Guang-Hua Liu

Quantum phase transitions and string orders in the spin-1/2 Heisenberg-Ising alternating chain with Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction

Quantum phase transitions (QPTs) and the ground-state phase diagram of the spin-1/2 Heisenberg-Ising alternating chain (HIAC) with uniform Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya (DM) interaction are investigated by a matrix-product-state (MPS) method. By calculating the odd- and even-string order parameters, we recognize two kinds of Haldane phases, i.e. the odd- and even-Haldane phases. Furthermore, doubly degenerate entanglement spectra on odd and even bonds are observed in odd- and even-Haldane phases, respectively. A rich phase diagram including four different phases, i.e. an antiferromagnetic (AF), AF stripe, odd- and even-Haldane phases, is obtained. These phases are found to be separated by continuous QPTs: the topological QPT between the odd- and even-Haldane phases is verified to be continuous and corresponds to conformal field theory with central charge c = 1; while the rest of the phase transitions in the phase diagram are found to be c = 1/2. We also revisit, with our MPS method, the exactly solvable case of HIAC model with DM interactions only on odd bonds and find that the even-Haldane phase disappears, but the other three phases, i.e. the AF, AF stripe and odd-Haldane phases, still remain in the phase diagram. We exhibit the evolution of the even-Haldane phase by tuning the DM interactions on the even bonds gradually.

Quantum entanglement and criticality of the antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model in an external field

By Lanczos exact diagonalization and the infinite time-evolving block decimation (iTEBD) technique, the two-site entanglement as well as the bipartite entanglement, the ground state energy, the nearest-neighbor correlations, and the magnetization in the antiferromagnetic Heisenberg (AFH) model under an external field are investigated. With increasing external field, the small size system shows some distinct upward magnetization stairsteps, accompanied synchronously with some downward two-site entanglement stairsteps. In the thermodynamic limit, the two-site entanglement, as well as the bipartite entanglement, the ground state energy, the nearest-neighbor correlations, and the magnetization are calculated, and the critical magnetic field h(c) = 2.0 is determined exactly. Our numerical results show that the quantum entanglement is sensitive to the subtle changing of the ground state, and can be used to describe the magnetization and quantum phase transition. Based on the discontinuous behavior of the first-order derivative of the entanglement entropy and fidelity per site, we think that the quantum phase transition in this model should belong to the second-order category. Furthermore, in the magnon existence region (h < 2.0), a logarithmically divergent behavior of block entanglement which can be described by a free bosonic field theory is observed, and the central charge c is determined to be 1.

Quantum phase transitions and hidden topological order in one-dimensional S=1 Heisenberg–Ising alternating model

By the infinite time-evolving block decimation method, the ground state properties of the =1 Heisenberg–Ising alternating chain have been investigated in the thermodynamic limit. A ground-state phase diagram, which includes three different phases, i.e., an antiferromagnetic strip phase, a dimer phase, and an antiferromagnetic phase, is obtained. A modified definition of the string order is adopted to describe the dimer phase, and it is found to have nonzero antiferromagnetic topological string order. The quantum phase transitions (QPTs) in such a model can be well described by the singularities of bipartite entanglement and fidelity bifurcations, and two second-order QPTs points are determined to be at . The central charges at both QPTs points are determined to be 1/2. Therefore, both QPTs belong to the Ising universality class with central charges 1/2.

Entanglement entropy and fidelity susceptibility in the one-dimensional spin-1 XXZ chains with alternating single-site anisotropy

We study the fidelity susceptibility in an antiferromagnetic spin-1 XXZ chain numerically. By using the density-matrix renormalization group method, the effects of the alternating single-site anisotropy D on fidelity susceptibility are investigated. Its relation with the quantum phase transition is analyzed. It is found that the quantum phase transition from the Haldane spin liquid to periodic Néel spin solid can be well characterized by the fidelity. Finite size scaling of fidelity susceptibility shows a power-law divergence at criticality, which indicates the quantum phase transition is of second order. The results are confirmed by the second derivative of the ground-state energy. We also study the relationship between the entanglement entropy, the Schmidt gap and quantum phase transitions. Conclusions drawn from these quantum information observables agree well with each other.

Quantum phase transitions in spin-1 compass chains

The ground-state phase diagram and quantum phase transitions (QPTs) in a spin-1 compass chain are investigated by the infinite time-evolving block decimation (iTEBD) method. Various phases are discerned by energy densities, spin correlations and entanglement entropy. A generalized string correlator is found to be capable of describing the nonlocal string order in the disordered phase. Furthermore, in the noncritical disordered phase, the spin-spin correlations are found to decay exponentially. Except for a multicritical point (J1 = 0, J2 = 0), the QPTs are determined to have second-order characters. In addition, the central charges on these critical phase boundaries are determined to be c = 1 / 2, therefore these QPTs belong to the Ising universality class.

Ferrimagnetic order and spontaneous magnetization in a mixed-spin XXZ chain with single-ion anisotropy

The ground-state properties of the spin-(1/2, 1) mixed-spin XXZ chain with single-ion anisotropy (D) are investigated by the infinite time-evolving block decimation (iTEBD) method. A ground-state phase diagram including three phases, i.e., a fully polarized phase, an XY phase and a ferrimagnetic phase, is obtained. The ferrimagnetic phase is found to extend to the regions with (Δ > 1, D > 0) and (Δ < 1, D < 0), where Δ denotes the coupling anisotropy between the localized spins. By the discontinuous behavior of bipartite entanglement, quantum phase transitions (QPTs) between the XY phase and the other two phases are verified to be of the first-order. Furthermore, two constant spontaneous magnetization values (Mz = 3/2 and 1/2) are observed in the fully polarized and the ferrimagnetic phases, respectively. In both cases of Δ → +∞ and D → -∞, the ground state tends to the Ising limit. In addition, both the long-range ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic orders are found to coexist in the whole ferrimagnetic ...

Thermoelectric power and 1/f noise in the normal state of YBa2Cu3O7−δ/PrBa2Cu3O7−δ superlattice

Abstract The thermoelectric power (TEP) and 1/f noise of a series of YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7−δ /PrBa 2 Cu 3 O 7−δ (YBCO/PrBCO) superlattice samples have been measured from 80K to 270K. The TEP of the superlattices has large and positive values. For samples with thick YBCO layers, it varies linearly with temperature and has a positive slope. The noise power of superlattices samples is about two orders of magnitude lower than that in bulk YBCO film.