Random Spin Chains Research Articles

Field Theory Approach to Many-Body Localization.

We introduce an analytic approach to many-body localization (MBL) in random spin chains. We consider MBL within a first quantized framework where it becomes a localization phenomenon in the high-dimensional lattice defined by the Hilbert space of the clean system. Designed in analogy with the field-theory description of single particle localization, our approach describes wave package propagation on that lattice after a disorder average has been performed and the system is controlled by only a few universal parameters. We discuss the stability of an ergodic weak disorder and a localized strong disorder phase, respectively, and demonstrate that the latter is protected by mechanisms which put MBL outside the universality class of Anderson localization.

Spin dynamics of random Ising chain in coexisting transverse and longitudinal magnetic fields

The dynamics of the random Ising spin chain in coexisting transverse and longitudinal magnetic fields is studied by the recursion method. Both the spin autocorrelation function and its spectral density are investigated by numerical calculations. It is found that system’s dynamical behaviors depend on the deviation σJ of the random exchange coupling between nearest-neighbor spins and the ratio rlt of the longitudinal and the transverse fields: (i) For rlt=0, the system undergoes two crossovers from N independent spins precessing about the transverse magnetic field to a collective-mode behavior, and then to a central-peak behavior as σJ increases. (ii) For rlt≠0, the system may exhibit a coexistence behavior of a collective-mode one and a central-peak one. When σJ is small (or large enough), system undergoes a crossover from a coexistence behavior (or a disordered behavior) to a central-peak behavior as rlt increases. (iii) Increasing σJ depresses effects of both the transverse and the longitudinal magnetic fields. (iv) Quantum random Ising chain in coexisting magnetic fields may exhibit under-damping and critical-damping characteristics simultaneously. These results indicate that changing the external magnetic fields may control and manipulate the dynamics of the random Ising chain.

Entanglement in correlated random spin chains, RNA folding and kinetic roughening

Average block entanglement in the 1D XX-model with uncorrelated random couplings is known to grow as the logarithm of the block size, in similarity to conformal systems. In this work we study random spin chains whose couplings present long range correlations, generated as gaussian fields with a power-law spectral function. Ground states are always planar valence bond states, and their statistical ensembles are characterized in terms of their block entropy and their bond-length distribution, which follow power-laws. We conjecture the existence of a critical value for the spectral exponent, below which the system behavior is identical to the case of uncorrelated couplings. Above that critical value, the entanglement entropy violates the area law and grows as a power law of the block size, with an exponent which increases from zero to one. Interestingly, we show that XXZ models with positive anisotropy present the opposite behavior, and strong correlations in the couplings lead to lower entropies. Similar planar bond structures are also found in statistical models of RNA folding and kinetic roughening, and we trace an analogy between them and quantum valence bond states. Using an inverse renormalization procedure we determine the optimal spin-chain couplings which give rise to a given planar bond structure, and study the statistical properties of the couplings whose bond structures mimic those found in RNA folding.

Entanglement properties of correlated random spin chains and similarities with conformally invariant systems

We study the R\'enyi entanglement entropy and the Shannon mutual information for a class of spin-1/2 quantum critical XXZ chains with random coupling constants which are partially correlated. In the XX case, distinctly from the usual uncorrelated random case where the system is governed by an infinite-disorder fixed point, the correlated-disorder chain is governed by finite-disorder fixed points. Surprisingly, we verify that, although the system is not conformally invariant, the leading behavior of the R\'enyi entanglement entropies are similar to those of the clean (no randomness) conformally invariant system. In addition, we compute the Shannon mutual information among subsystems of our correlated-disorder quantum chain and verify the same leading behavior as the $n=2$ R\'enyi entanglement entropy. This result extends a recent conjecture concerning the same universal behavior of these quantities for conformally invariant quantum chains. For the generic spin-1/2 quantum critical XXZ case, the true asymptotic regime is identical to that in the uncorrelated disorder case. However, these finite-disorder fixed points govern the low-energy physics up to a very long crossover length scale, and the same results as in the XX case apply. Our results are based on exact numerical calculations and on a numerical strong-disorder renormalization group.

Quantum criticality of hot random spin chains.

We study the infinite-temperature properties of an infinite sequence of random quantum spin chains using a real-space renormalization group approach, and demonstrate that they exhibit nonergodic behavior at strong disorder. The analysis is conveniently implemented in terms of SU(2)_{k} anyon chains that include the Ising and Potts chains as notable examples. Highly excited eigenstates of these systems exhibit properties usually associated with quantum critical ground states, leading us to dub them "quantum critical glasses." We argue that random-bond Heisenberg chains self-thermalize and that the excited-state entanglement crosses over from volume-law to logarithmic scaling at a length scale that diverges in the Heisenberg limit k→∞. The excited state fixed points are generically distinct from their ground state counterparts, and represent novel nonequilibrium critical phases of matter.

Antiferromagnetic order in weakly coupled random spin chains

The ordering of weakly coupled random antiferromagnetic $S=1/2$ chains, as relevant for recent experimentally investigated spin chain materials, is considered theoretically. The one-dimensional isotropic Heisenberg model with random exchange interactions is treated numerically on finite chains with the density-matrix renormalization-group approach as well as with the standard renormalization analysis, both within the mean-field approximation for interchain coupling $J_{\perp}$. Results for the ordering temperature $T_N$ and for the ordered moment $m_0$ are presented and are both reduced with the increasing disorder agreeing with experimental observations. The most pronounced effect of the random singlet concept appears to be a very large span of local ordered moments, becoming wider with decreasing $J_{\perp}$, consistent with $\mu$SR experimental findings.

Excited-state entanglement and thermal mutual information in random spin chains

Entanglement properties of excited eigenstates (or of thermal mixed states) are difficult to study with conventional analytical methods. We approach this problem for random spin chains using a recently developed real-space renormalization group technique for excited states (``RSRG-X''). For the random XX and quantum Ising chains, which have logarithmic divergences in the entanglement entropy of their (infinite-randomness) critical ground states, we show that the entanglement entropy of excited eigenstates retains a logarithmic divergence while the mutual information of thermal mixed states does not. However, in the XX case the coefficient of the logarithmic divergence extends from the universal ground-state value to a universal interval due to the degeneracy of excited eigenstates. These models are noninteracting in the sense of having free-fermion representations, allowing strong numerical checks of our analytical predictions.

Inhomogeneous ordering in weakly coupled HeisenbergS=12chains with random bonds

Long-range magnetic ordering in the quasi-one-dimensional random-bond antiferromagnet ${\mathrm{BaCu}}_{2}{({\mathrm{Si}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{Ge}}_{x})}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{7}$ is studied in muon spin rotation experiments as a function of disorder strength. Compared to the disorder-free parent materials, the saturation-ordered moment is found to be considerably reduced. Moreover, even in weakly disordered species, the magnetically ordered state is shown to be highly inhomogeneous. The results are interpreted in terms of weakly coupled random spin chains, governed by the ``infinite randomness'' fixed point.

Analysis of Sr3-xCa1+xMn2CoO9 combining electron, X-ray and neutron diffraction

The AxBX3 hexagonal perovskite-type compounds exhibit interesting magnetic properties such as complex magnetism or random spin chain magnetism[1,2]. Their structures are built up from infinite [BO3] chains consisting of alternating octahedral and trigonal prismatic units, separated by A infinite chains. Sr3-xCa1+xMn2CoO9 are belonging to this family of materials. X-ray powder diffraction patterns are collected for different Sr3-xCa1+xMn2CoO9 samples with different x values. Pattern matching analysis with the SG P-3 and the following cell parameters a=b=9.490(1)Å c=3xc'=3x2.57=7.732(1)Å reveals problematic groups of reflections; these reflections are shifted from one pattern to another one and, moreover, have positions preventing their indexation. Owing to the lack of spatial resolution and peaks overlapping in the powder data, the understanding of the present problem is quite impossible. Electron Diffraction Tomography (EDT) combined with Precession Electron Diffraction (PED) has been used for exploring the reciprocal space of the Sr3-xCa1+xMn2CoO9, x=0 sample. The slight deviations observed from the rational 1/3 c'* value is in agreement with the existence of aperiodicities. The structure of this family of materials has been then described using the super space formalism as a composite structure. The structural model is determined from the PED data integrated with PETS[2]; the first and second sublattices are referring to (Mn,Co)O3 and (Ca,Sr) structural parts respectively. This model is confirmed by the refinement of the X-ray powder diffraction data. Powder neutron diffraction data were then collected at PSI for different temperatures and different Sr3-xCa1+xMn2CoO9 samples. Using the previously refined model, a Co/Mn ordering is revealed thanks to the neutron scattering lengths of these two elements (see fig1). Finally, the treatment of the antiferromagnetic behavior observed bellow 25K is performed in the 4d approach using Jana2006[3].

Dynamical Quantum Phase Transitions in Random Spin Chains

Quantum systems can exhibit a great deal of universality at low temperature due to the structure of ground states and the critical points separating distinct states. On the other hand, quantum time evolution of the same systems involves all energies and it is therefore thought to be much harder, if at all possible, to have sharp transitions in the dynamics. In this paper we show that phase transitions characterized by universal singularities do occur in the time evolution of random spin chains. The sharpness of the transitions and integrity of the phases owes to many-body localization, which prevents thermalization in these systems. Using a renormalization group approach, we solve the time evolution of random Ising spin chains with generic interactions starting from initial states of arbitrary energy. As a function of the Hamiltonian parameters, the system is tuned through a dynamical transition, similar to the ground state critical point, at which the local spin correlations establish true long range temporal order. In the state with dominant transverse field, a spin that starts in an up state loses its orientation with time, while in the "ordered" state it never does. As in ground state quantum phase transitions, the dynamical transition has unique signatures in the entanglement properties of the system. When the system is initialized in a product state the entanglement entropy grows as $log(t)$ in the two "phases", while at the critical point it grows as $log^\a(t)$, with $\a$ a universal number. This universal entanglement growth requires generic ("integrability breaking") interactions to be added to the pure transverse field Ising model.

Analytical and numerical studies of disordered spin-1 Heisenberg chains with aperiodic couplings

We investigate the low-temperature properties of the one-dimensional spin-1 Heisenberg model with geometric fluctuations induced by aperiodic but deterministic coupling distributions, involving two parameters. We focus on two aperiodic sequences, the Fibonacci sequence and the 6-3 sequence. Our goal is to understand how these geometric fluctuations modify the physics of the (gapped) Haldane phase, which corresponds to the ground state of the uniform spin-1 chain. We make use of different adaptations of the strong-disorder renormalization-group (SDRG) scheme of Ma, Dasgupta, and Hu, widely employed in the study of random spin chains, supplemented by quantum Monte Carlo and density-matrix renormalization-group numerical calculations, to study the nature of the ground state as the coupling modulation is increased. We find no phase transition for the Fibonacci chain, while we show that the 6-3 chain exhibits a phase transition to a gapless, aperiodicity-dominated phase similar to the one found for the aperiodic spin-1/2 XXZ chain. Contrary to what is verified for random spin-1 chains, we show that different adaptations of the SDRG scheme may lead to different qualitative conclusions about the nature of the ground state in the presence of aperiodic coupling modulations.

Local Spin Relaxation within the Random Heisenberg Chain

Finite-temperature local dynamical spin correlations S(nn)(ω) are studied numerically within the random spin-1/2 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chain. The aim is to explain measured NMR spin-lattice relaxation times in BaCu(2)(Si(0.5)Ge(0.5))(2)O(7), which is the realization of a random spin chain. In agreement with experiments we find that the distribution of relaxation times within the model shows a very large span similar to the stretched-exponential form. The distribution is strongly reduced with increasing T, but stays finite also in the high-T limit. Anomalous dynamical correlations can be associated with the random singlet concept but not directly with static quantities. Our results also reveal the crucial role of the spin anisotropy (interaction), since the behavior is in contrast with the ones for the XX model, where we do not find any significant T dependence of the distribution.

Experimental investigation of the low-temperature features of a random Heisenberg spin chain

Low-dimensional spin systems, consisting of arrays of spins arranged in chains or ladders, have been investigated intensively in recent years using both exactly solvable theoretical models as well as a variety of experimental techniques. In case of random variations of the exchange couplings the renormalization group theory predicts the existence of a random-singlet (RS) state, corresponding to spins coupled at all possible distances and energy scales. The scarce availability of suitable random systems, however, has so far prevented the experimental identification of this peculiar magnetic ground state. In a combined effort using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), dc magnetometry and numerical simulations, we now find compelling evidence for the formation of a random-singlet state in this class of materials. Randomness seems to generate a broad distribution of local magnetic fields, in turn reflected in stretched exponential NMR relaxations. This distribution exhibits a progressive broadening with decreasing temperature, caused by the growing inequivalence of magnetic sites, as expected from the RS theory. Our findings suggest that NMR is the tool of choice for probing the low-energy physics also in other disordered magnets, where extended-scale excitations are dominant.

Ordering in weakly coupled random singlet spin chains

The influence of bond randomness on long-range magnetic ordering in the weakly coupled $S=1/2$ antiferromagnetic spin chain materials Cu(py)${}_{2}$(Cl${}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}$Br${}_{x}$)${}_{2}$ is studied by muon spin rotation and bulk measurements. Disorder is found to have a strong effect on the ordering temperature ${T}_{\mathrm{N}}$, and an even stronger one on the saturation magnetization ${m}_{0}$, but considerably more so in the effectively lower-dimensional Br-rich materials. The observed behavior is attributed to random singlet ground states of individual spin chains, but remains in contradiction with chain mean-field theory [Joshi and Yang, Phys. Rev. B 67, 174403 (2003)] predictions. In this context, we discuss the possibility of a universal distribution of ordered moments in the weakly coupled random singlet chains model.

Dynamical Localization in Disordered Quantum Spin Systems

We say that a quantum spin system is dynamically localized if the time-evolution of local observables satisfies a zero-velocity Lieb-Robinson bound. In terms of this definition we have the following main results: First, for general systems with short range interactions, dynamical localization implies exponential decay of ground state correlations, up to an explicit correction. Second, the dynamical localization of random xy spin chains can be reduced to dynamical localization of an effective one-particle Hamiltonian. In particular, the isotropic xy chain in random exterior magnetic field is dynamically localized.

Fidelity Approach to the Disordered QuantumXYModel

We study the random XY spin chain in a transverse field by analyzing the susceptibility of the ground state fidelity, numerically evaluated through a standard mapping of the model onto quasifree fermions. It is found that the fidelity susceptibility and its scaling properties provide useful information about the phase diagram. In particular it is possible to determine the Ising critical line and the Griffiths phase regions, in agreement with previous analytical and numerical results.

Entanglement control in one-dimensional s = 1/2 random XY spin chain

The entanglement in one-dimensional random XY spin systems where the impurities of exchange couplings and the external magnetic fields are considered as random variables is investigated by solving the different spin–spin correlation functions and the average magnetization per spin. The entanglement dynamics near particular locations of the system is also studied when the exchange couplings (or the external magnetic fields) satisfy three different distributions (the Gaussian distribution, double-Gaussian distribution, and bimodal distribution). We find that the entanglement can be controlled by varying the strength of external magnetic field and the distributions of impurities. Moreover, the entanglement of some nearest-neighbouring qubits can be increased for certain parameter values of the three different distributions.

Entanglement in One-Dimensional Random XY Spin Chain with Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya Interaction

The impurities of exchange couplings, external magnetic fields and Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya (DM) interaction considered as Gaussian distribution, and the entanglement in one-dimensional random XY spin systems is investigated by the method of solving the different spin-spin correlation functions and the average magnetization per spin. The entanglement dynamics at central locations of ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic chains have been studied by varying the three impurities and the strength of DM interaction. (i) For the ferromagnetic spin chain, the weak DM interaction can improve the amount of entanglement to a large value, and the impurities have the opposite effect on the entanglement below and above critical DM interaction. (ii) For the antiferromagnetic spin chain, DM interaction can enhance the entanglement to a steady value. Our results imply that DM interaction strength, the impurity and exchange couplings (or magnetic field) play competing roles in enhancing quantum entanglement.

The entanglement in one-dimensional random XY spin chain with Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction

In this paper, the entanglement in one-dimensional random XY spin system with Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction is investigated, for which the impurities of exchange couplings and the external magnetic fields are considered as random Gaussian distribution variables. By solving the different spin-spin correlation functions and the average magnetization per spin, the concurrence is found. The results show that the Gaussian distribution and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction have considerable effect on the entanglement near particular locations of the system. Moreover, the entanglement can be controlled and enhanced by varying the distributions of the impurities, the strength of external magnetic field and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction.

Dynamic Correlations in a Random Spin-1/2 XY Chain

We examine dynamic quantities of a random spin-1/2 isotropic XY chain in a transverse field. The randomness is related to the sign of the nearest-neighbor exchange interaction and can be eliminated by a suitable transformation. As a result, the dynamic quantities for the random spin chain are related to the same dynamic quantities for the homogeneous spin chain. We use the available results for the latter model to discuss the effect of randomness on the dynamic structure factors of the quantum spin chain.