourreil and Sprung. Two-body correlations in the triton are given as well as the corrections to the triton energy from neglected interaction states. It is concluded that the relevance of the triton for distinguishing different local realistic nucleon-nucleon interactions is questionable.     

Events and Observables in Generally Invariant Spacetime Theories

We address the problem of observables in generally invariant spacetime theories such as Einstein’s general relativity. Using the refined notion of an event as a “point-coincidence” between scalar fields that completely characterise a spacetime model, we propose a generalisation of the relational local observables that does not require the existence of four everywhere invertible scalar fields. The collection of all point-coincidences forms in generic situations a four-dimensional manifold, that is naturally identified with the physical spacetime.     

Spin Entropy

Two types of randomness are associated with a mixed quantum state: the uncertainty in the probability coefficients of the constituent pure states and the uncertainty in the value of each observable captured by the Born’s rule probabilities. Entropy is a quantification of randomness, and we propose a spin-entropy for the observables of spin pure states based on the phase space of a spin as described by the geometric quantization method, and we also expand it to mixed quantum states. This proposed entropy overcomes the limitations of previously-proposed entropies such as von Neumann entropy which only quantifies the randomness of specifying the quantum state. As an example of a limitation, previously-proposed entropies are higher for Bell entangled spin states than for disentangled spin states, even though the spin observables are less constrained for a disentangled pair of spins than for an entangled pair. The proposed spin-entropy accurately quantifies the randomness of a quantum state, it never reaches zero value, and it is lower for entangled states than for disentangled states.     

Quantum Macrostatistical Picture of Nonequilibrium Steady States

We apply our quantum macrostatistical treatment of irreversible processes to prove that, in nonequilibrium steady states, (a) the hydrodynamical observables execute a generalised Onsager–Machlup process and (b) the spatial correlations of these observables are generically of long range. The key assumptions behind these results are a nonequilibrium version of Onsager regression hypothesis, together with certain hypotheses of chaoticity and local equilibrium for hydrodynamical fluctuations.     

Observation of complex bound states in the spin-1/2 Heisenberg XXZ chain using local quantum quenches

We consider the nonequilibrium evolution in the spin-1/2 XXZ Heisenberg chain for fixed magnetization after a local quantum quench. This model is equivalent to interacting spinless fermions. Initially an infinite magnetic field is applied to n consecutive sites and the ground state is calculated. At time t=0 the field is switched off and the time evolution of observables such as the z component of spin is computed using the time evolving block decimation algorithm. We find that the observables exhibit strong signatures of linearly propagating spinon and bound state excitations. These persist even when integrability-breaking perturbations are included. Since bound states ("strings") are notoriously difficult to observe using conventional probes such as inelastic neutron scattering, we conclude that local quantum quenches are an ideal setting for studying their properties. We comment on implications of our results for cold atom experiments.