Off-diagonal Long-range Order Research Articles

Detecting hidden order in fractional Chern insulators

Topological phase transitions go beyond Ginzburg and Landau's paradigm of spontaneous symmetry breaking and occur without an associated local order parameter. Instead, such transitions can be characterized by the emergence of nonlocal order parameters, which require measurements on extensively many particles simultaneously—an impossible venture in real materials. On the other hand, quantum simulators have demonstrated such measurements, making them prime candidates for experimental confirmation of nonlocal topological order. Here, building upon the recent advances in preparing few-particle fractional Chern insulators using ultracold atoms and photons, we propose a realistic scheme for detecting the hidden off-diagonal long-range order (HODLRO) characterizing Laughlin states. Furthermore, we demonstrate the existence of this hidden order in fractional Chern insulators, specifically for the ν=1/2-Laughlin state in the isotropic Hofstadter-Bose-Hubbard model. This is achieved by large-scale numerical density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) simulations based on matrix product states, for which we formulate an efficient sampling procedure providing direct access to HODLRO in close analogy to the proposed experimental scheme. We confirm the characteristic power-law scaling of HODLRO, with an exponent 1/ν=2, and show that its detection requires only a few thousand snapshots. This makes our scheme realistically achievable with current technology and paves the way for further analysis of nonlocal topological orders, e.g., in topological states with non-Abelian anyonic excitations. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Off-diagonal long-range order in arrays of dipolar droplets

We report quantum Monte Carlo results of harmonically confined quantum Bose dipoles within a range of interactions covering the evolution from a gas phase to the formation of an array of droplets. Scaling the experimental setup to a computationally accessible domain we characterize that evolution in qualitative agreement with experiments. Our microscopic approach generates ground-state results free from approximations, albeit with some controlled statistical noise. The simultaneous estimation of the static structure factor and the one-body density matrix allows for a better knowledge of the quantum coherence between droplets. Our results show a narrow window of interaction strengths where diagonal and off-diagonal long-range order can coexist. This domain, which is the key signal of a supersolid state, is reduced with respect to the one predicted by the extended Gross–Pitaevskii equation. Differences are probably due to an increase of attraction in our model, observed previously in the calculation of critical atom numbers for single dipolar drops.

From frustration-free parent Hamiltonians to off-diagonal long-range order: Moore-Read and related states in second quantization

From frustration-free parent Hamiltonians to off-diagonal long-range order: Moore-Read and related states in second quantization

Off-diagonal long-range order in the ground state of the Kitaev chain

We study a one-dimensional Kitaev model with uniform phase gradient pairing term. We show that the gradient constant significantly affects the phase diagram, which consists of topologically trivial and nontrivial phases, associated with Majorana edge modes. Based on the exact solution, a Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer-pair order parameter is introduced to characterize the phase diagram by its value and nonanalytic behavior at phase boundaries. We find that this order parameter obtains its maxima at the triple critical points, at which the pairing phase gradient suppresses the single-particle scattering process due to the coherent destructive interference. In particular, we show that the ground state at such a point possesses exact off-diagonal long-range order (ODLRO), in the thermodynamic limit. Our result provides an example of a gapless $p$-wave superconducting ground state possessing ODLRO.

Absence of Off-Diagonal Long-Range Order in hcp ^{4}He Dislocation Cores.

The mass transport properties along dislocation cores in hcp ^{4}He are revisited by considering two types of edge dislocations as well as a screw dislocation, using a fully correlated quantum simulation approach. Specifically, we employ the zero-temperature path-integral ground state (PIGS) method together with ergodic sampling of the permutation space to investigate the fundamental dislocation core structures and their off-diagonal long-range order properties. It is found that the Bose-Einstein condensate fraction of such defective ^{4}He systems is practically null (≤10^{-6}), just as in the bulk defect-free crystal. These results provide compelling evidence for the absence of intrinsic superfluidity in dislocation cores in hcp ^{4}He and challenge the superfluid dislocation-network interpretation of the mass-flux-experiment observations, calling for further experimental investigation.

Quantum statistical theory for an exciton-polariton condensate: Fluctuations and coherence

A full quantum theory beyond the mean-field regime is developed for an exciton-polariton condensate, for a complete understanding of quantum fluctuations. We find an analytical solution for the polariton density matrix, showing the nonlinearity causing fast relaxation correlated with the pump so as to yield the quantum condensation above threshold. Increasing the pump intensity, a nonequilibrium phase transition towards the condensation of the lower polaritons emerges, with a statistics transiting from a thermal, through a super-Poissonian, and towards a nonclassical distribution; the latter two possess off-diagonal long-range order but the last one is beyond. The results signify the role of dark states for polariton fluctuations, and lead to a nonclassical counting statistics of emitted photons, which elaborates the role of the key parameters, e.g., pump, detuning, and temperature.

Superconductivity in a system of interacting spinful semions

Noninteracting particles obeying certain fractional statistics have been predicted to exhibit superconductivity. We discuss the issue in an attractively interacting system of spinful semions on a lattice by numerically investigating the presence of off-diagonal long-range order at zero temperature. For this purpose we construct a Hubbard model wherein two semions with opposite spin can virtually coincide while maintaining consistency with the fractional braiding statistics. Clear off-diagonal long-range order is seen in the strong coupling limit, consistent with the expectation that a pair of semions obeys Bose statistics. We find that the semion system behaves similarly to a system of fermions with the same attractive Hubbard $U$ interaction for a wide range of $U$, suggesting that semions also undergo a BCS to BEC crossover as a function of $U$.

Steady off-diagonal long-range order state in a half-filled dimerized Hubbard chain induced by a resonant pulsed field

We show that a resonant pulsed field can induce a steady superconducting state even in the deep Mott insulating phase of the dimerized Hubbard model. The superconductivity found here in the non-equilibrium steady state is due to the $\eta $-pairing mechanism, characterized by the existence of the off-diagonal long-range order (ODLRO), and is absent in the ground-state phase diagram. The key of the scheme lies in the generation of the field-induced charge density wave (CDW) state that is from the valence bond solid. The dynamics of this state resides in the highly-excited subspace of dimerized Hubbard model and is dominated by a $\eta $-spin ferromagnetic model. The decay of such long-living excitation is suppressed because of energy conservation. We also develop a dynamical method to detect the ODLRO of the non-equilibrium steady state. Our finding demonstrates that the non-equilibrium many-body dynamics induced by the interplay between the resonant external field and electron-electron interaction is an alternative pathway to access a new exotic quantum state, and also provides an alternative mechanism for enhancing superconductivity.

Dynamic transition from insulating state to η -pairing state in a composite non-Hermitian system

The dynamics of Hermitian many-body quantum systems has long been a challenging subject due to the complexity induced by the particle-particle interactions. In contrast, this difficulty may be avoided in a well-designed non-Hermitian system. The exceptional point (EP) in a non-Hermitian system admits a peculiar dynamics: the final state being a particular eigenstate, coalescing state. In this work, we study the dynamic transition from a trivial insulating state to an $\ensuremath{\eta}$-pairing state in a composite non-Hermitian Hubbard system. The system consists of two subsystems, A and B, which are connected by unidirectional hoppings. We show that the dynamic transition from an insulating state to an $\ensuremath{\eta}$-pairing state occurs by the probability flow from A to B: the initial state is prepared as an insulating state of A, while B is left empty. The final state is an $\ensuremath{\eta}$-pairing state in B but empty in A. Analytical analyses and numerical simulations show that the speed of relaxation of the off-diagonal long-range order pair state depends on the order of the EP, which is determined by the number of pairs and the fidelity of the scheme is immune to the irregularity of the lattice.

Integer and fractionalized vortex lattices and off-diagonal long-range order

We analyze the implication of off-diagonal long-range order (ODLRO) for inhomogeneous periodic field configurations and multi-component order parameters. For single component order parameters we show that the only static, periodic field configuration consistent with ODLRO is a vortex lattice with integer flux in units of the flux quantum in each unit cell. For a superconductor with g degenerate components, fractional vortices are allowed. Depending on the precise order-parameter manifold, they tend to occur in units of 1/g of the flux quantum. These results are well known to emerge from the Ginzburg-Landau or BCS theories of superconductivity. Our results imply that they are valid even if these theories no-longer apply. Integer and fractional vortex lattices are transparently seen to emerge as a consequence of the macroscopic coherence and single valuedness of the condensate.

Spatial emergence of off-diagonal long-range order throughout the BCS-BEC crossover

In a superfluid system, Off-Diagonal Long-Range Order (ODLRO) is expected to be exhibited in the appropriate reduced density matrices when the relevant particles (either bosons or fermion pairs) are considered to recede sufficiently far apart from each other. This concept is usually exploited to identify the value of the condensate density, without explicit concern, however, on the spatial range over which this asymptotic condition can effectively be achieved. Here, based on a diagrammatic approach that includes beyond-mean-field pairing fluctuations in the broken-symmetry phase at the level of the $t$-matrix also with the inclusion of the Gorkov-Melik-Barkhudarov (GMB) correction, we present a systematic study of the two-particle reduced density matrix for a superfluid fermionic system undergoing the BCS-BEC crossover, when the entities to recede far apart from each other evolve with continuity from largely overlapping Cooper pairs in the BCS limit to dilute composite bosons in the BEC limit. By this approach, we not only provide the coupling and temperature dependence of the condensate density at the level of our diagrammatic approach which includes the GMB correction, but we also obtain the evolution of the spatial dependence of the two-particle reduced density matrix, from a power-law at low temperature to an exponential dependence at high temperature in the superfluid phase, when the inter-particle coupling spans the BCS-BEC crossover. Our results put limitations on the minimum spatial extent of a finite-size system for which superfluid correlations can effectively be established.

Exact eigenstates of extended SU(N) Hubbard models: Generalization of η -pairing states with N -particle off-diagonal long-range order

We consider $N$-particle generalizations of $\eta$-pairing states in a chain of $N$-component fermions and show that these states are exact (high-energy) eigenstates of an extended SU($N$) Hubbard model. We compute the singlet correlation function of the states and find that its behavior is qualitatively different for even and odd $N$. When $N$ is even, these states exhibit off-diagonal long-range order in $N$-particle reduced density matrix. On the other hand, when $N$ is odd, the correlations decay exponentially with distance in the bulk, but end-to-end correlations do not vanish in the thermodynamic limit. Finally, we prove that these states are the unique ground states of suitably tailored Hamiltonians.

Lieb's Theorem and Maximum Entropy Condensates

Coherent driving has established itself as a powerful tool for guiding a many-body quantum system into a desirable, coherent non-equilibrium state. A thermodynamically large system will, however, almost always saturate to a featureless infinite temperature state under continuous driving and so the optical manipulation of many-body systems is considered feasible only if a transient, prethermal regime exists, where heating is suppressed. Here we show that, counterintuitively, in a broad class of lattices Floquet heating can actually be an advantageous effect. Specifically, we prove that the maximum entropy steady states which form upon driving the ground state of the Hubbard model on unbalanced bi-partite lattices possess uniform off-diagonal long-range order which remains finite even in the thermodynamic limit. This creation of a `hot' condensate can occur on any driven unbalanced lattice and provides an understanding of how heating can, at the macroscopic level, expose and alter the order in a quantum system. We discuss implications for recent experiments observing emergent superconductivity in photoexcited materials.

Off-diagonal long-range order implies vanishing charge gap

For a large class of quantum many-body systems with U(1) symmetry, we prove a general inequality that relates the (off-diagonal) long-range order with the charge gap. For a system of bosons or fermions on a lattice or in the continuum, the inequality implies that a ground state with off-diagonal long-range order inevitably has a vanishing charge gap, and hence is characterized by nonzero charge susceptibility. For a quantum spin system, the inequality implies that a ground state within a magnetization plateau cannot have transverse long-range order.

η -pairing ground states in the non-Hermitian Hubbard model

The introduction of non-Hermiticity has greatly enriched the research field of traditional condensed matter physics and eventually led to a series of discoveries of exotic phenomena. We investigate the effect of non-Hermitian imaginary hoppings on the Hubbard model. The exact bound-pair solution shows that the electron-electron correlation suppresses the non-Hermiticity, resulting in off-diagonal long-range order (ODLRO) ground state in the attractive Hubbard model. In a large $U$ limit, such non-Hermiticity contributes an extra minus sign in the virtual exchange of the particles. As a consequence, the energy of the effective spin model describing the behavior of the ground state and low energy excitations will be reversed. The corresponding ground state experiences a transition from antiferromagnetism to ferromagnetism characterized by the appearance of a non-decaying correlation function. The numerical result indicates that the $\ensuremath{\eta}$-pairing ground state exits in 1D and 2D systems and is insensitive to the disorder. We further propose a protocol to adiabatically generate the $\ensuremath{\eta}$-pairing state. Our results provide a promising approach for the non-Hermitian strongly correlated system.

Fractonic superfluids. II. Condensing subdimensional particles

In this paper, we develop an exotic fractonic superfluid phase in $d$-dimensional space where subdimensional particles -- their mobility is \emph{partially} restricted -- are condensed. The off-diagonal long range order (ODLRO) is investigated. To demonstrate, we consider "lineons" -- a subdimensional particle whose mobility is free only in certain one-dimensional directions. We start with a $d$-component microscopic Hamiltonian model. The model respects a higher-rank symmetry such that both particle numbers of each component and angular charge moments are conserved quantities. By performing the Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov approximation, we derive a set of Gross-Pitaevskii equations and a Bogoliubov-de Gennes (BdG) Hamiltonian, which leads to a unified description of gapless phonons and gapped rotons. With the coherent-path-integral representation, we also derive the long-wavelength effective field theory of gapless Goldstone modes and analyze quantum fluctuations around classical ground states. The Euler-Lagrange equations and Noether charges/currents are also studied. In two spatial dimensions and higher, such an ODLRO stays stable against quantum fluctuations. Finally, we study vortex configurations. The higher-rank symmetry enforces a hierarchy of point vortex excitations whose structure is dominated by two guiding statements. Specially, we construct two types of vortex excitations, the conventional and dipole vortices. The latter carries a charge with dimension as a momentum. The two statements can be more generally applicable. Several future directions are discussed.

Atomic Line Defects and Topological Superconductivity in Unconventional Superconductors

Topological superconductors (TSCs) are correlated quantum states with simultaneous off-diagonal long-range order and nontrivial topological invariants. They produce gapless or zero energy boundary excitations, including Majorana zero modes and chiral Majorana edge states with topologically protected phase coherence essential for fault-tolerant quantum computing. Candidate TSCs are very rare in nature. Here, we propose a novel route toward emergent quasi-one-dimensional (1D) TSCs in naturally embedded quantum structures such as atomic line defects in unconventional spin-singlet $s$-wave and $d$-wave superconductors. We show that inversion symmetry breaking and charge transfer due to the missing atoms lead to the occupation of incipient impurity bands and mixed parity spin singlet and triplet Cooper pairing of neighboring electrons traversing the line defect. Nontrivial topological invariants arise and occupy a large part of the parameter space, including the time reversal symmetry breaking Zeeman coupling due to applied magnetic field or defect-induced magnetism, creating TSCs in different topological classes with robust Majorana zero modes at both ends of the line defect. Beyond providing a novel mechanism for the recent discovery of zero-energy bound states at both ends of an atomic line defect in monolayer Fe(Te,Se) superconductors, the findings pave the way for new material realizations of the simplest and most robust 1D TSCs using embedded quantum structures in unconventional superconductors with large pairing energy gaps and high transition temperatures.

Approaching off-diagonal long-range order for 1+1 -dimensional relativistic anyons

We construct and study relativistic anyons in 1+1 dimensions generalizing well-known models of Dirac fermions. First, a model of free anyons is constructed and then extended in two ways: (i) by adding density-density interactions, as in the Luttinger model, and (ii) by coupling the free anyons to a U(1)-gauge field, as in the Schwinger model. Second, physical properties of these extensions are studied. By investigating off-diagonal long-range order (ODLRO) at zero temperature, we show that anyonic statistics allows one to get arbitrarily close to ODLRO but that this possibility is destroyed by the gauge coupling. The latter is due to a nonzero effective mass generated by gauge invariance, which we show also implies the presence of screening, independently of the anyonic statistics.

Phase transitions of bosonic fractional quantum Hall effect in topological flat bands

We study the phase transitions of bosonic $\ensuremath{\nu}=1/2$ fractional quantum Hall (FQH) effect in different topological lattice models under the interplay of onsite periodic potential and Hubbard repulsion. Through exact diagonalization and density matrix renormalization group methods, we demonstrate that the many-body ground state undergoes a continuous phase transition between bosonic FQH liquid and a trivial (Mott) insulator induced by the periodic potential, characterized by the smooth crossover of energy and entanglement entropy. When the Hubbard repulsion decreases, we claim that this bosonic FQH liquid would turn into a superfluid state with a direct energy level crossing and a discontinuous leap of off-diagonal long-range order.

Analytical solution for the steady states of the driven Hubbard model

Under the action of coherent periodic driving a generic quantum system will undergo Floquet heating and continously absorb energy until it reaches a featureless thermal state. The phase-space constraints induced by certain symmetries can, however, prevent this and allow the system to dynamically form robust steady states with off-diagonal long-range order. In this work, we take the Hubbard model on an arbitrary lattice with arbitrary filling and, by simultaneously diagonalising the two possible SU(2) symmetries of the system, we analytically construct the correlated steady states for different symmetry classes of driving. This construction allows us to make verifiable, quantitative predictions about the long-range particle-hole and spin-exchange correlations that these states can possess. In the case when both SU(2) symmetries are preserved in the thermodynamic limit we show how the driving can be used to form a unique condensate which simultaneously hosts particle-hole and spin-wave order.