The classical limit of mean-field quantum spin systems

Abstract

The theory of strict deformation quantization of the two-sphere S2⊂R3 is used to prove the existence of the classical limit of mean-field quantum spin chains, whose ensuing Hamiltonians are denoted by HN, where N indicates the number of sites. Indeed, since the fibers A1/N=MN+1(C) and A0 = C(S2) form a continuous bundle of C*-algebras over the base space I={0}∪1/N*⊂[0,1], one can define a strict deformation quantization of A0 where quantization is specified by certain quantization maps Q1/N:Ã0→A1/N, with Ã0 being a dense Poisson subalgebra of A0. Given now a sequence of such HN, we show that under some assumptions, a sequence of eigenvectors ψN of HN has a classical limit in the sense that ω0(f) ≔ limN→∞⟨ψN, Q1/N(f)ψN⟩ exists as a state on A0 given by ω0(f)=1n∑i=1nf(Ωi), where n is some natural number. We give an application regarding spontaneous symmetry breaking, and moreover, we show that the spectrum of such a mean-field quantum spin system converges to the range of some polynomial in three real variables restricted to the sphere S2.