Exact Diagonalization Study Research Articles

Eigenstate Correlations, the Eigenstate Thermalization Hypothesis, and Quantum Information Dynamics in Chaotic Many-Body Quantum Systems

We consider the statistical properties of eigenstates of the time-evolution operator in chaotic many-body quantum systems. Our focus is on correlations between eigenstates that are specific to spatially extended systems and that characterize entanglement dynamics and operator spreading. In order to isolate these aspects of dynamics from those arising as a result of local conservation laws, we consider Floquet systems in which there are no conserved densities. The correlations associated with scrambling of quantum information lie outside the standard framework established by the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis (ETH). In particular, ETH provides a statistical description of matrix elements of local operators between pairs of eigenstates, whereas the aspects of dynamics we are concerned with arise from correlations among sets of four or more eigenstates. We establish the simplest correlation function that captures these correlations and discuss features of its behavior that are expected to be universal at long distances and low energies. We also propose a maximum-entropy ansatz for the joint distribution of a small number n of eigenstates. In the case n=2, this ansatz reproduces ETH. For n=4 it captures both the growth with time of entanglement between subsystems, as characterized by the purity of the time-evolution operator, and also operator spreading, as characterized by the behavior of the out-of-time-order correlator. We test these ideas by comparing results from Monte Carlo sampling of our ansatz with exact diagonalization studies of Floquet quantum circuits. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Real-space renormalisation approach to the Chalker–Coddington model revisited: Improved statistics

The real-space renormalisation group method can be applied to the Chalker–Coddington model of the quantum Hall transition to provide a convenient numerical estimation of the localisation critical exponent, ν. Previous such studies found ν∼2.39 which falls considerably short of the current best estimates by transfer matrix (ν=2.593+0.005−0.006) and exact-diagonalisation studies (ν=2.58(3)). By increasing the amount of data 500 fold we can now measure closer to the critical point and find an improved estimate ν=2.51+0.11−0.11. This deviates only ∼3% from the previous two values and is already better than the ∼7% accuracy of the classical small-cell renormalisation approach from which our method is adapted. We also study a previously proposed mixing of the Chalker–Coddington model with a classical scattering model which is meant to provide a route to understanding why experimental estimates give a lower ν∼2.3. Upon implementing this mixing into our RG unit, we find only further increases to the value of ν.

Multiferroicity and Topology in Twisted Transition Metal Dichalcogenides.

Van der Waals heterostructures have recently emerged as an exciting platform for investigating the effects of strong electronic correlations, including various forms of magnetic or electrical orders. Here, we perform an unbiased exact diagonalization study of the effects of interactions on topological flat bands of twisted transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) at odd integer fillings. For hole-filling ν_{h}=1, we find that the Chern insulator phase, expected from interaction-induced spin-valley polarization of the bare bands, is quite fragile, and gives way to spontaneous multiferroic order-coexisting ferroelectricity and ferromagnetism, in the presence of long-range Coulomb repulsion. We provide a simple real-space picture to understand the phase diagram as a function of interaction range and strength. Our findings establish twisted TMDs as a novel and highly tunable platform for multiferroicity, and we outline a potential route towards electrical control of magnetism in the multiferroic phase.

Anyon condensation and confinement transition in a Kitaev spin liquid bilayer

Transitions between quantum spin liquids (QSLs) are fundamental problems lying beyond the Landau paradigm and requiring a deep understanding of the entanglement structures of QSLs called topological orders. The novel concept of anyon condensation has been proposed as a theoretical mechanism, predicting various possible transitions between topological orders, but it has long been elusive to confirm the mechanism in quantum spin systems. Here, we introduce a concrete spin model that incarnates the mechanism of the anyon condensation transition. Our model harbors two topological QSLs in different parameter regions, a non-Abelian Kitaev spin liquid (KSL) bilayer state and a resonating valence bond (RVB) state. The bilayer-KSL-to-RVB transition indeed occurs by the mechanism of anyon condensation, which we identify by using parton theories and exact diagonalization studies. Moreover, we observe “anyon confinement” phenomena in our numerical results, akin to the quark confinement in high-energy physics. Namely, non-Abelian Ising anyons of the bilayer KSL are confined in the transition to the RVB state. Implications and extensions of this study are discussed in various aspects such as (i) anyon-condensed multilayer construction of Kitaev's 16-fold way of anyon theories, (ii) an additional vison condensation transition from the RVB to a valence bond solid in the Kitaev bilayer system, (iii) dynamical anyon condensation in a non-Hermitian Kitaev bilayer, (iv) generalizations of our model to other lattice geometries, and (v) experimental realizations. This work puts together the two fascinating QSLs that are extensively studied in modern condensed matter and quantum physics into a concrete spin model, offering a comprehensive picture that unifies the anyon physics of the Kitaev spin liquids and the resonating valence bonds. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Metal-Insulator Transition in a Semiconductor Heterobilayer Model.

Transition metal dichalcogenide superlattices provide an exciting new platform for exploring and understanding a variety of phases of matter. The moiré continuum Hamiltonian, of two-dimensional jellium in a modulating potential, provides a fundamental model for such systems. Accurate computations with this model are essential for interpreting experimental observations and making predictions for future explorations. In this work, we combine two complementary quantum MonteCarlo (QMC) methods, phaseless auxiliary field quantum MonteCarlo and fixed-phase diffusion MonteCarlo, to study the ground state of this Hamiltonian. We observe a metal-insulator transition between a paramagnet and a 120° Néel ordered state as the moiré potential depth and the interaction strength are varied. We find significant differences from existing results by Hartree-Fock and exact diagonalization studies. In addition, we benchmark density-functional theory, and suggest an optimal hybrid functional which best approximates our QMC results.

The energy spectrum and magnetization profile of the decorated spin ladder systems

The peculiarities of the energy spectrum of the decorated mixed spin two-leg ladder system having three spin unit cells have been studied by the perturbation theory in the limit of dominant spin coupling in ladder rungs. It is shown, that despite the singlet ground state, this spin ladder may have an intermediate plateau in a low-temperature magnetization profile. The existence of a similar plateau was shown also in the case of some intermediate values of coupling parameters by means of exact diagonalization study of small ladder clusters and by the density-matrix renormalization group calculations. We also found that the Ising type of interactions in ladder rungs may lead to the disappearance of the above intermediate magnetization plateau for the corresponding isotropic spin ladder.

Time, momentum, and energy resolved pump-probe tunneling spectroscopy of two-dimensional electron systems

Real-time probing of electrons can uncover intricate relaxation mechanisms and many-body interactions in strongly correlated materials. Here, we introduce time, momentum, and energy resolved pump-probe tunneling spectroscopy (Tr-MERTS). The method allows the injection of electrons at a particular energy and observation of their subsequent decay in energy-momentum space. Using Tr-MERTS, we visualize electronic decay processes, with lifetimes from tens of nanoseconds to tens of microseconds, in Landau levels formed in a GaAs quantum well. Although most observed features agree with simple energy-relaxation, we discovered a splitting in the nonequilibrium energy spectrum in the vicinity of a ferromagnetic state. An exact diagonalization study suggests that the splitting arises from a maximally spin-polarized state with higher energy than a conventional equilibrium skyrmion. Furthermore, we observe time-dependent relaxation of the splitting, which we attribute to single-flipped spins forming skyrmions. These results establish Tr-MERTS as a powerful tool for studying the properties of a 2DES beyond equilibrium.

Novel phases in rotating Bose-condensed gas: vortices and quantum correlation

We present the exact diagonalization study of rotating Bose-condensed gas interacting via finite-range Gaussian potential confined in a quasi-2D harmonic trap. The system of many-body Hamiltonian matrix is diagonalized in given subspaces of quantized total angular momentum to obtain the lowest-energy eigenstate employing the beyond lowest-Landau-level approximation. In the co-rotating frame, the quantum mechanical stability of angular momentum states is discussed for the existence of phase transition between the stable states of interacting system. Thereby analyzing the von Neumann entanglement entropy and degree of condensation provide the information about quantum phase correlation in the many-body states. Calculating the conditional probability distribution, we further probe the internal structure of quantum mechanically stable and unstable states. Much emphasis is put on finding the spatial correlation of bosonic atoms in the rotating system for the formation and entry of singly quantized vortices, and then organizing into canonical polygons with and without a central vortex at the trap center. Results are summarized in the form of a movie depicting the vortex patterns having discrete p-fold rotational symmetry with p = 2,3,4,5,6.

Eigenstate thermalization hypothesis in two-dimensional XXZ model with or without SU(2) symmetry.

We investigate the eigenstate thermalization properties of the spin-1/2 XXZ model in two-dimensional rectangular lattices of size L_{1}×L_{2} under periodic boundary conditions. Exploiting the symmetry property, we can perform an exact diagonalization study of the energy eigenvalues up to system size 4×7 and of the energy eigenstates up to 4×6. Numerical analysis of the Hamiltonian eigenvalue spectrum and matrix elements of an observable in the Hamiltonian eigenstate basis supports that the two-dimensional XXZ model follows the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis. When the spin interaction is isotropic, the XXZ model Hamiltonian conserves the total spin and has SU(2) symmetry. We show that the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis is still valid within each subspace where the total spin is a good quantum number.

Spin-orbit coupling and Kondo resonance in the Co adatom on the Cu(100) surface: DFT plus exact diagonalization study

We report density functional theory plus exact diagonalization of the multiorbital Anderson impurity model calculations for the Co adatom on the top of a Cu(001) surface. For the Co atom $d$-shell occupation ${n}_{d}\ensuremath{\approx}8$, a singlet many-body ground state and Kondo resonance are found, when the spin-orbit coupling is included in the calculations. The differential conductance is evaluated in good agreement with the scanning tunneling microscopy measurements. The results illustrate the essential role which the spin-orbit coupling is playing in the formation of a Kondo singlet for the multiorbital impurity in low dimensions.

Quantum chaos in supersymmetric quantum mechanics: An exact diagonalization study

We use exact diagonalization to study energy level statistics and out-of-time-order correlators (OTOCs) for the simplest supersymmetric extension $\hat{H}_S = \hat{H}_B \otimes I + \hat{x}_1 \otimes \sigma_1 + \hat{x}_2 \otimes \sigma_3$ of the bosonic Hamiltonian $\hat{H}_B = \hat{p}_1^2 + \hat{p}_2^2 + \hat{x}_1^2 \, \hat{x}_2^2$. For a long time, this bosonic Hamiltonian was considered one of the simplest systems which exhibit dynamical chaos both classically and quantum-mechanically. Its structure closely resembles that of spatially compactified pure Yang-Mills theory. Correspondingly, the structure of our supersymmetric Hamiltonian is similar to that of spatially compactified supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory, also known as the BFSS model. We present numerical evidence that a continuous energy spectrum of the supersymmetric model leads to monotonous growth of OTOCs down to the lowest temperatures, which is also expected for the BFSS model from holographic duality. This growth is saturated by low-energy eigenstates with effectively one-dimensional wave functions and a completely non-chaotic energy level distribution. We observe a sharp boundary separating these low-energy states from the bulk of chaotic high-energy states. Our data suggests, although with a limited confidence, that at low temperatures the OTOC growth might be exponential over a finite range of time, with the corresponding Lyapunov exponent scaling linearly with temperature. In contrast, the gapped low-energy spectrum of the bosonic Hamiltonian leads to oscillating OTOCs at low temperatures without any signatures of exponential growth. We also find that the OTOCs for the bosonic Hamiltonian are never sufficiently close to the classical Lyapunov distance. On the other hand, the OTOCs for the supersymmetric system agree with the classical limit reasonably well over a finite range of temperatures and evolution times.

A constructive theory of the numerically accessible many-body localized to thermal crossover

The many-body localised (MBL) to thermal crossover observed in exact diagonalisation studies remains poorly understood as the accessible system sizes are too small to be in an asymptotic scaling regime. We develop a model of the crossover in short 1D chains in which the MBL phase is destabilised by the formation of many-body resonances. The model reproduces several properties of the numerically observed crossover, including an apparent correlation length exponent \nu=1ν=1, exponential growth of the Thouless time with disorder strength, linear drift of the critical disorder strength with system size, scale-free resonances, apparent 1/\omega1/ω dependence of disorder-averaged spectral functions, and sub-thermal entanglement entropy of small subsystems. In the crossover, resonances induced by a local perturbation are rare at numerically accessible system sizes LL which are smaller than a \lambdaλ. For L \gg \sqrt{\lambda}L≫λ (in lattice units), resonances typically overlap, and this model does not describe the asymptotic transition. The model further reproduces controversial numerical observations which Refs. claimed to be inconsistent with MBL. We thus argue that the numerics to date is consistent with a MBL phase in the thermodynamic limit.

Trions in twisted bilayer graphene

The strong coupling phase diagram of magic angle twisted bilayer graphene (TBG) predicts a series of exact one particle charge $\pm 1$ gapped excitations on top of the integer-filled ferromagnetic ground-states. Finite-size exact diagonalization studies showed that these are the lowest charge $\pm 1$ excitations in the system (for $10$nm screening length), with the exception of charge $+1$ at filling $-1$ in the chiral limit. In the current paper we show that this "trion bound state", a $3$-particle, charge $1$ excitation of the insulating ferromagnetic ground-state of the projected Hamiltonian of TBG is the lowest charge $+1$ overall excitation at $\nu=-1$, and also for some large ($\approx 20$nm) screening lengths at $\nu=-2$ in the chiral limit and with very small binding energy. At other fillings, we show that trion bound states do exist, but only for momentum ranges that do not cover the entire moir\'e Brillouin zone. The trion bound states (at different momenta) exist for finite parameter range $w_0/w_1$ but they all disappear in the continuum far below the realistic values of $w_0/w_1= 0.8$. We find the conditions for the existence of the trion bound state, a good variational wavefunction for it, and investigate its behavior for different screening lengths, at all integer fillings, on both the electron and hole sides.

Stability of ordered and disordered phases in the Heisenberg-Kitaev model in a magnetic field

The S = 1/2 Kitaev honeycomb model has attracted significant attention as an exactly solvable example with a quantum spin liquid ground state. In an properly oriented external magnetic field, the system exhibits chiral Majorana edge modes with an associated quantized thermal Hall conductance, and a distinct spin-disordered phase emerges at intermediate field strengths, below the polarized phase. However, since material realizations of Kitaev magnetism invariably display competing exchange interactions, the stability of these exotic phases with respect to additional couplings is a key issue. Here, we report a 24-site exact diagonalization study of the Heisenberg-Kitaev model in a magnetic field applied in the [001] and [111] directions. By mapping the full phase diagram of the model and contrasting the results to recent nonlinear spin-wave calculations, we show that both methods agree well, thus establishing that quantum corrections substantially modify the classical phase diagram. Furthermore, we find that, in a [111] field, the intermediate-field spin-disordered phase is remarkably stable to Heisenberg interactions and may potentially end in a novel quantum tricritical point.

Competing U (1) and Z2 dipolar-octupolar quantum spin liquids on the pyrochlore lattice: Application to Ce2Zr2O7

Recent experiments on the dipolar-octupolar pyrochlore compound ${\mathrm{Ce}}_{2}{\mathrm{Zr}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{7}$ indicate that it may realize a three-dimensional quantum spin liquid (QSL). In particular, the analyses of available data suggest that the system is in a region of parameter space, where the so-called $\ensuremath{\pi}$-flux $U(1)$ octupolar quantum spin ice (QSI) with an emergent photon could be realized. However, because the system is far from the perturbative classical spin ice regime, it is unclear whether the quantum ground state is primarily a coherent superposition of 2-in-2-out configurations as in the canonical QSI phases. In this work, we explore other possible competing quantum spin-liquid states beyond QSI using the Schwinger boson parton construction of the dipolar-octupolar pseudospin-1/2 model. After classifying all symmetric $U(1)$ and ${\mathbb{Z}}_{2}$ QSLs using the projective symmetry group (PSG), we construct a mean-field phase diagram that possesses a number of important features observed in an earlier exact diagonalization study. In the experimentally relevant frustrated region of the phase diagram, we find two closely competing gapped ${\mathbb{Z}}_{2}$ QSLs with a narrow spinon dispersion. The equal-time and dynamical spin structure factors of these states show key features similar to what was reported in neutron scattering experiments. Hence, these QSLs are closely competing ground states in addition to the $\ensuremath{\pi}$-flux $U(1)$ QSI, and they should be taken into account on equal footing for the interpretation of experiments on ${\mathrm{Ce}}_{2}{\mathrm{Zr}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{7}$.

Magnetic phase diagram of a spin-1/2 XXZ chain with modulated Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction.

We consider the ground-state phase diagram of a one-dimensional spin-1/2 XXZ chain with a spatially modulated Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction in the presence of an alternating magnetic field applied along the z[over ̂] axis. The model is studied using the continuum-limit bosonization approach and the finite system exact numerical technique. In the absence of a magnetic field, the ground-state phase diagram of the model includes, besides the ferromagnetic and gapless Luttinger-liquid phases, two gapped phases: the composite (C1) phase characterized by the coexistence of long-range-ordered (LRO) alternating dimerization and spin chirality patterns, and the composite (C2) phase characterized by, in addition to the coexisting spin dimerization and alternating chirality patterns, the presence of LRO antiferromagnetic order. In the case of mentioned composite gapped phases, and in the case of a uniform magnetic field, the commensurate-incommensurate type quantum phase transitions from a gapful phase into a gapless phase have been identified and described using the bosonization treatment and finite chain exact diagonalization studies. The upper critical magnetic field corresponding to the transition into a fully polarized state has been also determined. It has been shown that the very presence of a staggered component of the magnetic field vapes the composite (C1) in favor of the composite gapped (C2) phase.

Metal-insulator transition in transition metal dichalcogenide heterobilayer moiré superlattices

Moir\'e superlattices formed in two-dimensional semiconductor heterobilayers provide a new realization of Hubbard model physics in which the number of electrons per effective atom can be tuned at will. We report on an exact diagonalization study of the electronic properties of half-filled narrow moir\'e bands in which correlation strengths are varied by changing twist angles or interaction strengths. We construct a phase diagram for the bilayer, identifying where the metal-insulator phase transition occurs, estimating the sizes of the charge gaps in the insulating phase, and commenting on the nature of the transition and the importance of sub-dominant interaction parameters.

Exact diagonalization study of the anisotropic Heisenberg model related to YbMgGaO4

Employing exact diagonalization, we systematically study the anisotropic Heisenberg model which is related to rare-earth triangular-lattice materials. We probe its full 3D phase diagram afresh and identify a large region of quantum spin liquid (QSL) phase which can extend to the QSL region of the $J_1$--$J_2$ triangular Heisenberg model. Furthermore, we explore the magnetization curves of different phases and reproduce the 1/3-magnetization plateau in the quantum spin liquid phase region. More importantly, to study the possible chemical disorders in real materials, we consider the randomness of exchange interactions and find no spin glass order. And there is a large region of random-singlet phase which contains strongly random spin networks, dominated by two-spin singlets, four-spin singlets and other singlet domains. Our comprehensive ED study can give detailed insightful understanding of the microscopic Hamiltonian related to the YbMgGaO$_4$ and some other related rare-earth triangular-lattice materials.

Interplay of fractional Chern insulator and charge density wave phases in twisted bilayer graphene

We perform an extensive exact diagonalization study of interaction driven insulators in spin- and valley-polarized moir\'{e} flat bands of twisted bilayer graphene aligned with its hexagonal boron nitride substrate. In addition to previously reported fractional Chern insulator phases, we provide compelling evidence for competing charge-density-wave phases at multiple fractional fillings of a realistic single-band model. A thorough analysis at different interlayer hopping parameters, motivated by experimental variability, and the role of kinetic energy at various Coulomb interaction strengths highlight the competition between these phases. The interplay of the single-particle and the interaction induced hole dispersion with the inherent Berry curvature of the Chern bands is intuitively understood to be the driving mechanism for the ground-state selection. The resulting phase diagram features remarkable agreement with experimental findings in a related moir\'{e} heterostructure and affirms the relevance of our results beyond the scope of graphene based materials.

Spectral characteristics of the antiferromagnetic spin-1/2 Heisenberg model on the square lattice in a magnetic field

We predict that spin-waves in an ordered square quantum antiferromagnet in a magnetic field (h) perpendicular to antiferromagnetic plane may demonstrate three modes of spin excitations. Starting from the self-consistent rotation-invariant Green’s function method, a new mean-field theory is constructed for h≠0. The method preserves the translational and the axial symmetries, and provides exact fulfillment of the single-site constraint for each of the three modes. We examine the dynamical structure factors Sαα(k,ω),α(β) = x, y, z. It is shown, that the introduction of h leads to the hybridization of two degenerate spin modes due to the appearance of a nondiagonal on α,β spin-spin Green’s functions. The comparison of the theory with the exact diagonalization study and with results on inelastic neutron scattering experiments is discussed at T = 0. We discuss also the correspondence of the present theory to the existing theories, which allow only two spin excitations modes for the total S(k,ω).