Pasquale Calabrese

Entanglement entropy and quantum field theory

We carry out a systematic study of entanglement entropy in relativistic quantum field theory. This is defined as the von Neumann entropy SA = −Tr ρAlogρA corresponding to the reduced density matrix ρA of a subsystem A. For the case of a 1+1-dimensional critical system, whose continuum limit is a conformal field theory with central charge c, we re-derive the result of Holzhey et al when A is a finite interval of length in an infinite system, and extend it to many other cases: finite systems, finite temperatures, and when A consists of an arbitrary number of disjoint intervals. For such a system away from its critical point, when the correlation length ξ is large but finite, we show that , where is the number of boundary points of A. These results are verified for a free massive field theory, which is also used to confirm a scaling ansatz for the case of finite size off-critical systems, and for integrable lattice models, such as the Ising and XXZ models, which are solvable by corner transfer matrix methods. Finally the free field results are extended to higher dimensions, and used to motivate a scaling form for the singular part of the entanglement entropy near a quantum phase transition.

Entanglement entropy and conformal field theory

We review the conformal field theory approach to entanglement entropy in 1+1 dimensions. We show how to apply these methods to the calculation of the entanglement entropy of a single interval, and the generalization to different situations such as finite size, systems with boundaries and the case of several disjoint intervals. We discuss the behaviour away from the critical point and the spectrum of the reduced density matrix. Quantum quenches, as paradigms of non-equilibrium situations, are also considered.

Evolution of entanglement entropy in one-dimensional systems

We study the unitary time evolution of the entropy of entanglement of a one-dimensional system between the degrees of freedom in an interval of length and its complement, starting from a pure state which is not an eigenstate of the Hamiltonian. We use path integral methods of quantum field theory as well as explicit computations for the transverse Ising spin chain. In both cases, there is a maximum speed v of propagation of signals. In general the entanglement entropy increases linearly with time t up to , after which it saturates at a value proportional to , the coefficient depending on the initial state. This behaviour may be understood as a consequence of causality.

Time-dependence of correlation functions following a quantum quench

We show that the time dependence of correlation functions in an extended quantum system in d dimensions, which is prepared in the ground state of some Hamiltonian and then evolves without dissipation according to some other Hamiltonian, may be extracted using methods of boundary critical phenomena in d + 1 dimensions. For d = 1 particularly powerful results are available using conformal field theory. These are checked against those available from solvable models. They may be explained in terms of a picture, valid more generally, whereby quasiparticles, entangled over regions of the order of the correlation length in the initial state, then propagate classically through the system.

Quantum quenches in extended systems

We study in general the time evolution of correlation functions in a extended quantum system after the quench of a parameter in the Hamiltonian. We show that correlation functions in d dimensions can be extracted using methods of boundary critical phenomena in d+1 dimensions. For d = 1 this allows us to use the powerful tools of conformal field theory in the case of critical evolution. Several results are obtained in generic dimension in the Gaussian (mean field) approximation. These predictions are checked against the real time evolution of some solvable models that allow us also to understand which features are valid beyond the critical evolution. All our findings may be explained in terms of a picture generally valid, whereby quasiparticles, entangled over regions of the order of the correlation length in the initial state, then propagate with a finite speed through the system. Furthermore we show that the long time results can be interpreted in terms of a generalized Gibbs ensemble. We discuss some open questions and possible future developments.

Quantum quench in the transverse-field Ising chain.

We consider the time evolution of observables in the transverse-field Ising chain after a sudden quench of the magnetic field. We provide exact analytical results for the asymptotic time and distance dependence of one- and two-point correlation functions of the order parameter. We employ two complementary approaches based on asymptotic evaluations of determinants and form-factor sums. We prove that the stationary value of the two-point correlation function is not thermal, but can be described by a generalized Gibbs ensemble (GGE). The approach to the stationary state can also be understood in terms of a GGE. We present a conjecture on how these results generalize to particular quenches in other integrable models.

Entanglement entropy of two disjoint intervals in conformal field theory

We continue the study of the entanglement entropy of two disjoint intervals in conformal field theories that we started in J. Stat. Mech. (2009) P11001. We compute TrρA for any integer n for the Ising universality class and the final result is expressed as a sum of Riemann-Siegel theta functions. These predictions are checked against existing numerical data. We provide a systematic method that gives the full asymptotic expansion of the scaling function for small fourpoint ratio (i.e. short intervals). These formulas are compared with the direct expansion of the full results for free compactified boson and Ising model. We finally provide the analytic continuation of the first term in this expansion in a completely analytic form. ar X iv :1 01 1. 54 82 v1 [ he pth ] 2 4 N ov 2 01 0 Entanglement entropy of two disjoint intervals in CFT II 2

Quantum quench in the transverse field Ising chain: I. Time evolution of order parameter correlators

We consider the time evolution of observables in the transverse-field Ising chain after a sudden quench of the magnetic field. We provide exact analytical results for the asymptotic time and distance dependence of one- and two-point correlation functions of the order parameter. We employ two complementary approaches based on asymptotic evaluations of determinants and form-factor sums. We prove that the stationary value of the two-point correlation function is not thermal, but can be described by a generalized Gibbs ensemble (GGE). The approach to the stationary state can also be understood in terms of a GGE. We present a conjecture on how these results generalize to particular quenches in other integrable models.

Quantum quenches in the transverse field Ising chain: II. Stationary state properties

We consider the stationary state properties of the reduced density matrix as well as spin–spin correlation functions after a sudden quantum quench of the magnetic field in the transverse field Ising chain. We demonstrate that stationary state properties are described by a generalized Gibbs ensemble. We discuss the approach to the stationary state at late times.

ENTANGLEMENT NEGATIVITY IN QUANTUM FIELD THEORY

We develop a systematic method to extract the negativity in the ground state of a 1+1 dimensional relativistic quantum field theory, using a path integral formalism to construct the partial transpose ρ(A)(T(2) of the reduced density matrix of a subsystem [formula: see text], and introducing a replica approach to obtain its trace norm which gives the logarithmic negativity E=ln//ρ(A)(T(2))//. This is shown to reproduce standard results for a pure state. We then apply this method to conformal field theories, deriving the result E~(c/4)ln[ℓ(1)ℓ(2)/(ℓ(1)+ℓ(2))] for the case of two adjacent intervals of lengths ℓ(1), ℓ(2) in an infinite system, where c is the central charge. For two disjoint intervals it depends only on the harmonic ratio of the four end points and so is manifestly scale invariant. We check our findings against exact numerical results in the harmonic chain.