Lattice Spin Models Research Articles

Fractons

Fracton phases constitute a new class of quantum state of matter. They are characterized by excitations that exhibit restricted mobility, being either immobile under local Hamiltonian dynamics or mobile only in certain directions. These phases do not wholly fit into any of the existing paradigms but connect to areas including glassy quantum dynamics, topological order, spin liquids, elasticity theory, quantum information theory, and gravity. We begin by discussing gapped fracton phases, which may be described using exactly solvable lattice spin models. We then introduce the framework of tensor gauge theory, which provides a powerful complementary perspective and allows us to access gapless fracton phases. We discuss the basic properties of gapless fracton phases and their connections to elasticity theory and gravity. We also discuss what is known about the dynamics and thermodynamics of fractons at nonzero density before concluding with a brief survey of some open problems.

Cooperative magnetic phenomena in artificial spin systems: spin liquids, Coulomb phase and fragmentation of magnetism – a colloquium

Two-dimensional arrays of interacting magnetic nanostructures offer a remarkable playground for simulating, experimentally, lattice spin models. Initially designed to capture the low-energy physics of highly frustrated magnets, they quickly became a lab-on-chip platform to investigate cooperative magnetic phenomena often associated with classical frustrated magnetism. This article reviews the many-body physics which can be visualized, directly in real space, through the magnetic imaging of artificial arrays of magnetic nanostructures. Particular attention is paid to classical spin liquid states, magnetic Coulomb phases and magnetic moment fragmentation. Other phenomena, such as complex magnetic ordering, charge crystallization and monopole-like excitations, are also described in light of the recent advances in the field.

Chiral magnetic skyrmions with arbitrary topological charge

We show that continuous and spin-lattice models of chiral ferro- and antiferromagnets provide the existence of an infinite number of stable soliton solutions of any integer topological charge. A detailed description of the morphology of new skyrmions and the corresponding energy dependencies are provided. The considered model is general, and is expected to predict a plethora of particlelike states which may occur in various chiral magnets including ultrathin films, e.g., PdFe/Ir(111), rhombohedral ${\mathrm{GaV}}_{4}{\mathrm{S}}_{8}$ semiconductor, B20-type alloys as ${\mathrm{Mn}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{x}\mathrm{Ge}$, ${\mathrm{Mn}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{x}\mathrm{Si}$, ${\mathrm{Fe}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{Co}}_{x}\mathrm{Si}$, ${\mathrm{Cu}}_{2}{\mathrm{OSeO}}_{3}$, and acentric tetragonal Heusler compounds.

Sharp phase transition for the random-cluster and Potts models via decision trees

We prove an inequality on decision trees on monotonic measures which generalizes the OSSS inequality on product spaces. As an application, we use this inequality to prove a number of new results on lattice spin models and their random-cluster representations. More precisely, we prove that 1. For the Potts model on transitive graphs, correlations decay exponentially fast for $\beta<\beta_c$. 2. For the random-cluster model with cluster weight $q\geq1$ on transitive graphs, correlations decay exponentially fast in the subcritical regime and the cluster-density satisfies the mean-field lower bound in the supercritical regime. 3. For the random-cluster models with cluster weight $q\geq1$ on planar quasi-transitive graphs $\mathbb{G}$, $$\frac{p_c(\mathbb{G})p_c(\mathbb{G}^*)}{(1-p_c(\mathbb{G}))(1-p_c(\mathbb{G}^*))}~=~q.$$ As a special case, we obtain the value of the critical point for the square, triangular and hexagonal lattices (this provides a short proof of the result of Beffara and Duminil-Copin [Probability Theory and Related Fields, 153(3-4):511--542, 2012]). These results have many applications for the understanding of the subcritical (respectively disordered) phase of all these models. The techniques developed in this paper have potential to be extended to a wide class of models including the Ashkin-Teller model, continuum percolation models such as Voronoi percolation and Boolean percolation, super-level sets of massive Gaussian Free Field, and random-cluster and Potts model with infinite range interactions.

Superdiffusion in One-Dimensional Quantum Lattice Models.

We identify a class of one-dimensional spin and fermionic lattice models that display diverging spin and charge diffusion constants, including several paradigmatic models of exactly solvable, strongly correlated many-body dynamics such as the isotropic Heisenberg spin chains, the Fermi-Hubbard model, and the t-J model at the integrable point. Using the hydrodynamic transport theory, we derive an analytic lower bound on the spin and charge diffusion constants by calculating the curvature of the corresponding Drude weights at half-filling, and demonstrate that for certain lattice models with isotropic interactions some of the Noether charges exhibit superdiffusive transport at finite temperature and half-filling.

Proposal for the formation of ultracold deeply bound RbSr dipolar molecules by all-optical methods

Ultracold paramagnetic and polar diatomic molecules are among the promising systems for quantum simulation of lattice-spin models. Unfortunately, their experimental observation is still challenging. Based on our recent \textit{ab-initio} calculations, we analyze the feasibility of all-optical schemes for the formation of ultracold $^{87}$Rb$^{84}$Sr bosonic molecules. First, we have studied the formation by photoassociation followed by spontaneous emission. The photoassociation rates to levels belonging to electronic states converging to the $^{87}$Rb$(5s\,^2S)$+$^{84}$Sr($5s5p\,^3P_{0,1,2}$) asymptotes are particularly small close to the asymptote. The creation of molecules would be more interesting by using deeply levels that preferentially relaxes to the $v''=0$ level of the ground state. On the other hands, the photoassociation rates to levels belonging to electronic states converging to the Rb$(5p\,^2P_{1/2,3/2})$+Sr($5s^2\,^1S$) asymptotes have high value close to the asymptote. The relaxation from the levels close to the asymptotes creates weakly-bound molecules in mosty only one vibrational level. Second, stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) achieved in a tight optical trap efficiently creates weakly-bound ground-state molecules in a well-defined level, thus providing an alternative to magnetic Feshbach resonances to implement several schemes for an adiabatic population transfer toward the lowest ground-state level of RbSr. Finally, we have studied STIRAP process for transferring the weakly-bound molecules into the $v''=0$ level of the RbSr ground state.

Integrable Lattice Spin Models from Supersymmetric Dualities

Recently, there has been observed an interesting correspondence between supersymmetric quiver gauge theories with four supercharges and integrable lattice models of statistical mechanics such that the two-dimensional spin lattice is the quiver diagram, the partition function of the lattice model is the partition function of the gauge theory and the Yang-Baxter equation expresses the identity of partition functions for dual pairs. This correspondence is a powerful tool which enables us to generate new integrable models. The aim of the present paper is to give a short account on a progress in integrable lattice models which has been made due to the relationship with supersymmetric gauge theories.

Zero point fluctuations for magnetic spirals and Skyrmions, and the fate of the Casimir energy in the continuum limit

We study the role of zero-point quantum fluctuations in a range of magnetic states which on the classical level are close to spin-aligned ferromagnets. These include Skyrmion textures characterized by non-zero topological charge, and topologically-trivial spirals arising from the competition of the Heisenberg and Dzyaloshin-skii–Moriya interactions. For the former, we extend our previous results on quantum exactness of classical Bogomolny–Prasad–Sommerfield (BPS) ground-state degeneracies to the general case of Kähler manifolds, with a specific example of Grassmann manifolds Gr(M,N). These are relevant to quantum Hall ferromagnets with N internal states and integer filling factor M. A promising candidate for their experimental implementation is monolayer graphene with N = 4 corresponding to spin and valley degrees of freedom at the charge neutrality point with M = 2 filled Landau levels. We find that the vanishing of the zero-point fluctuations in taking the continuum limit occurs differently in the case of BPS states compared to the case of more general smooth textures, with the latter exhibiting more pronounced lattice effects. This motivates us to consider the vanishing of zero-point fluctuations in such near-ferromagnets more generally. We present a family of lattice spin models for which the vanishing of zero-point fluctuations is evident, and show that some spirals can be thought of as having nonzero but weak zero-point fluctuations on account of their closeness to this family. Between them, these instances provide concrete illustrations of how the Casimir energy, dependent on the full UV-structure of the theory, evolves as the continuum limit is taken.

Topological entanglement entropy of the three-dimensional Kitaev model

We calculate the topological entanglement entropy (TEE) for a three-dimensional hyperhoneycomb lattice generalization of Kitaev's honeycomb lattice spin model. We find that for this model TEE is not directly determined by the total quantum dimension of the system. This is in contrast to general two dimensional systems and many three dimensional models, where TEE is related to the total quantum dimension. Our calculation also provides TEE for a three-dimensional toric-code-type Hamiltonian that emerges as the effective low-energy theory for the Kitaev model in a particular limit.

Universal quantum Hamiltonians

Quantum many-body systems exhibit an extremely diverse range of phases and physical phenomena. However, we prove that the entire physics of any quantum many-body system can be replicated by certain simple, "universal" spin-lattice models. We first characterize precisely what it means for one quantum system to simulate the entire physics of another. We then fully classify the simulation power of all two-qubit interactions, thereby proving that certain simple models can simulate all others, and hence are universal. Our results put the practical field of analogue Hamiltonian simulation on a rigorous footing and take a step toward justifying why error correction may not be required for this application of quantum information technology.

Phase transitions in sequential weak measurements

Quantum measurements and phase transitions are seemingly uncorrelated topics, but here we show that phase transitions occur in sequential quantum measurements. We find that the probability distribution of the measurement results of a sequence of quantum measurements on a two-level system (e.g. a qubit) is equivalent to the Boltzmann distribution of a classical lattice spin model. So the measurement results present phase transitions similar to those in the lattice spin model. In sequential commuting positive-operator valued measurements, the probability distribution is mapped to a long-range Ising model in the weak-measurement regime, and a projective measurement emerges from a sequence of weak measurement when the strength or the number of measurements becomes above certain critical values, which correspond to a second-order ferromagnetic phase transition of the lattice spin model. These findings not only provide new insights on sequential quantum measurements, but may also have potential applications in quantum technologies.

Mobile bound states of Rydberg excitations in a lattice

Spin lattice models play central role in the studies of quantum magnetism and non-equilibrium dynamics of spin excitations -- magnons. We show that a spin lattice with strong nearest-neighbor interactions and tunable long-range hopping of excitations can be realized by a regular array of laser driven atoms, with an excited Rydberg state representing the spin-up state and a Rydberg-dressed ground state corresponding to the spin-down state. We find exotic interaction-bound states of magnons that propagate in the lattice via the combination of resonant two-site hopping and non-resonant second-order hopping processes. Arrays of trapped Rydberg-dressed atoms can thus serve as a flexible platform to simulate and study fundamental few-body dynamics in spin lattices.

Central Limit Theorem for Exponentially Quasi-local Statistics of Spin Models on Cayley Graphs

Central limit theorems for linear statistics of lattice random fields (including spin models) are usually proven under suitable mixing conditions or quasi-associativity. Many interesting examples of spin models do not satisfy mixing conditions, and on the other hand, it does not seem easy to show central limit theorem for local statistics via quasi-associativity. In this work, we prove general central limit theorems for local statistics and exponentially quasi-local statistics of spin models on discrete Cayley graphs with polynomial growth. Further, we supplement these results by proving similar central limit theorems for random fields on discrete Cayley graphs taking values in a countable space, but under the stronger assumptions of $$\alpha $$ -mixing (for local statistics) and exponential $$\alpha $$ -mixing (for exponentially quasi-local statistics). All our central limit theorems assume a suitable variance lower bound like many others in the literature. We illustrate our general central limit theorem with specific examples of lattice spin models and statistics arising in computational topology, statistical physics and random networks. Examples of clustering spin models include quasi-associated spin models with fast decaying covariances like the off-critical Ising model, level sets of Gaussian random fields with fast decaying covariances like the massive Gaussian free field and determinantal point processes with fast decaying kernels. Examples of local statistics include intrinsic volumes, face counts, component counts of random cubical complexes while exponentially quasi-local statistics include nearest neighbour distances in spin models and Betti numbers of sub-critical random cubical complexes.

Multispeed Prethermalization in Quantum Spin Models with Power-Law Decaying Interactions.

The relaxation of uniform quantum systems with finite-range interactions after a quench is generically driven by the ballistic propagation of long-lived quasiparticle excitations triggered by a sufficiently small quench. Here we investigate the case of long-range (1/r^{α}) interactions for a d-dimensional lattice spin model with uniaxial symmetry, and show that, in the regime d<α<d+2, the entanglement and correlation buildup is radically altered by the existence of a nonlinear dispersion relation of quasiparticles, ω∼k^{z<1}, at small wave vectors, leading to a divergence of the quasiparticle group velocity and superballistic propagation. This translates in a superlinear growth of correlation fronts with time and sublinear growth of relaxation times of subsystem observables with size when focusing on k=0 fluctuations. Yet the large dispersion in group velocities leads to an extreme wavelength dependence of relaxation times of finite-k fluctuations, with entanglement being susceptible to all of them. Our predictions are directly relevant to current experiments probing the nonequilibrium dynamics of trapped ions, or ultracold magnetic and Rydberg atoms in optical lattices.

Simple anisotropic three-dimensional quantum spin liquid with fractonlike topological order

We present a three-dimensional cubic lattice spin model, anisotropic in the $\hat{z}$ direction, that exhibits fracton topological order. The latter is a novel type of topological order characterized by the presence of immobile pointlike excitations, named fractons, residing at the corners of an operator with two-dimensional support. As other recent fracton models, ours exhibits a subextensive ground state degeneracy: On an $L_x\times L_y\times L_z$ three-torus, it has a $2^{2L_z}$ topological degeneracy, and an additional non-topological degeneracy equal to $2^{L_xL_y-2}$. The fractons can be combined into composite excitations that move either in a straight line along the $\hat{z}$ direction, or freely in the $xy$ plane at a given height $z$. While our model draws inspiration from the toric code, we demonstrate that it cannot be adiabatically connected to a layered toric code construction. Additionally, we investigate the effects of imposing open boundary conditions on our system. We find zero energy modes on the surfaces perpendicular to either the $\hat{x}$ or $\hat{y}$ directions, and their absence on the surfaces normal to $\hat{z}$. This result can be explained using the properties of the two kinds of composite two-fracton mobile excitations.

Critical Two-Point Function for Long-Range O(n) Models Below the Upper Critical Dimension

We consider the $n$-component $|\varphi|^4$ lattice spin model ($n \ge 1$) and the weakly self-avoiding walk ($n=0$) on $\mathbb{Z}^d$, in dimensions $d=1,2,3$. We study long-range models based on the fractional Laplacian, with spin-spin interactions or walk step probabilities decaying with distance $r$ as $r^{-(d+\alpha)}$ with $\alpha \in (0,2)$. The upper critical dimension is $d_c=2\alpha$. For $\epsilon >0$, and $\alpha = \frac 12 (d+\epsilon)$, the dimension $d=d_c-\epsilon$ is below the upper critical dimension. For small $\epsilon$, weak coupling, and all integers $n \ge 0$, we prove that the two-point function at the critical point decays with distance as $r^{-(d-\alpha)}$. This "sticking" of the critical exponent at its mean-field value was first predicted in the physics literature in 1972. Our proof is based on a rigorous renormalisation group method. The treatment of observables differs from that used in recent work on the nearest-neighbour 4-dimensional case, via our use of a cluster expansion.

Antiskyrmions stabilized at interfaces by anisotropic Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions

Chiral magnets are an emerging class of topological matter harboring localized and topologically protected vortex-like magnetic textures called skyrmions, which are currently under intense scrutiny as an entity for information storage and processing. Here, on the level of micromagnetics we rigorously show that chiral magnets can not only host skyrmions but also antiskyrmions as least energy configurations over all non-trivial homotopy classes. We derive practical criteria for their occurrence and coexistence with skyrmions that can be fulfilled by (110)-oriented interfaces depending on the electronic structure. Relating the electronic structure to an atomistic spin-lattice model by means of density functional calculations and minimizing the energy on a mesoscopic scale by applying spin-relaxation methods, we propose a double layer of Fe grown on a W(110) substrate as a practical example. We conjecture that ultra-thin magnetic films grown on semiconductor or heavy metal substrates with C2v symmetry are prototype classes of materials hosting magnetic antiskyrmions.

Designing Kitaev Spin Liquids in Metal-Organic Frameworks.

Kitaev's honeycomb lattice spin model is a remarkable exactly solvable model, which has a particular type of spin liquid (Kitaev spin liquid) as the ground state. Although its possible realization in iridates and α-RuCl_{3} has been vigorously discussed recently, these materials have substantial non-Kitaev direct exchange interactions and do not have a spin liquid ground state. We propose metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with Ru^{3+} (or Os^{3+}), forming the honeycomb lattice as promising candidates for a more ideal realization of Kitaev-type spin models, where the direct exchange interaction is strongly suppressed. The great flexibility of MOFs allows generalization to other three-dimensional lattices for the potential realization of a variety of spin liquids, such as a Weyl spin liquid.

Solvable Markovian dynamics of lattice quantum spin models

We address the real-time dynamics of lattice quantum spin models coupled to single or multiple Markovian dissipative reservoirs using the method of closed hierarchies of correlation functions. This approach allows us to solve a number of quantum spin models exactly in arbitrary dimensions, which is illustrated explicitly with two examples of driven-dissipative systems. We investigate their respective nonequilibrium steady states as well as the full real-time evolution on unprecedented system sizes. Characteristic time scales are derived analytically, which allows us to understand the nontrivial finite-size scaling of the dissipative gap. The corresponding scaling exponents are confirmed by solving numerically for the full real-time evolution of two-point correlation functions.

Liquid crystal channel waveguides: A computer simulation of the application of transversal external fields

ABSTRACTWe present detailed Monte Carlo simulations of a simple model of a nematic liquid crystal channel waveguide investigating the effect of an applied electric external field. The simulations are based on the Lebwohl-Lasher lattice spin model with boundary conditions chosen to mimic the homeotropic anchoring appropriate for PDMS polymer walls. The external field is modeled by adding an additional term to the Hamiltonian which describes its coupling to the mesogenic molecules. We have investigated the effect of the external field on the optical transmission and the ordering across the cell.