Ground State Entanglement Entropy Research Articles

Exceptional points and quantum phase transition in a fermionic extension of the Swanson oscillator

Motivated by the structure of the Swanson oscillator which is a well-known example of a non-Hermitian quantum system consisting of a general representation of a quadratic Hamiltonian, we propose a fermionic extension of such a scheme which incorporates two fermionic oscillators together with bilinear-coupling terms that do not conserve particle number. We determine the eigenvalues and eigenvectors, and expose the appearance of exceptional points where two of the eigenstates coalesce with the corresponding eigenvectors exhibiting self-orthogonality with respect to the bi-orthogonal inner product. The model admits a quantum phase transition—we discuss the two phases and also demonstrate that the ground-state entanglement entropy exhibits a discontinuous jump indicating the transition between the two phases.

Entanglement area law violation from field-curvature coupling

We investigate the ground state entanglement entropy of a massive scalar field nonminimally coupled to spacetime curvature, assuming a static, spherically symmetric background. We first discretize the field Hamiltonian by introducing a lattice of spherical shells and imposing a cutoff in the radial direction. We then study the ground state of the field and quantify deviations from area law due to nonminimal coupling, focusing in particular on Schwarzschild-de Sitter and Hayward spacetimes, also discussing de Sitter spacetime as a limiting case. We show that large positive coupling constants can significantly alter the entropy scaling with respect to the boundary area, in case of coordinate-dependent spacetime curvature. Our outcomes are interpreted in view of black hole entropy production and early universe scenarios.

Absence of logarithmic enhancement in the entanglement scaling of free fermions on folded cubes

This study investigates the scaling behavior of the ground-state entanglement entropy in a model of free fermions on folded cubes. An analytical expression is derived in the large-diameter limit, revealing a strict adherence to the area law. The absence of the logarithmic enhancement expected for free fermions is explained using a decomposition of folded cubes in chains based on its Terwilliger algebra and . The entanglement Hamiltonian and its relation to Heun operators are also investigated.

Entanglement Entropy of Ground States of the Three-Dimensional Ideal Fermi Gas in a Magnetic Field

We study the asymptotic growth of the entanglement entropy of ground states of non-interacting (spinless) fermions in R3\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$${{\\mathbb {R}}}^3$$\\end{document} subject to a constant magnetic field perpendicular to a plane. As for the case with no magnetic field we find, to leading order L2ln(L)\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$L^2\\ln (L)$$\\end{document}, a logarithmically enhanced area law of this entropy for a bounded, piecewise Lipschitz region LΛ⊂R3\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$L\\Lambda \\subset {{\\mathbb {R}}}^3$$\\end{document} as the scaling parameter L tends to infinity. This is in contrast to the two-dimensional case since particles can now move freely in the direction of the magnetic field, which causes the extra ln(L)\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\ln (L)$$\\end{document} factor. The explicit expression for the coefficient of the leading order contains a surface integral similar to the Widom–Sobolev formula in the non-magnetic case. It differs, however, in the sense that the dependence on the boundary, ∂Λ\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\partial \\Lambda $$\\end{document}, is not solely on its area but on the “surface perpendicular to the direction of the magnetic field”. We utilize a two-term asymptotic expansion by Widom (up to an error term of order one) of certain traces of one-dimensional Wiener–Hopf operators with a discontinuous symbol. This leads to an improved error term of the order L2\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$L^2$$\\end{document} of the relevant trace for piecewise C1,α\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\ extsf{C}^{1,\\alpha }$$\\end{document} smooth surfaces ∂Λ\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\partial \\Lambda $$\\end{document}.

Knots and entanglement

We extend the entanglement bootstrap program to (3+1)-dimensions. We study knotted excitations of (3+1)-dimensional liquid topological orders and exotic fusion processes of loops. As in previous work in (2+1)-dimensions [Ann. Phys. 418, 168164 (2020), Phys. Rev. B 103, 115150 (2021)], we define a variety of superselection sectors and fusion spaces from two axioms on the ground state entanglement entropy. In particular, we identify fusion spaces associated with knots. We generalize the information convex set to a new class of regions called immersed regions, promoting various theorems to this new context. Examples from solvable models are provided; for instance, a concrete calculation of knot multiplicity shows that the knot complement of a trefoil knot can store quantum information. We define spiral maps that allow us to understand consistency relations for torus knots as well as spiral fusions of fluxes.

Quantum Critical Behavior of Entanglement in Lattice Bosons with Cavity-Mediated Long-Range Interactions.

We analyze the ground-state entanglement entropy of the extended Bose-Hubbard model with infinite-range interactions. This model describes the low-energy dynamics of ultracold bosons tightly bound to an optical lattice and dispersively coupled to a cavity mode. The competition between on-site repulsion and global cavity-induced interactions leads to a rich phase diagram, which exhibits superfluid, supersolid, and insulating (Mott and checkerboard) phases. We use a slave-boson treatment of harmonic quantum fluctuations around the mean-field solution and calculate the entanglement entropy across the phase transitions. At commensurate filling, the insulator-superfluid transition is signaled by a singularity in the area-law scaling coefficient of the entanglement entropy, which is similar to the one reported for the standard Bose-Hubbard model. Remarkably, at the continuous Z_{2} superfluid-to-supersolid transition we find a critical logarithmic term, regardless of the filling. This behavior originates from the appearance of a roton mode in the excitation and entanglement spectrum, becoming gapless at the critical point, and it is characteristic of collective models.

Universal entanglement entropy in the ground state of biased bipartite systems

The ground state entanglement entropy is studied in a many-body bipartite quantum system with either a single or multiple conserved quantities. It is shown that the entanglement entropy exhibits a universal power-law behaviour at large $R$ -- the occupancy ratio between the two subsystems. Single and multiple conserved quantities lead to different power-law exponents, suggesting the entanglement entropy can serve to detect hidden conserved quantities. Moreover, occupancy measurements allow to infer the bipartite entanglement entropy. All the above results are generalized for the R\'enyi entropy.

Correlations at PT-Symmetric Quantum Critical Point.

We consider a PT-symmetric Fermi gas with an exceptional point, representing the critical point between PT-symmetric and symmetry broken phases. The low energy spectrum remains linear in momentum and is identical to that of a Hermitian Fermi gas. The fermionic Green's function decays in a power law fashion for large distances, as expected from gapless excitations, although the exponent is reduced from -1 due to the quantum Zeno effect. In spite of the gapless nature of the excitations, the ground state entanglement entropy saturates to a finite value, independent of the subsystem size due to the non-Hermitian correlation length intrinsic to the system. Attractive or repulsive interaction drives the system into the PT-symmetry broken regime or opens up a gap and protects PT symmetry, respectively. Our results challenge the concept of universality in non-Hermitian systems, where quantum criticality can be masked due to non-Hermiticity.

Disorder-driven phase transitions in bosonic fractional quantum Hall liquids

We investigate the disorder-driven phase transitions in bosonic fractional quantum Hall liquids at filling factors $f=1/2$ and $f=1$ in the lowest Landau level. We use the evolution of ground-state entanglement entropy, fidelity susceptibility, and Hall conductance with increasing disorder strength to identify the underlying phase transitions. The critical disorder strengths obtained from these different quantities are consistent with each other, validating the reliability of our numerical calculations based on exact diagonalization. At $f=1/2$, we observe a clear transition from the bosonic Laughlin state to a trivial insulating phase. At $f=1$, we identify a direct phase transition from the non-Abelian bosonic Moore-Read state to a trivial insulating phase, although some signs of a disorder-induced intermediate fractional quantum Hall phase were recently reported for the $f=5/2$ fermionic cousin.

Entanglement entropy in multi-leg Kitaev ladders with interface defects

The entanglement of different parts of a quantum system is expected to be proportional to the common interface area. Therefore alterations across the interface will lead to changes on the behavior of entanglement entropy. In this work, the effects of bond defects at the boundaries of Kitaev ladders are considered. We find a logarithmic scaling for the ground state entanglement entropy between the two pieces. The prefactor of the logarithm (effective central charge (ECC)) varies continuously with the defect strength. The energy dispersion is also obtained and sharp features in the von Neumann entanglement entropy are observed when bands cross. Phase diagrams for homogeneous Kitaev Hamiltonians with nonzero superconducting paring potential are presented. They show that for chains/legs that are connected to one another through inter-leg hopping, when certain parameters are fine-tuned, the phase transition lines correspond to either single or double gapless modes dispersion. Moreover, even when the defect is turned on, the ECC for ladders with two gapless modes is exactly twice the one for ladders with a single gapless mode. On the other hand, in the absence of superconductivity, we can tune the parameters to obtain homogeneous systems whose number of gapless modes is up to the number of legs of the ladder. Additionally, in this situation, the presence of the bond defect makes the ECC becomes smaller than the number of gapless modes times the ECC of Hamiltonians with one gapless mode. Furthermore, the relationship between the cases with and without superconductivity is presented.

Domain Wall Topological Entanglement Entropy.

We study the ground-state entanglement of gapped domain walls between topologically ordered systems in two spatial dimensions. We derive a universal correction to the ground-state entanglement entropy, which is equal to the logarithm of the total quantum dimension of a set of superselection sectors localized on the domain wall. This expression is derived from the recently proposed entanglement bootstrap method.

Entanglement bootstrap approach for gapped domain walls

We develop a theory of gapped domain wall between topologically ordered systems in two spatial dimensions. We find a new type of superselection sector -- referred to as the parton sector -- that subdivides the known superselection sectors localized on gapped domain walls. Moreover, we introduce and study the properties of composite superselection sectors that are made out of the parton sectors. We explain a systematic method to define these sectors, their fusion spaces, and their fusion rules, by deriving nontrivial identities relating their quantum dimensions and fusion multiplicities. We propose a set of axioms regarding the ground state entanglement entropy of systems that can host gapped domain walls, generalizing the bulk axioms proposed in [B. Shi, K. Kato, and I. H. Kim, Ann. Phys. 418, 168164 (2020)]. Similar to our analysis in the bulk, we derive our main results by examining the self-consistency relations of an object called information convex set. As an application, we define an analog of topological entanglement entropy for gapped domain walls and derive its exact expression.

Measuring von Neumann entanglement entropies without wave functions

We present a method to measure the von Neumann entanglement entropy of ground states of quantum many-body systems which does not require access to the system wave function. The technique is based on a direct thermodynamic study of lattice entanglement Hamiltonians—recently proposed in the paper [Dalmonte et al 2018 Nat. Phys. 14 827] via field theoretical insights—and can be performed by quantum Monte Carlo methods. We benchmark our technique on critical quantum spin chains, and apply it to several two-dimensional quantum magnets, where we are able to unambiguously determine the onset of area law in the entanglement entropy, the number of Goldstone bosons, and to check a recent conjecture on geometric entanglement contribution at critical points described by strongly coupled field theories. The protocol can also be adapted to measure entanglement in experiments via quantum quenches.

Entanglement entropy of the long-range Dyson hierarchical model

We study the ground state entanglement entropy of the quantum Dyson hierarchical spin chain in which the interaction decays algebraically with the distance as . We exploit the real-space renormalisation group solution which gives the ground-state wave function in the form of a tree tensor network and provides a manageable recursive expression for the reduced density matrix of the renormalised ground state. Surprisingly, we find that at criticality the entanglement entropy obeys an area law, as opposite to the logarithmic scaling of short-range critical systems and of other non-hierarchical long-range models. We provide also some analytical results in the limit of large and small that are tested against the numerical solution of the recursive equations.

On the entanglement entropy of Maxwell theory: a condensed matter perspective

Despite the seeming simplicity of the theory, calculating (and even defining) entanglement entropy for the Maxwell theory of a U(1) gauge field in (3+1) dimensions has been the subject of controversy. It is generally accepted that the ground state entanglement entropy for a region of linear size L behaves as an area law with a subleading logarithm, S = αL2 − γ log L. While the logarithmic coefficient γ is believed to be universal, there has been disagreement about its precise value. After carefully accounting for subtle boundary corrections, multiple analyses in the high energy literature have converged on an answer related to the conformal trace anomaly, which is only sensitive to the local curvature of the partition. In contrast, a condensed matter treatment of the problem yielded a topological contribution which is not captured by the conformal field theory calculation. In this perspective piece, we review aspects of the various calculations and discuss the resolution of the discrepancy, emphasizing the important role played by charged states (the “extended Hilbert space”) in defining entanglement for a gauge theory. While the trace anomaly result is sufficient for a strictly pure gauge field, coupling the gauge field to dynamical charges of mass m gives a topological contribution to γ which survives even in the m → ∞ limit. For many situations, the topological contribution from dynamical charges is physically meaningful and should be taken into account. We also comment on other common issues of entanglement in gauge theories, such as entanglement distillation, algebraic definitions of entanglement, and gauge-fixing procedures.

Ground state entanglement entropy for discrete-time two coupled harmonic oscillators

The ground state entanglement of the system, both in discrete-time and continuous-time cases, is quantified through the linear entropy. The result shows that the entanglement increases as the interaction between the particles increases in both time scales. It is also found that the strength of the harmonic potential affects the formation rate of the entanglement of the system. The different feature of the entanglement between continuous-time and discrete-time scales is that, for discrete-time entanglement, there is a cut-off condition. This condition implies that the system can never be in a maximally entangled state.

Entanglement entropy for 2D gauge theories with matters

We investigate the entanglement entropy in 1+1-dimensional $SU(N)$ gauge theories with various matter fields using the lattice regularization. Here we use extended Hilbert space definition for entanglement entropy, which contains three contributions; (1) classical Shannon entropy associated with superselection sector distribution, where sectors are labelled by irreducible representations of boundary penetrating fluxes, (2) logarithm of the dimensions of their representations, which is associated with "color entanglement", and (3) EPR Bell pairs, which give "genuine" entanglement. We explicitly show that entanglement entropies (1) and (2) above indeed appear for various multiple "meson" states in gauge theories with matter fields. Furthermore, we employ transfer matrix formalism for gauge theory with fundamental matter field and analyze its ground state using hopping parameter expansion (HPE), where the hopping parameter $K$ is roughly the inverse square of the mass for the matter. We evaluate the entanglement entropy for the ground state and show that all (1), (2), (3) above appear in the HPE, though the Bell pair part (3) appears in higher order than (1) and (2) do. With these results, we discuss how the ground state entanglement entropy in the continuum limit can be understood from the lattice ground state obtained in the HPE.

Entanglement entropy in excited states of the quantum Lifshitz model

We investigate the entanglement properties of an infinite class of excited states in the quantum Lifshitz model (QLM). The presence of a conformal quantum critical point in the QLM makes it unusually tractable for a model above one spatial dimension, enabling the ground state entanglement entropy for an arbitrary domain to be expressed in terms of geometrical and topological quantities. Here we extend this result to excited states and find that the entanglement can be naturally written in terms of quantities which we dub ‘entanglement propagator amplitudes’ (EPAs). EPAs are geometrical probabilities that we explicitly calculate and interpret. A comparison of lattice and continuum results demonstrates that EPAs are universal. This work shows that the QLM is an example of a 2 + 1d field theory where the universal behavior of excited-state entanglement may be computed analytically.

Entanglement and coherence in a spin-s XXZ system under non-uniform fields

We investigate entanglement and coherence in an XXZ spin s pair immersed in a non-uniform transverse magnetic field. The ground state and thermal entanglement phase diagrams are analyzed in detail in both the ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic cases. It is shown that a non-uniform field can control the energy levels and the entanglement of the corresponding eigenstates, making it possible to entangle the system for any value of the exchange couplings, both at zero and finite temperatures. Moreover, the limit temperature for entanglement is shown to depend only on the difference between the fields applied at each spin, leading for to a separability stripe in the field plane such that the system becomes entangled above a threshold value of . These results are demonstrated to be rigorously valid for any spin s. On the other hand, the relative entropy of coherence in the standard basis, which coincides with the ground state entanglement entropy at T = 0 for any s, becomes non-zero for any value of the fields at , decreasing uniformly for sufficiently high T. A special critical point arising at T = 0 for non-uniform fields in the ferromagnetic case is also discussed.

Critical behavior of su(1|1) supersymmetric spin chains with long-range interactions.

We introduce a general class of su(1|1) supersymmetric spin chains with long-range interactions which includes as particular cases the su(1|1) Inozemtsev (elliptic) and Haldane-Shastry chains, as well as the XX model. We show that this class of models can be fermionized with the help of the algebraic properties of the su(1|1) permutation operator and take advantage of this fact to analyze their quantum criticality when a chemical potential term is present in the Hamiltonian. We first study the low-energy excitations and the low-temperature behavior of the free energy, which coincides with that of a (1+1)-dimensional conformal field theory (CFT) with central charge c=1 when the chemical potential lies in the critical interval (0,E(π)), E(p) being the dispersion relation. We also analyze the von Neumann and Rényi ground state entanglement entropies, showing that they exhibit the logarithmic scaling with the size of the block of spins characteristic of a one-boson (1+1)-dimensional CFT. Our results thus show that the models under study are quantum critical when the chemical potential belongs to the critical interval, with central charge c=1. From the analysis of the fermion density at zero temperature, we also conclude that there is a quantum phase transition at both ends of the critical interval. This is further confirmed by the behavior of the fermion density at finite temperature, which is studied analytically (at low temperature), as well as numerically for the su(1|1) elliptic chain.