Compass Model Research Articles

Quantum phase transition of the one-dimensional transverse-field compass model

The quantum phase transition (QPT) of the one-dimensional (1D) quantum compass model in a transverse magnetic field is studied in this paper. An exact solution is obtained by using an extended Jordan and Wigner transformation to the pseudospin operators. The fidelity susceptibility, the concurrence, the block-block entanglement entropy, and the pseudospin correlation functions are calculated with antiperiodic boundary conditions. The QPT driven by the transverse-field only emerges at zero field and is of the second order. Several critical exponents obtained by finite-size scaling analysis are the same as those in the 1D transverse-field Ising model, suggesting the same universality class. A logarithmic divergence of the entanglement entropy of a block at the quantum critical point is also observed. From the calculated coefficient connected to the central charge of the conformal field theory, it is suggested that the block entanglement depends crucially on the detailed topological structure of a system.

Possible involvement of superoxide and dioxygen with cryptochrome in avian magnetoreception: Origin of Zeeman resonances observed by in vivo EPR spectroscopy

The radical pair model of the avian magnetic compass centres around magnetically sensitive chemical reactions in the retina. Recent studies of migratory birds subjected to oscillating magnetic fields found remarkably sensitive disorientation responses when the frequency of the applied field (∼1.3 MHz) matched the EPR condition of a radical with g ≈ 2 in the Earth’s magnetic field (∼47 μT). The occurrence of such ‘Zeeman resonances’ can be understood if one of the radical pair partners is devoid of hyperfine interactions. Here we examine the possibility that this radical is either superoxide or dioxygen and conclude that neither offers a very credible explanation for these in vivo EPR ‘signals’.

Self-duality and bound states of the toric code model in a transverse field

We investigate the effect of a transverse magnetic field on the toric code model. We show that this problem can be mapped onto the Xu-Moore model and thus onto the quantum compass model which are known to be self-dual. We analyze the low-energy spectrum by means of perturbative continuous unitary transformations and determine accurately the energy gaps of various symmetry sectors. Our results are in very good agreement with exact diagonalization data for all values of the parameters except at the self-dual point where level crossings are responsible for a first order phase transition between a topological phase and a polarized phase. Interestingly, bound states of two and four quasiparticles with fermionic and bosonic statistics emerge, and display dispersion relations of reduced dimensionality.

Finite-temperature Néel ordering of fluctuations in a plaquette orbital model

We present a pseudospin model which should be experimentally accessible using solid-state devices and, being a variation on the compass model, adds to the toolbox for the protection of qubits in the area of quantum information. Using Monte Carlo methods, we find for both classical and quantum spins in two and three dimensions Ising-type N\'eel ordering of energy fluctuations at finite temperatures without magnetic order. We also readdress the controversy concerning the stability of the ordered state in the presence of quenched impurities and present numerical results which are at clear variance with earlier claims in the literature.

Exact solution for a quantum compass ladder

We introduce a spin ladder with antiferromagnetic Ising ZZ interactions along the legs, and interactions on the rungs which interpolate between the Ising ladder and the quantum compass ladder. We show that the entire energy spectrum of the ladder may be determined exactly for finite number of spins 2N by mapping to the quantum Ising chain and using Jordan-Wigner transformation in invariant subspaces. We also demonstrate that subspaces with spin defects lead to excited states using finite size scaling, and the ground state corresponds to the quantum Ising model without defects. At the quantum phase transition to maximally frustrated interactions of the compass ladder, the ZZ spin correlation function on the rungs collapses to zero and the ground state degeneracy increases by 2. We formulate a systematic method to calculate the partition function for a mesoscopic system, and employ it to demonstrate that fragmentation of the compass ladder by kink defects increases with increasing temperature. The obtained heat capacity of a large compass ladder consisting of 2N=104 spins reveals two relevant energy scales and has a broad maximum due to dense energy spectrum. The present exact results elucidate the nature of the quantum phase transition from ordered to disordered ground state found in the compass model in two dimensions.

Multicriticality and entanglement in the one-dimensional quantum compass model

We study the one-dimensional quantum compass model with two independent parameters by means of an exact mapping to the quantum Ising model. This allows us to uncover hidden features of the quantum phase transition in the ordinary one-parameter quantum compass model, showing that it occurs at a multicritical point where a line of first-order transitions intersects a line of second-order symmetry-breaking transitions of Ising type. We calculate the concurrence and the block entanglement entropy in the four ground-state phases and find that these entanglement measures accurately signal the second-order, but not the first-order, transitions.

Evaluation of nuclear quadrupole interactions as a source of magnetic anisotropy in the radical pair model of the avian magnetic compass

One of the principal proposed biophysical mechanisms put forward to explain the avian magnetic compass sense centres around magnetically sensitive chemistry. Based on a large number of in vitro studies of the effects of applied magnetic fields on the yields and rates of chemical reactions it has been suggested that the anisotropic magnetic interactions in spin-correlated radical pairs could be the source of the directional information that allows migratory birds to use the Earth's magnetic field as a navigational aid. Here numerical quantum mechanical simulations are employed to explore the possibility that the hitherto neglected nuclear quadrupole interaction may provide directional information in a radical pair magnetoreceptor. It is concluded that although nuclear quadrupole interactions could fulfil this function, they are unlikely to influence significantly the reaction yield anisotropy in the flavin-tryptophan radical pair that has been proposed as the in vivo magnetoreceptor.

Quantum phase transition in the one-dimensional period-two and uniform compass model

Quantum phase transitions in the one-dimensional period-two and uniform quantum compass model are studied by using the pseudospin transformation method and the trace map method. The exact solutions are presented, the fidelity, the nearest-neighbor pseudospin entanglement, spin and pseudospin-correlation functions are then calculated. At the critical point, the fidelity and its susceptibility change substantially, the gap of pseudospin concurrence is observed, which scales as $1/N$ ($N$ is the system size). The spin-correlation functions show smooth behavior around the critical point. In the period-two chain, the pseudospin-correlation functions exhibit an oscillating behavior, which is absent in the uniform chain. The divergent correlation length at the critical point is demonstrated in the general trend for both cases.

First Order Phase Transition in the Anisotropic Quantum Orbital Compass Model

We investigate the anisotropic quantum orbital compass model on an infinite square lattice by means of the infinite projected entangled-pair state algorithm. For varying values of the Jx and Jz coupling constants of the model, we approximate the ground state and evaluate quantities such as its expected energy and local order parameters. We also compute adiabatic continuations of the ground state, and show that several ground states with different local properties coexist at Jx=Jz. All our calculations are fully consistent with a first order quantum phase transition at this point, thus corroborating previous numerical evidence. Our results also suggest that tensor network algorithms are particularly fitted to characterize first order quantum phase transitions.

Thermal canting of spin-bond order

Magnetism arising from coupled spin and spatial degrees of freedom underlies the properties of a broad array of physical systems. We study here the interplay between correlations in spin and space for the quantum compass model in a finite external field, using quantum Monte Carlo methods. We find that finite temperatures cant the spin and space (bond) correlations, with increasing temperature, even reorienting spin correlations between orthogonal spatial directions. We develop a coupled mean-field theory to understand this effect in terms of the underlying quantum critical properties of crossed Ising chains in transverse fields and an effective field that weakens upon increasing temperature. Thermal canting offers an experimental signature of spin-bond anisotropy.

Learning to Walk

The practices of an annual, hundred-mile pilgrimage to a shrine of healing dirt in New Mexico offer a remarkable discourse on social compassion as participants ritually share the suffering of people whose pleas for prayer they carry. For seven years I have been known as the middle-aged, Anglo professor from Brooklyn who joins them. My participation does not provide me a privileged view but a modest opportunity to learn through my aging body, urban sensibility, and recalcitrant agnostic spirit. As I negotiate the distance of this long passage, I am shaped by the physicality of the road, the geographic conditions of New Mexico, and the context of Hispanic Roman Catholicism that challenge the comfort of my niche in academe and offer me a model of compassion to sustain social concern. The harsh conditions of my journey teach me about sacrifice and humility, not as pietistic attitudes but as “sensible” responses to a life where I am not protected by the privileges of my race, class, and gender.

Mott Insulators in the Strong Spin-Orbit Coupling Limit: From Heisenberg to a Quantum Compass and Kitaev Models

We study the magnetic interactions in Mott-Hubbard systems with partially filled t_{2g} levels and with strong spin-orbit coupling. The latter entangles the spin and orbital spaces, and leads to a rich variety of the low energy Hamiltonians that extrapolate from the Heisenberg to a quantum compass model depending on the lattice geometry. This gives way to "engineer" in such Mott insulators an exactly solvable spin model by Kitaev relevant for quantum computation. We, finally, explain "weak" ferromagnetism, with an anomalously large ferromagnetic moment, in Sr2IrO4.

Quantum Phase Transition in the One-Dimensional XZ Model

We introduce a one-dimensional (1D) XZ model with alternating $\sigma_i^z\sigma_{i+1}^z$ and $\sigma_i^x\sigma_{i+1}^x$ interactions on even/odd bonds, interpolating between the Ising model and the quantum compass model. We present two ways of its exact solution by: ($i$) mapping to the quantum Ising models, and ($ii$) using fermions with spin 1/2. In certain cases the nearest neighbor pseudospin correlations change discontinuously at the quantum phase transition, where one finds highly degenerate ground state of the 1D compass model.

Exact ground state of a spin ladder with a quantum phase transition

We introduce a spin ladder with Ising interactions along the legs and intrinsically frustrated Heisenberg-like ferromagnetic interactions on the rungs. The model is solved exactly in the subspaces relevant for the ground state by mapping to the quantum Ising model, and we show that a first order quantum phase transition separates the classical from quantum regime, with the spin correlations on the rungs being either ferromagnetic or antiferromagnetic, and different spin excitations in both regimes. The present case resembles the quantum phase transition found in the compass model in one and two dimensions.

Quantum phase transition in the one-dimensional compass model using the pseudospin approach

In the present paper, we investigate quantum phase transition in the one-dimensional compass model introduced by Brzezicki et al. [Phys. Rev. B 75, 134415 (2007)]. Unlike the previous approach based on the Jordan-Wigner transformation, we use directly the standard pseudospin representation in our investigation. Therefore, our method can be potentially applied to study rigorously the properties of the same model in higher dimensions. By applying the reflection positivity technique, we are able to determine degeneracy of the global ground state and the quantum phase-transition point of this model. We find also that the transition is of the first order. These results are consistent with the previous conclusions. However, some differences are also uncovered.

Publisher's Note: Monte Carlo simulations of the directional-ordering transition in the two-dimensional classical and quantum compass model [Phys. Rev. B78, 064402 (2008)

Publisher's Note: Monte Carlo simulations of the directional-ordering transition in the two-dimensional classical and quantum compass model [Phys. Rev. B<b>78</b>, 064402 (2008)

Monte Carlo simulations of the directional-ordering transition in the two-dimensional classical and quantum compass model

A comprehensive study of the two-dimensional (2D) compass model on the square lattice is performed for classical and quantum spin degrees of freedom using Monte Carlo and quantum Monte Carlo methods. We employ state-of-the-art implementations using Metropolis, stochastic series expansion, and parallel tempering techniques to obtain the critical ordering temperatures and critical exponents. In a preinvestigation we reconsider the classical compass model where we study and contrast the finite-size scaling behavior of ordinary periodic boundary conditions against annealed boundary conditions. It is shown that periodic boundary conditions suffer from extreme finite-size effects which might be caused by closed-loop excitations on the torus. These excitations also appear to have severe effects on the Binder parameter. On this footing we report on a systematic Monte Carlo study of the quantum compass model. Our numerical results are at odds with recent literature on the subject which we trace back to neglecting the strong finite-size effects on periodic lattices. The critical temperatures are obtained as ${T}_{c}=0.1464(2)J$ and ${T}_{c}=0.055(1)J$ for the classical and quantum versions, respectively, and our data support a transition in the 2D Ising universality class for both cases.

Role of Exchange and Dipolar Interactions in the Radical Pair Model of the Avian Magnetic Compass

It is not yet understood how migratory birds sense the Earth's magnetic field as a source of compass information. One suggestion is that the magnetoreceptor involves a photochemical reaction whose product yields are sensitive to external magnetic fields. Specifically, a flavin-tryptophan radical pair is supposedly formed by photoinduced sequential electron transfer along a chain of three tryptophan residues in a cryptochrome flavoprotein immobilized in the retina. The electron Zeeman interaction with the Earth's magnetic field (∼50 μT), modulated by anisotropic magnetic interactions within the radicals, causes the product yields to depend on the orientation of the receptor. According to well-established theory, the radicals would need to be separated by >3.5 nm in order that interradical spin-spin interactions are weak enough to permit a ∼50 μT field to have a significant effect. Using quantum mechanical simulations, it is shown here that substantial changes in product yields can nevertheless be expected at the much smaller separation of 2.0 ± 0.2 nm where the effects of exchange and dipolar interactions partially cancel. The terminal flavin-tryptophan radical pair in cryptochrome has a separation of ∼1.9 nm and is thus ideally placed to act as a magnetoreceptor for the compass mechanism.

Dilution Effects in Two-Dimensional Quantum Orbital Systems

Interacting orbital degrees of freedom in a Mott insulator are essentially directional and frustrated. In this Letter, the effect of dilution in a quantum-orbital system with this kind of interaction is studied by analyzing a minimal orbital model which we call the two-dimensional quantum compass model. We find that the decrease of the ordering temperature due to dilution is stronger than that in spin models, but it is also much weaker than that of the classical model. The difference between the classical and the quantum-orbital systems arises from the enhancement of the effective dimensionality due to quantum fluctuations.

Quantum phase transition in the one-dimensional compass model

We introduce a one-dimensional model which interpolates between the Ising model and the quantum compass model with frustrated pseudospin interactions ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{i}^{z}{\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{i+1}^{z}$ and ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{i}^{x}{\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{i+1}^{x}$, alternating between even and/or odd bonds, and present its exact solution by mapping to quantum Ising models. We show that the nearest-neighbor pseudospin correlations change discontinuously and indicate divergent correlation length at the first-order quantum phase transition. At this transition, one finds the disordered ground state of the compass model with high degeneracy $2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{2}^{N∕2}$ in the limit of $N\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\infty}$.