Valerio Tognetti

The effective potential and effective Hamiltonian in quantum statistical mechanics

An overview on the theoretic formalism and up to date applications in quantum condensed matter physics of the effective potential and effective Hamiltonian methods is given. The main steps of their unified derivation by the so-called pure quantum self-consistent harmonic approximation (PQSCHA) are reported and explained. What makes this framework attractive is its easy implementation as well as the great simplification in obtaining results for the statistical mechanics of complicated quantum systems. Indeed, for a given quantum system the PQSCHA yields an effective system, i.e. an effective classical Hamiltonian with dependence on h(cross) and beta and classical-like expressions for the averages of observables, that has to be studied by classical methods. Anharmonic single-particle systems are analysed in order to get insight into the physical meaning of the PQSCHA, and its extension to the investigation of realistic many-body systems is pursued afterwards. The power of this approach is demonstrated through a collection of applications in different fields, such as soliton theory, rare gas crystals and magnetism. Eventually, the PQSCHA allows us also to approach quantum dynamical properties.

Field Theories for Low-Dimensional Condensed Matter Systems

1 Introduction.- 2 Fermi Liquids and Luttinger Liquids.- 3 Quantum Number Fractionalization in Antiferromagnets.- 4 Conformal Field Theory Approach to Quantum Impurity Problems.- 5 Quantum Magnetism Approaches to Strongly Correlated Electrons.- 6 Introduction to Some Common Topics in Gauge Theory and Spin Systems.- 7 Quantum Chaos and Transport in Mesoscopic Systems.

Studying Quantum Spin Systems through Entanglement Estimators

We study the field dependence of the entanglement of formation in anisotropic S=1/2 antiferromagnetic chains displaying a T=0 field-driven quantum phase transition. The analysis is carried out via quantum Monte Carlo simulations. At zero temperature the entanglement estimators show abrupt changes at and around criticality, vanishing below the critical field, in correspondence with an exactly factorized state, and then immediately recovering a finite value upon passing through the quantum phase transition. At the quantum-critical point, a deep minimum in the pairwise-to-global entanglement ratio shows that multispin entanglement is strongly enhanced; moreover this signature represents a novel way of detecting the quantum phase transition of the system, relying entirely on entanglement estimators.

Entanglement and factorized ground states in two-dimensional quantum antiferromagnets.

Making use of exact results and quantum Monte Carlo data for the entanglement of formation, we show that the ground state of anisotropic two-dimensional S=1/2 antiferromagnets in a uniform field takes the classical-like form of a product state for a particular value and orientation of the field, at which the purely quantum correlations due to entanglement disappear. Analytical expressions for the energy and the form of such states are given, and a novel type of exactly solvable two-dimensional quantum models is therefore singled out. Moreover, we show that the field-induced quantum phase transition present in the models is unambiguously characterized by a cusp minimum in the pairwise-to-global entanglement ratio R, marking the quantum-critical enhancement of multipartite entanglement.

Correlators in the Heisenberg XXO chain as Fredholm determinants

The two-point time and temperature dependent correlation functions for the XX0 one-dimensional model in constant magnetic field are represented (in the thermodynamical limit) as Fredholm determinants of linear integral operators.

Divergence of the entanglement range in low-dimensional quantum systems

We study the pairwise entanglement close to separable ground states of a class of one dimensional quantum spin models. At T=0 we find that such ground states separate regions, in the space of the Hamiltonian parameters, which are characterized by qualitatively different types of entanglement, namely parallel and antiparallel entanglement; we further demonstrate that the range of the Concurrence diverges while approaching separable ground states, therefore evidencing that such states, with uncorrelated fluctuations, are reached by a long range reshuffling of the entanglement. We generalize our results to the analysis of quantum phase transitions occurring in bosonic and fermionic systems. Finally, the effects of finite temperature are considered: At T>0 we evidence the existence of a region where no pairwise entanglement survives, so that entanglement, if present, is genuinely multipartite.

Phase transitions induced by easy-plane anisotropy in the classical Heisenberg antiferromagnet on a triangular lattice: A Monte Carlo simulation

We present the results of Monte Carlo simulations for the antiferromagnetic classical XXZ model with easy-plane exchange anisotropy on the triangular lattice, which causes frustration of the spin alignment. The behaviour of this system is similar to that of the antiferromagnetic XY model on the same lattice, showing the signature of a Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition, associated to vortex-antivortex unbinding, and of an Ising-like one due to the chirality, the latter occurring at a slightly higher temperature. Data for internal energy, specific heat, magnetic susceptibility, correlation length, and some properties associated with the chirality are reported in a broad temperature range, for lattice sizes ranging from 24x24 to 120x120; four values of the easy-plane anisotropy are considered. Moving from the strongest towards the weakest anisotropy (1%) the thermodynamic quantities tend to the isotropic model behaviour, and the two transition temperatures decrease by about 25% and 22%, respectively.

Reading entanglement in terms of spin configurations in quantum magnets

Abstract. We consider a quantum many-body system made of N interacting S=1/2 spins on a lattice, and develop a formalism which allows to extract, out of conventional magnetic observables, the quantum probabilities for any selected spin pair to be in maximally entangled or factorized two-spin states. This result is used in order to capture the meaning of entanglement properties in terms of magnetic behavior. In particular, we consider the concurrence between two spins and show how its expression extracts information on the presence of bipartite entanglement out of the probability distributions relative to specific sets of two-spin quantum states. We apply the above findings to the antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model in a uniform magnetic field, both on a chain and on a two-leg ladder. Using Quantum Monte Carlo simulations, we obtain the above probability distributions and the associated entanglement, discussing their evolution under application of the field.

Two-dimensional quantum Heisenberg antiferromagnet: Effective-Hamiltonian approach to the thermodynamics

In this paper we present an extensive study of the thermodynamic properties of the two-dimensional quantum Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the square lattice; the problem is tackled by the pure-quantum self-consistent harmonic approximation, previously applied to quantum spin systems with easy-plane anisotropies, modeled to fit the peculiar features of an isotropic system. Internal energy, specific heat, correlation functions, staggered susceptibility, and correlation length are shown for different values of the spin, and compared with the available high-temperature expansion and quantum Monte Carlo results, as well as with the available experimental data.

Two-spin entanglement distribution near factorized states

We study the two-spin entanglement distribution along the infinite S = 1/2 chain described by the XY model in a transverse field; closed analytical expressions are derived for the one-tangle and the concurrences Cr, with r being the distance between the two possibly entangled spins, for the values of the Hamiltonian parameters close to those corresponding to factorized ground states. The total amount of the entanglement, the fraction of such entanglement which is stored in pairwise entanglement and the way such fraction distributes along the chain are discussed, with attention focused on the dependence on the anisotropy of the exchange interaction. Near factorization a characteristic length scale naturally emerges in the system, which is specifically related with the entanglement properties and diverges at the critical point of the fully isotropic model. In general, we find that anisotropy rules a complex behavior of the entanglement properties, which results in the fact that more isotropic models, despite being characterized by a larger amount of the total entanglement, present a smaller fraction of the pairwise entanglement: the latter, in turn, is more evenly distributed along the chain, to the extent that, in the fully isotropic model at the critical field, the concurrences do not depend on r.