Sven Bachmann

Automorphic Equivalence within Gapped Phases of Quantum Lattice Systems

Gapped ground states of quantum spin systems have been referred to in the physics literature as being ‘in the same phase’ if there exists a family of Hamiltonians H(s), with finite range interactions depending continuously on

Product vacua with boundary states

{sin [0,1]}

Adiabatic Theorem for Quantum Spin Systems

, such that for each s, H(s) has a non-vanishing gap above its ground state and with the two initial states being the ground states of H(0) and H(1), respectively. In this work, we give precise conditions under which any two gapped ground states of a given quantum spin system that ’belong to the same phase’ are automorphically equivalent and show that this equivalence can be implemented as a flow generated by an s-dependent interaction which decays faster than any power law (in fact, almost exponentially). The flow is constructed using Hastings’ ‘quasi-adiabatic evolution’ technique, of which we give a proof extended to infinite-dimensional Hilbert spaces. In addition, we derive a general result about the locality properties of the effect of perturbations of the dynamics for quantum systems with a quasi-local structure and prove that the flow, which we call the spectral flow, connecting the gapped ground states in the same phase, satisfies a Lieb-Robinson bound. As a result, we obtain that, in the thermodynamic limit, the spectral flow converges to a co-cycle of automorphisms of the algebra of quasi-local observables of the infinite spin system. This proves that the ground state phase structure is preserved along the curve of models H(s), 0xa0≤ sxa0≤ 1.

Time Ordering and Counting Statistics

Using operator algebraic methods we show that the moment generating function of charge transport in a system with infinitely many non-interacting Fermions is given by a determinant of a certain operator in the one-particle Hilbert space. The formula is equivalent to a formula of Levitov and Lesovik in the finite dimensional case and may be viewed as its regularized form in general. Our result embodies two tenets often realized in mesoscopic physics, namely, that the transport properties are essentially independent of the length of the leads and of the depth of the Fermi sea.

Disordered Quantum Wires: Microscopic Origins of the DMPK Theory and Ohm’s Law

We introduce a family of quantum spin chains with nearest-neighbor interactionsn that can serve to clarify and refine the classification of gapped quantum phases of suchn systems. The gapped ground states of these models can be described as a product vacuum withn a finite number of particles bound to the edges. The numbers of particles, n_L and n_R,n that can bind to the left and right edges of the finite chains serve as indices of then particular phase a model belongs to. All these ground states, which we call Product Vacuan with Boundary States (PVBS) can be described as Matrix Product States (MPS). We present an curve of gapped Hamiltonians connecting the AKLT model to its representative PVBS model,n which has indices n_L=n_R=1. We also present examples with n_L=n_R=J, for any integer Jgeqn 1, that are related to a recently introduced class of SO(2J+1)-invariant quantum spinn chains.

Charge transport and determinants

We discuss the role of compact symmetry groups, G, in the classification of gapped ground state phases of quantum spin systems. We consider two representations of G on infinite subsystems. First, in arbitrary dimensions, we show that the ground state spaces of models within the same G-symmetric phase carry equivalent representations of the group for each finite or infinite sublattice on which they can be defined and on which they remain gapped. This includes infinite systems with boundaries or with non-trivial topologies. Second, for two classes of one-dimensional models, by two different methods, for G=SU(2) in one, and G⊂SU(d), in the other we construct explicitly an ‘excess spin’ operator that implements rotations of half of the infinite chain on the GNS Hilbert space of the ground state of the full chain. Since this operator is constructed as the limit of a sequence of observables, the representation itself is, in principle, experimentally observable. We claim that the corresponding unitary representation of G is closely related to the representation found at the boundary of half-infinite chains. We conclude with determining the precise relation between the two representations for the class of frustration-free models with matrix product ground states.

Local factorisation of the dynamics of quantum spin systems

The first proof of the quantum adiabatic theorem was given as early as 1928. Today, this theorem is increasingly applied in a many-body context, e.g., in quantum annealing and in studies of topological properties of matter. In this setup, the rate of variation ϵ of local terms is indeed small compared to the gap, but the rate of variation of the total, extensive Hamiltonian, is not. Therefore, applications to many-body systems are not covered by the proofs and arguments in the literature. In this Letter, we prove a version of the adiabatic theorem for gapped ground states of interacting quantum spin systems, under assumptions that remain valid in the thermodynamic limit. As an application, we give a mathematical proof of Kubos linear response formula for a broad class of gapped interacting systems. We predict that the density of nonadiabatic excitations is exponentially small in the driving rate and the scaling of the exponent depends on the dimension.

Product Vacua and Boundary State Models in d

The basic quantum mechanical relation between fluctuations of transported charge and current correlators is discussed. It is found that, as a rule, the correlators are to be time-ordered in an unusual way. Instances where the difference with the conventional ordering matters are illustrated by means of a simple scattering model. We apply the results to resolve a discrepancy concerning the third cumulant of charge transport across a tunnel junction.