Markov processes in quantum lattice systems

In analogy with classical lattice systems [1], the existence of Markov processes is shown in quantum lattice systems with a class of finite range interactions. This result is then applied to show that the weak-clustering property and the ergodicity of translation-invariant state are preserved. The invariance of Gibbs states is also proved.     

On some variational approximations in two-dimensional classical lattice systems

A new derivation is presented of some variational approximations for classical lattice systems that belong to the class of cluster-variation methods, among them the well-known Bethe-Peierls and Kramers-Wannier approximations. The limiting behavior of a hierarchical sequence of cluster-variation approximations, the so-calledC hierarchy, is discussed. It is shown that this hierarchy provides a monotonically decreasing sequence of upper boundsf _n on the free energy per lattice sitef and thatf _n f asn . Our results are based on extension theorems for states given on subsets of the lattice, which might be of some independent interest, and on an application of transfer matrix concepts to the variational characterization of translation-invariant equilibrium states.     

Exact variational methods and cluster-variation approximations

It is shown that for classical,d-dimensional lattice models with finite-range interactions the translation-invariant equilibrium states have the property that their mean entropy is completely determined by their restriction to a subset of the lattice that is infinite in (d–1) dimensions and has a width equal to the range of the interaction in the dth dimension. This property is used to show proper convergence toward the exact result for a hierarchy of approximations of the cluster-variation method that uses one-dimensionally increasing basis clusters in a two-dimensional lattice.     

Extension of Pirogov-Sinai theory of phase transitions to infinite range interactions I. Cluster expansion

This paper is the first part of an extension of the Pirogov-Sinai theory of phase transitions at low temperatures, applicable to lattice systems with finite range interactions, to infinite range interactions. Transforming the systems to a version of an interacting contour model, we develop a cluster expansion. Making appropriate assumptions about the interactions, we prove that for sufficiently low temperatures the expansion converges and the cluster property holds.In the sequel, we will use the cluster expansion method developed here to investigate the structure of a phase diagram for a given system. We will also give some applications of our results.Work supported in part by the Korean Science Foundation     

Thermalization and Canonical Typicality in Translation-Invariant Quantum Lattice Systems

It has previously been suggested that small subsystems of closed quantum systems thermalize under some assumptions; however, this has been rigorously shown so far only for systems with very weak interaction between subsystems. In this work, we give rigorous analytic results on thermalization for translation-invariant quantum lattice systems with finite-range interaction of arbitrary strength, in all cases where there is a unique equilibrium state at the corresponding temperature. We clarify the physical picture by showing that subsystems relax towards the reduction of the global Gibbs state, not the local Gibbs state, if the initial state has close to maximal population entropy and certain non-degeneracy conditions on the spectrumare satisfied.Moreover,we showthat almost all pure states with support on a small energy window are locally thermal in the sense of canonical typicality. We derive our results from a statement on equivalence of ensembles, generalizing earlier results by Lima, and give numerical and analytic finite size bounds, relating the Ising model to the finite de Finetti theorem. Furthermore, we prove that global energy eigenstates are locally close to diagonal in the local energy eigenbasis, which constitutes a part of the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis that is valid regardless of the integrability of the model.     

Bifurcation in ground-state fidelity for a one-dimensional spin model with competing two-spin and three-spin interactions

A one-dimensional quantum spin model with the competing two-spin and three-spin interactions is investigated in the context of a tensor network algorithm based on the infinite matrix product state representation. The algorithm is an adaptation of Vidal?s infinite time-evolving block decimation algorithm to a translation-invariant one-dimensional lattice spin system involving three-spin interactions. The ground-state fidelity per lattice site is computed, and its bifurcation is unveiled, for a few selected values of the coupling constants. We succeed in identifying critical points and deriving local order parameters to characterize different phases in the conventional Ginzburg-Landau-Wilson paradigm.     

Variational principle for regular and random Ising models on the cactus tree or on the usual lattice in the “cactus approximation”

The distribution functions and the free energy are expressed in terms of the effective fields for the regular and random Ising models of an arbitrary spin S on the generalized cactus tree. The same expressions apply to systems on the usual lattice in the “cactus approximation” in the cluster variation method. For an ensemble of random Ising models of an arbitrary spin S on the generalized cactus tree, the equation for the probability distribution function of the effective fields is set up and the averaged free energy is expressed in terms of the probability distribution. The same expressions apply to the system on the usual lattice in the “cactus approximation”. We discuss the quantities on the usual lattice when the system or the ensemble of random systems has the translational symmetry. Variational properties of the free energy for a system and of the averaged free energy for an ensemble of random systems are noted. The “cactus approximations” are applicable to the Heisenberg model as well as to the Ising model of an arbitrary spin, and to ensembles of random systems of these models.     

The global minimum of energy is not always a sum of local minima—A note on frustration

A classical lattice gas model with translation-invariant, finite-range competing interactions, for which there does not exist an equivalent translation-invariant, finite-range nonfrustrated potential, is constructed. The construction uses the structure of nonperiodic ground-state configurations of the model. In fact, the model does not have any periodic ground-state configurations. However, its ground-state—a translation-invariant probability measure supported by ground-state configurations—is unique.     

Universal order-parameter and quantum phase transition for two-dimensional q-state quantum Potts model

We investigate quantum phase transitions for q-state quantum Potts models (q=2,3,4) on a square lattice and for the Ising model on a honeycomb lattice by using the infinite projected entangled-pair state algorithm with a simplified updating scheme. We extend the universal order parameter to a two-dimensional lattice system, which allows us to explore quantum phase transitions with symmetry-broken order for any translation-invariant quantum lattice system of the symmetry group G. The universal order parameter is zero in the symmetric phase, and it ranges from zero to unity in the symmetry-broken phase. The ground-state fidelity per lattice site is computed, and a pinch point is identified on the fidelity surface near the critical point. The results offer another example highlighting the connection between (i) critical points for a quantum many-body system undergoing a quantum phase-transition and (ii) pinch points on a fidelity surface. In addition, we discuss three quantum coherence measures: the quantum Jensen-Shannon divergence, the relative entropy of coherence, and the l₁ norm of coherence, which are singular at the critical point, thereby identifying quantum phase transitions.     

Dobrushin States in Quantum Lattice Systems

We consider quantum lattice systems which are quantum perturbations of suitable classical systems with two translation-invariant ground states, not necessarily related by symmetry. Simple examples of such systems include the anisotropic quantum Heisenberg model and the narrow band extended Hubbard model. Under the assumption that the quantum perturbation is exponentially decaying with a sufficiently large decay constant, we prove that these systems are capable of supporting non-translation-invariant states at sufficiently low temperatures in dimension . These states are induced by so-called Dobrushin boundary conditions which force an asymptotically horizontal interface into the system. We also discuss quantum and classical interfacial ordering transitions that may occur in these systems. Received: 15 October 1996 / Accepted: 21 February 1997     

Static and Time Dependent Density Functional Theory with Internal Degrees of Freedom: Merits and Limitations Demonstrated for the Potts Model

We present an extension of the density-functional theory (DFT) formalism for lattice gases to systems with internal degrees of freedom. In order to test approximations commonly used in DFT approaches, we investigate the statics and dynamics of occupation (density) profiles in the one-dimensional Potts model. In particular, by taking the exact functional for this model we can directly evaluate the quality of the local equilibrium approximation used in time-dependent density-functional theory (TDFT). Excellent agreement is found in comparison with Monte Carlo simulations. Finally, principal limitations of TDFT are demonstrated.     

Multi-Information in the Thermodynamic Limit

A multivariate generalization of mutual information, multi-information, is defined in the thermodynamic limit. The definition takes phase coexistence into account by taking the infimum over the translation-invariant Gibbs measures of an interaction potential. It is shown that this infimum is attained in a pure state. An explicit formula can be found for the Ising square lattice, where the quantity is proved to be maximized at the phase-transition point. By this, phase coexistence is linked to high model complexity in a rigorous way.     

Percolation for low energy clusters and discrete symmetry breaking in classical spin systems

We consider classical lattice systems in two or more dimensions with general state space and with short-range interactions. It is shown that percolation is a general feature of these systems: If the temperature is sufficiently low, then almost surely with respect to some equilibrium state there is an infinite cluster of spins trying to form a ground state. For systems having several stable sets of symmetry-related ground states we show that at low temperatures spontaneous symmetry breaking occurs because in a two-dimensional subsystem there is a unique infinite cluster of this type.     

Interaction versus dimerization in one-dimensional Fermi systems

In order to study the effect of interaction and lattice distortion on quantum coherence in one-dimensional Fermi systems, we calculate the ground state energy and the phase sensitivity of a ring of interacting spinless fermions on a dimerized lattice. Our numerical DMRG studies, in which we keep up to 1000 states for systems of about 100 sites, are supplemented by analytical considerations using bosonization techniques. We find a delocalized phase for an attractive interaction, which differs from that obtained for random lattice distortions. The extension of this delocalized phase depends strongly on the dimerization induced modification of the interaction. Taking into account the harmonic lattice energy, we find a dimerized ground state for a repulsive interaction only. The dimerization is suppressed at half filling, when the correlation gap becomes large. Received: 11 February 1998 / Revised: 1st April 1998 / Accepted: 30 April 1998     

LRO in Lattice Systems of Linear Classical and Quantum Oscillators. Strong Nearest-Neighbor Pair Quadratic Interaction

For systems of one-component interacting oscillators on the d-dimensional lattice, d>1, whose potential energy besides a large nearest-neighbour (n-n) ferromagnetic translation-invariant quadratic term contains small non-nearest-neighbour translation invariant term, an existence of a ferromagnetic long-range order for two valued lattice spins, equal to a sign of oscillator variables, is established for sufficiently large magnitude g of the n-n interaction with the help of the Peierls type contour bound. The Ruelle superstability bound is used for a derivation of the contour bound.     

Derivation of Some Translation-Invariant Lindblad Equations for a Quantum Brownian Particle

We study the dynamics of a Brownian quantum particle hopping on an infinite lattice with a spin degree of freedom. This particle is coupled to free boson gases via a translation-invariant Hamiltonian which is linear in the creation and annihilation operators of the bosons. We derive the time evolution of the reduced density matrix of the particle in the van Hove limit in which we also rescale the hopping rate. This corresponds to a situation in which both the system-bath interactions and the hopping between neighboring sites are small and they are effective on the same time scale. The reduced evolution is given by a translation-invariant Lindblad master equation which is derived explicitly.     

Phase transitions for a continuous system of classical particles in a box

A continuous classical system involving an infinite number of distinguishable particles is analyzed along the same lines as its quantum analogue, considered in [1]. A commutativeC*-algebra is set up on the phase space of the system, and a representation-dependent definition of equilibrium involving the static KMS condition is given. For a special class of interactions the set of equilibrium states is realized as a convex Borel set whose extremal states are characterized by solutions to a system of integral equations. By analyzing these integral equations, we prove the absence of phase transitions for high temperature and construct a phase transition for low temperature. The construction also provides an example of a translation-invariant state whose decomposition at infinity yields states that are not translation-invariant. Thus we have an example in the classical situation of continuous symmetry breaking.This article is a part of the author's doctoral thesis, which was submitted to the mathematics department at Duke University