Fermionic Many-body Systems Research Articles

Structure Factors for Hot Neutron Matter from AbInitio Lattice Simulations with High-Fidelity Chiral Interactions.

We present the first abinitio lattice calculations of spin and density correlations in hot neutron matter using high-fidelity interactions at next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order in chiral effective field theory. These correlations have a large impact on neutrino heating and shock revival in core-collapse supernovae and are encapsulated in functions called structure factors. Unfortunately, calculations of structure factors using high-fidelity chiral interactions were well out of reach using existing computational methods. In this Letter, we solve the problem using a computational approach called the rank-one operator (RO) method. The RO method is a general technique with broad applications to simulations of fermionic many-body systems. It solves the problem of exponential scaling of computational effort when using perturbation theory for higher-body operators and higher-order corrections. Using the RO method, we compute the vector and axial static structure factors for hot neutron matter as a function of temperature and density. The abinitio lattice results are in good agreement with virial expansion calculations at low densities but are more reliable at higher densities. Random phase approximation codes used to estimate neutrino opacity in core-collapse supernovae simulations can now be calibrated with abinitio lattice calculations.

Quantum parameter estimation with many-body fermionic systems and application to the Hall effect

We calculate the quantum Fisher information for a generic many-body fermionic system in a pure state depending on a parameter. We discuss the situations where the parameter is imprinted in the basis states, in the state coefficients, or both. In the case where the parameter dependence of coefficients results from a Hamiltonian evolution, we derive a particularly simple expression for the quantum Fisher information. We apply our findings to the quantum Hall effect, and evaluate the quantum Fisher information associated with the optimal measurement of the magnetic field for a system in the ground state of the effective Hamiltonian. The occupation of electron states with high momentum enforced by the Pauli principle leads to a ``super-Heisenberg’’ scaling of the sensitivity with a power law that depends on the geometry of the sensor.

Quantum quenches in driven-dissipative quadratic fermionic systems with parity-time symmetry

We study the quench dynamics of noninteracting fermionic quantum many-body systems that are subjected to Markovian drive and dissipation and are described by a quadratic Liouvillian which has parity-time (PT) symmetry. In recent work, we have shown that such systems relax locally to a maximum entropy ensemble that we have dubbed the PT-symmetric generalized Gibbs ensemble (PTGGE), in analogy to the generalized Gibbs ensemble that describes the steady state of isolated integrable quantum many-body systems after a quench. Here, using driven-dissipative versions of the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) model and the Kitaev chain as paradigmatic model systems, we corroborate and substantially expand upon our previous results. In particular, we confirm the validity of a dissipative quasiparticle picture at finite dissipation by demonstrating light cone spreading of correlations and the linear growth and saturation to the PTGGE prediction of the quasiparticle-pair contribution to the subsystem entropy in the PT-symmetric phase. Further, we introduce the concept of directional pumping phases, which is related to the non-Hermitian topology of the Liouvillian and based upon qualitatively different dynamics of the dual string order parameter and the subsystem fermion parity in the SSH model and the Kitaev chain, respectively: depending on the postquench parameters, there can be pumping of string order and fermion parity through both ends of a subsystem corresponding to a finite segment of the one-dimensional lattice, through only one end, or there can be no pumping at all. We show that transitions between dynamical pumping phases give rise to a new and independent type of dynamical critical behavior of the rates of directional pumping, which are determined by the soft modes of the PTGGE. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Adiabatic ground-state preparation of fermionic many-body systems from a two-body perspective

Adiabatic ground-state preparation of fermionic many-body systems from a two-body perspective

Many versus one: The disorder operator and entanglement entropy in fermionic quantum matter

Motivated by recent development of the concept of the disorder operator and its relation with entanglement entropy in bosonic systems, here we show the disorder operator successfully probes many aspects of quantum entanglement in fermionic many-body systems. From both analytical and numerical computations in free and interacting fermion systems in 1D and 2D, we find the disorder operator and the entanglement entropy exhibit similar universal scaling behavior, as a function of the boundary length of the subsystem, but with subtle yet important differences. In 1D they both follow the \log{L}logL scaling behavior with the coefficient determined by the Luttinger parameter for disorder operator, and the conformal central charge for entanglement entropy. In 2D they both show the universal L\log LLlogL scaling behavior in free and interacting Fermi liquid states, with the coefficients depending on the geometry of the Fermi surfaces. However at a 2D quantum critical point with non-Fermi-liquid state, extra symmetry information is needed in the design of the disorder operator, so as to reveal the critical fluctuations as does the entanglement entropy. Our results demonstrate the fermion disorder operator can be used to probe quantum many-body entanglement related to global symmetry, and provide new tools to explore the still largely unknown territory of highly entangled fermion quantum matter in 2 or higher dimensions.

Fermionic quantum processing with programmable neutral atom arrays

Simulating the properties of many-body fermionic systems is an outstanding computational challenge relevant to material science, quantum chemistry, and particle physics.-5.4pc]Please note that the spelling of the following author names in the manuscript differs from the spelling provided in the article metadata: D. González-Cuadra, D. Bluvstein, M. Kalinowski, R. Kaubruegger, N. Maskara, P. Naldesi, T. V. Zache, A. M. Kaufman, M. D. Lukin, H. Pichler, B. Vermersch, Jun Ye, and P. Zoller. The spelling provided in the manuscript has been retained; please confirm. Although qubit-based quantum computers can potentially tackle this problem more efficiently than classical devices, encoding nonlocal fermionic statistics introduces an overhead in the required resources, limiting their applicability on near-term architectures. In this work, we present a fermionic quantum processor, where fermionic models are locally encoded in a fermionic register and simulated in a hardware-efficient manner using fermionic gates. We consider in particular fermionic atoms in programmable tweezer arrays and develop different protocols to implement nonlocal gates, guaranteeing Fermi statistics at the hardware level. We use this gate set, together with Rydberg-mediated interaction gates, to find efficient circuit decompositions for digital and variational quantum simulation algorithms, illustrated here for molecular energy estimation. Finally, we consider a combined fermion-qubit architecture, where both the motional and internal degrees of freedom of the atoms are harnessed to efficiently implement quantum phase estimation as well as to simulate lattice gauge theory dynamics.

Quantum-assisted Monte Carlo algorithms for fermions

Quantum computing is a promising way to systematically solve the longstanding computational problem, the ground state of a many-body fermion system. Many efforts have been made to realise certain forms of quantum advantage in this problem, for instance, the development of variational quantum algorithms. A recent work by Huggins et al. [1] reports a novel candidate, i.e. a quantum-classical hybrid Monte Carlo algorithm with a reduced bias in comparison to its fully-classical counterpart. In this paper, we propose a family of scalable quantum-assisted Monte Carlo algorithms where the quantum computer is used at its minimal cost and still can reduce the bias. By incorporating a Bayesian inference approach, we can achieve this quantum-facilitated bias reduction with a much smaller quantum-computing cost than taking empirical mean in amplitude estimation. Besides, we show that the hybrid Monte Carlo framework is a general way to suppress errors in the ground state obtained from classical algorithms. Our work provides a Monte Carlo toolkit for achieving quantum-enhanced calculation of fermion systems on near-term quantum devices.

Robust Fermi-Liquid Instabilities in Sign Problem-Free Models.

Determinant quantum MonteCarlo (DQMC) is a powerful numerical technique to study many-body fermionic systems. In recent years, several classes of sign-free (SF) models have been discovered, where the notorious sign problem can be circumvented. However, it is not clear what the inherent physical characteristics and limitations of SF models are. In particular, which zero-temperature quantum phases of matter are accessible within such models, and which are fundamentally inaccessible? Here, we show that a model belonging to any of the known SF classes within DQMC cannot have a stable Fermi-liquid ground state in spatial dimension d≥2, unless the antiunitary symmetry that prevents the sign problem is spontaneously broken (for which there are currently no known examples in SF models). For SF models belonging to one of the symmetry classes (where the absence of the sign problem follows from a combination of nonunitary symmetries of the fermionic action), any putative Fermi liquid fixed point generically includes an attractive Cooper-like interaction that destabilizes it. In the recently discovered lower-symmetry classes of SF models, the Fermi surface (FS) is generically unstable even at the level of the quadratic action. Our results suggest a fundamental link between Fermi liquids and the fermion sign problem. Interestingly, our results do not rule out a non-Fermi-liquid ground state with a FS in a sign-free model.

Unusual crossover from Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer to Bose-Einstein-condensate superconductivity in iron chalcogenides

The BCS-BEC (Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer–Bose-Einstein-condensate) crossover from strongly overlapping Cooper pairs to non-overlapping composite bosons in the strong coupling limit has been a long-standing issue of interacting many-body fermion systems. Recently, FeSe semimetal with hole and electron bands emerged as a high-transition-temperature (high-Tc) superconductor located in the BCS-BEC crossover regime, owing to its very small Fermi energies. In FeSe, however, an ordinary BCS-like heat-capacity jump is observed at Tc, posing a fundamental question on the characteristics of the BCS-BEC crossover. Here we report on high-resolution heat capacity, magnetic torque, and scanning tunneling spectroscopy measurements in FeSe1−xSx. Upon entering the tetragonal phase at x > 0.17, where nematic order is suppressed, Tc discontinuously decreases. In this phase, highly non-mean-field behaviours consistent with BEC-like pairing are found in the thermodynamic quantities with giant superconducting fluctuations extending far above Tc, implying the change of pairing nature. Moreover, the pseudogap formation, which is expected in BCS-BEC crossover of single-band superconductors, is not observed in the tunneling spectra. These results illuminate highly unusual features of the superconducting states in the crossover regime with multiband electronic structure and competing electronic instabilities.

A derivation of the conditions under which bosonic operators exactly capture fermionic structure and dynamics.

The dynamics of many-body fermionic systems are important in problems ranging from catalytic reactions at electrochemical surfaces to transport through nanojunctions and offer a prime target for quantum computing applications. Here, we derive the set of conditions under which fermionic operators can be exactly replaced by bosonic operators that render the problem amenable to a large toolbox of dynamical methods while still capturing the correct dynamics of n-body operators. Importantly, our analysis offers a simple guide on how one can exploit these simple maps to calculate nonequilibrium and equilibrium single- and multi-time correlation functions essential in describing transport and spectroscopy. We use this to rigorously analyze and delineate the applicability of simple yet effective Cartesian maps that have been shown to correctly capture the correct fermionic dynamics in select models of nanoscopic transport. We illustrate our analytical results with exact simulations of the resonant level model. Our work provides new insights as to when one can leverage the simplicity of bosonic maps to simulate the dynamics of many-electron systems, especially those where an atomistic representation of nuclear interactions becomes essential.

Pairing of fermions under spin-orbit coupling in two dimensions

We present a theoretical approach to the problem of two-dimensional fermion pairing under spin-orbit (SO) coupling and Zeeman interaction with an external magnetic field. We introduce a generic pairing Hamiltonian operating in the Hilbert space spanning free pairs and bare two-body bound states. The SO coupling of Rashba or Dresselhaus type provides $p$-wave dressing of an $s$-wave spin-singlet bound state by continua in the triplet scattering channels. In the strong-coupling (Bose-Einstein condensate) limit of the many-body fermion system at zero temperature our theory maps onto the two-channel Fano-Anderson model of a spinless resonant $p$-wave superfluid.

Symmetry breaking and spectral structure of the interacting Hatano-Nelson model

We study the Hatano-Nelson model, i.e., a one-dimensional non-Hermitian chain of spinless fermions with nearest-neighbour nonreciprocal hopping, in the presence of repulsive nearest-neighbour interactions. At half filling, we find two $\mathcal{PT}$ transitions, as the interaction strength increases. The first transition is marked by an exceptional point between the first and the second excited state in a finite-size system and is a first-order symmetry-breaking transition into a charge-density wave regime. Persistent currents characteristic of the Hatano-Nelson model abruptly vanish at the transition. The second transition happens at a critical interaction strength that scales with the system size and can thus only be observed in finite-size systems. It is characterized by a collapse of all energy eigenvalues onto the real axis. We further show that in a strong interaction regime, but away from half filling, the many-body spectrum shows point gaps with nontrivial winding numbers, akin to the topological properties of the single-particle spectrum of the Hatano-Nelson chain, which indicates the skin effect of extensive many-body eigenstates under open boundary conditions. Our results can be applied to other models such as the non-Hermitian Su-Schrieffer-Heeger-type model and contribute to an understanding of fermionic many-body systems with non-Hermitian Hamiltonians.

Fate of the non-Hermitian skin effect in many-body fermionic systems

We revisit the fate of the skin modes in many-body non-Hermitian fermionic systems. Contrary to the single-particle case, the many-body ground state cannot exhibit an exponential localization of all eigenstates due to the Pauli exclusion principle. However, asymmetry can still exist in the density profile, which can be quantified using the imbalance between the two halves of the system. Using the non-Hermitian Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) chain as an illustration, we show the existence of two distinct scaling regimes for the imbalance. In the first one, the imbalance grows linearly with the system size, as generically expected. In the second one, the imbalance saturates to a finite value. By combining high-precision exact diagonalization calculations and analytical arguments, we observe that the imbalance does not scale when the occupied bands can be deformed to their Hermitian limit. This suggests a direct connection between the corresponding bulk topological invariants and the skin effect in many-body systems. Importantly, this relation also holds for interacting systems.

Proposed Fermi-surface reservoir engineering and application to realizing unconventional Fermi superfluids in a driven-dissipative nonequilibrium Fermi gas

We develop a theory to describe the dynamics of a driven-dissipative many-body Fermi system, to pursue our proposal to realize exotic quantum states based on reservoir engineering. Our idea is to design the shape of a Fermi surface so as to have multiple Fermi edges, by properly attaching multiple reservoirs with different chemical potentials to a fermionic system. These emerged edges give rise to additional scattering channels that can destabilize the system into unconventional states, which is exemplified in this work by considering a driven-dissipative attractively interacting Fermi gas. By formulating a quantum kinetic equation using the Nambu-Keldysh Green's function technique, we explore nonequilibrium steady states in this system and assess their stability. We find that, in addition to the BCS-type isotropic pairing state, a Fulde-Ferrell-type anisotropic superfluid state being accompanied by Cooper pairs with non-zero center-of-mass momentum exists as a stable solution, even in the absence of a magnetic Zeeman field. Our result implies a great potential of realizing quantum matter beyond the equilibrium paradigm, by engineering the shape and topology of Fermi surfaces in both electronic and atomic systems.

Feed-forward neural network based variational wave function for the fermionic Hubbard model in one dimension

We explore the suitability of a feed-forward neural network (FNN) to represent the ground state of the fermionic Hubbard model in one dimension (1D). We consider the model at half-filling, represent the ground state wave function in terms of an FNN and optimize it using the variational Monte Carlo (VMC) method. The results are compared with the exact Bethe Ansatz solution. We find that for lattice sizes which give a ‘filled-shell’ condition for the non-interacting Fermi sea wave function, a simple FNN performs very well at all values of Hubbard interaction U. For lattice sizes where this condition is not obtained, the simple FNN fails and we find a modified network with a ‘sign’ component (sFNN) to work in such cases. On the flip side, though we find the FNN to be successful in providing an unbiased variational wave function for the fermionic many-body system in 1D, the computational cost for the wave function scales up rapidly with lattice size which limits its applicability.

Multiloop flow equations for single-boson exchange fRG

The recently introduced single-boson exchange (SBE) decomposition of the four-point vertex of interacting fermionic many-body systems is a conceptually and computationally appealing parametrization of the vertex. It relies on the notion of reducibility of vertex diagrams with respect to the bare interaction U, instead of a classification based on two-particle reducibility within the widely used parquet decomposition. Here, we re-derive the SBE decomposition in a generalized framework (suitable for extensions to, e.g., inhomogeneous systems or real-frequency treatments) following from the parquet equations. We then derive multiloop functional renormalization group (mfRG) flow equations for the ingredients of this SBE decomposition, both in the parquet approximation, where the fully two-particle irreducible vertex is treated as an input, and in the more restrictive SBE approximation, where this role is taken by the fully U-irreducible vertex. Moreover, we give mfRG flow equations for the popular parametrization of the vertex in terms of asymptotic classes of the two-particle reducible vertices. Since the parquet and SBE decompositions are closely related, their mfRG flow equations are very similar in structure.Graphic abstract

Nonlocal correlation effects in fermionic many-body systems: Overcoming the noncausality problem

Motivated by the intriguing physics of quasi-two-dimensional fermionic systems, such as high-temperature superconducting oxides, layered transition metal chalcogenides, or surface or interface systems, the development of many-body computational methods geared at including both local and nonlocal electronic correlations has become a rapidly evolving field. It has been realized, however, that the success of such methods can be hampered by the emergence of noncausal features in the effective or observable quantities involved. Here, we present an approach wherein local many-body techniques such as dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT) are extended to nonlocal correlations and interactions, which preserves causality and has a physically intuitive interpretation. Our strategy has implications for the general class of DMFT-inspired many-body methods and can be adapted to cluster, dual boson, or dual fermion techniques with minimal effort.

Linear-time generalized Hartree-Fock algorithm for quasi-one-dimensional systems

In many approximate approaches to fermionic quantum many-body systems, such as Hartree-Fock and density functional theory, solving a system of noninteracting fermions coupled to some effective potential is the computational bottleneck. In this paper, we demonstrate that this crucial computational step can be accelerated using recently developed methods for Gaussian fermionic matrix product states (GFMPS). As an example, we study the generalized Hartree-Fock method, which unifies Hartree-Fock and self-consistent BCS theory, applied to Hubbard models with an inhomogeneous potential. We demonstrate that for quasi-one-dimensional systems with local interactions, our approach scales approximately linearly in the length of the system while yielding a similar accuracy to standard approaches that scale cubically in the system size.

Exact dynamical correlations of nonlocal operators in quadratic open Fermion systems: a characteristic function approach

The dynamical correlations of nonlocal operators in general quadratic open fermion systems is still a challenging problem. Here we tackle this problem by developing a new formulation of open fermion many-body systems, namely, the characteristic function approach. Illustrating the technique, we analyze a finite Kitaev chain with boundary dissipation and consider anyon-type nonlocal excitations. We give explicit formula for the Green's functions, demonstrating an asymmetric light cone induced by the anyon statistical parameter and an increasing relaxation rate with this parameter. We also analyze some other types of nonlocal operator correlations such as the full counting statistics of the charge number and the Loschmidt echo in a quench from the vacuum state. The former shows clear signature of a nonequilibrium quantum phase transition, while the later exhibits cusps at some critical times and hence demonstrates dynamical quantum phase transitions.

Quantum fluctuations approach to the nonequilibrium GW approximation

The quantum dynamics of fermionic or bosonic many-body systems following external excitation can be successfully studied using two-time nonequilibrium Green's functions (NEGF) or single-time reduced density matrix methods. Approximations are introduced via a proper choice of the many-particle self-energy or decoupling of the BBGKY hierarchy. These approximations are based on Feynman's diagram approaches or on cluster expansions into single-particle and correlation operators. Here, we develop a different approach where, instead of equations of motion for the many-particle NEGF (or density operators), single-time equations for the correlation functions of fluctuations are analyzed. We present a derivation of the first two equations of the alternative hierarchy of fluctuations and discuss possible decoupling approximations. In particular, we derive the polarization approximation (PA) which is shown to be equivalent to the single-time version [following by applying the generalized Kadanoff-Baym ansatz (GKBA)] of the nonequilibrium GW approximation with exchange effects of NEGF theory, for weak coupling. The main advantage of the quantum fluctuations approach is that the standard ensemble average can be replaced by a semiclassical average over different initial realizations, as was demonstrated before by Lacroix and co-workers [see e.g. D. Lacroix et al., Phys. Rev. B, 2014, 90, 125112]. Here, we introduce the stochastic GW (SGW) approximation and the stochastic polarization approximation (SPA) which are demonstrated to be equivalent to the single-time GW approximation without and with exchange, respectively, in the weak coupling limit. In addition to the standard stochastic approach to sample initial configurations, we also present a deterministic approach. Our numerical tests confirm that our approach has the same favorable linear scaling with the computation time as the recently developed G1-G2 scheme [Schluenzen et al., Phys. Rev. Lett., 2020, 124, 076601]. At the same time, the SPA and SGW approaches scale more favorably with the system size than the G1-G2 scheme, allowing to extend nonequilibrium GW calculations to bigger systems.