String Order Parameter Research Articles

Matrix product states for su(2) invariant quantum spin chains

A systematic and compact treatment of arbitrary su(2) invariant spin-s quantum chains with nearest-neighbour interactions is presented. The ground-state is derived in terms of matrix product states (MPS). The fundamental MPS calculations consist of taking products of basic tensors of rank 3 and contractions thereof. The algebraic su(2) calculations are carried out completely by making use of Wigner calculus. As an example of application, the spin-1 bilinear-biquadratic quantum chain is investigated. Various physical quantities are calculated with high numerical accuracy of up to 8 digits. We obtain explicit results for the ground-state energy, entanglement entropy, singlet operator correlations and the string order parameter. We find an interesting crossover phenomenon in the correlation lengths.

Spatiotemporal evolution of topological order upon quantum quench across the critical point

We consider a topological superconducting wire and use the string order parameter to investigate the spatiotemporal evolution of the topological order upon a quantum quench across the critical point. We also analyze the propagation of the initially localized Majorana bound states after the quench, in order to examine the connection between the topological order and the unpaired Majorana states, which has been well established at equilibrium but remains illusive in dynamical situations. It is found that after the quench the string order parameters decay over a finite time and that the decaying behavior is universal, independent of the wire length and the final value of the chemical potential (the quenching parameter). It is also found that the topological order is revived repeatedly although the amplitude gradually decreases. Further, the topological order can propagate into the region which was initially in the nontopological state. It is observed that all these behaviors are in parallel and consistent with the propagation and dispersion of the Majorana wave functions. Finally, we propose local probing methods which can measure the nonlocal topological order.

Characterization of topological phases in the compass ladder model

The phase diagram of the quantum compass ladder model is investigated through numerical density matrix renormalization group based on infinite matrix product state algorithm and analytic effective perturbation theory. For this model we obtain two symmetry-protected topological phases, protected by a symmetry, and a topologically-trivial Z2-symmetry-breaking phase. The symmetry-protected topological phases—labeled by symmetry fractionalization—belong to different topological classes, where the complex-conjugate symmetry uniquely distinguishes them. An important result of this classification is that, as revealed by the nature of the Z2-symmetry-breaking phase, the associated quantum phase transitions are accompanied by an explicit symmetry breaking, and thus a local-order parameter conclusively identifies the phase diagram of the underlying model. This is in stark contrast to previous studies which require a non-local string order parameter to distinguish the corresponding quantum phase transitions. We numerically examine our results and show that the local-order parameter is related to the magnetization exponent .

Dynamical topological order parameters far from equilibrium

We introduce a topological quantum number -- coined dynamical topological order parameter (DTOP) -- that is dynamically defined in the real-time evolution of a quantum many-body system and represented by a momentum space winding number of the Pancharatnam geometric phase. Our construction goes conceptually beyond the standard notion of topological invariants characterizing the wave-function of a system, which are constants of motion under coherent time evolution. In particular, we show that the DTOP can change its integer value at discrete times where so called dynamical quantum phase transitions occur, thus serving as a dynamical analog of an order parameter. Interestingly, studying quantum quenches in one-dimensional two-banded Bogoliubov de Gennes models, we find that the DTOP is capable of resolving if the topology of the system Hamiltonian has changed over the quench. Furthermore, we investigate the relation of the DTOP to the dynamics of the string order parameter that characterizes the topology of such systems in thermal equilibrium.

Haldane phase in one-dimensional topological Kondo insulators

We investigate the groundstate properties of a recently proposed model for a topological Kondo insulator in one dimension (i.e., the $p$-wave Kondo-Heisenberg lattice model) by means of the Density Matrix Renormalization Group method. The non-standard Kondo interaction in this model is different from the usual (i.e., local) Kondo interaction in that the localized spins couple to the "$p$-wave" spin density of conduction electrons, inducing a topologically non-trivial insulating groundstate. Based on the analysis of the charge- and spin-excitation gaps, the string order parameter, and the spin profile in the groundstate, we show that, at half-filling and low energies, the system is in the Haldane phase and hosts topologically protected spin-1/2 end-states. Beyond its intrinsic interest as a useful "toy-model" to understand the effects of strong correlations on topological insulators, we show that the $p$-wave Kondo-Heisenberg model can be implemented in $p-$band optical lattices loaded with ultra-cold Fermi gases.

Quantum fidelity, string order parameter, and topological quantum phase transition in a spin-1/2 dimerized and frustrated Heisenberg chain

Topological quantum phase transitions are numerically investigated in a spin-1/2 dimerized and frustrated Heisenberg chain by using infinite matrix product state representation with the infinite time evolving block decimation method. Quantum fidelity approach is employed to detect the degenerate ground states and quantum phase transitions. By calculating the long-range string order parameters, we find two topological Haldane phases characterized by two long-range string orders. Also, continuous and discontinuous behaviors of von Neumann entropy show that phase transitions between two topological Haldane phases are topologically continuous and discontinuous quantum phase transitions. For the topologically continuous phase transition, the central charge at the critical point is obtained as c = 1, which means that the topologically continuous quantum phase transition belongs to the Gaussian universality class.

Topology-driven phase transitions in the classical monomer-dimer-loop model

In this work, we investigate the classical loop models doped with monomers and dimers on a square lattice, whose partition function can be expressed as a tensor network (TN). In the thermodynamic limit, we use the boundary matrix product state technique to contract the partition function TN, and determine the thermodynamic properties with high accuracy. In this monomer-dimer-loop model, we find a second-order phase transition between a trivial monomer-condensation and a loop-condensation (LC) phase, which cannot be distinguished by any local order parameter, while nevertheless the two phases have distinct topological properties. In the LC phase, we find two degenerate dominating eigenvalues in the transfer-matrix spectrum, as well as a nonvanishing (nonlocal) string order parameter, both of which identify the topological ergodicity breaking in the LC phase and can serve as the order parameter for detecting the phase transitions.

Identifying quantum phases from the injectivity of symmetric matrix product states

Given a local gapped Hamiltonian with a global symmetry on a one dimensional lattice we describe a method to identify if the Hamiltonian belongs to a quantum phase in which the symmetry is spontaneously broken in the ground states or to a specific symmetry protected phase, without using local or string order parameters. We obtain different matrix product state (MPS) descriptions of the symmetric ground state(s) of the Hamiltonian by restricting the MPS matrices to transform under different projective representations of the symmetry. The phase of the Hamiltonian is identified by examining which MPS descriptions, if any, are injective, namely, whether the largest eigenvalue of the "transfer matrix" obtained from the MPS is unique. We demonstrate the method for translation invariant Hamiltonians with a global SO(3), Z_2 and Z_2 x Z_2 symmetry on an infinite chain.

Resource quality of a symmetry-protected topologically ordered phase for quantum computation.

We investigate entanglement naturally present in the 1D topologically ordered phase protected with the on-site symmetry group of an octahedron as a potential resource for teleportation-based quantum computation. We show that, as long as certain characteristic lengths are finite, all its ground states have the capability to implement any unit-fidelity one-qubit gate operation asymptotically as a key computational building block. This feature is intrinsic to the entire phase, in that perfect gate fidelity coincides with perfect string order parameters under a state-insensitive renormalization procedure. Our approach may pave the way toward a novel program to classify quantum many-body systems based on their operational use for quantum information processing.

Zero modes, bosonization, and topological quantum order: The Laughlin state in second quantization

We introduce a "second-quantized" representation of the ring of symmetric functions to further develop a purely second-quantized -- or "lattice" -- approach to the study of zero modes of frustration free Haldane-pseudo-potential-type Hamiltonians, which in particular stabilize Laughlin ground states. We present three applications of this formalism. We start demonstrating how to systematically construct all zero-modes of Laughlin-type parent Hamiltonians in a framework that is free of first-quantized polynomial wave functions, and show that they are in one-to-one correspondence with dominance patterns. The starting point here is the pseudo-potential Hamiltonian in "lattice form", stripped of all information about the analytic structure of Landau levels (dynamical momenta). Secondly, as a by-product, we make contact with the bosonization method, and obtain an alternative proof for the equivalence between bosonic and fermionic Fock spaces. Finally, we explicitly derive the second-quantized version of Read's non-local (string) order parameter for the Laughlin state, extending an earlier description by Stone. Commutation relations between the local quasi-hole operator and the local electron operator are generalized to various geometries.

Long-range string orders and topological quantum phase transitions in the one-dimensional quantum compass model

In order to investigate the quantum phase transition in the one-dimensional quantum compass model, we numerically calculate non-local string correlations, entanglement entropy and fidelity per lattice site by using the infinite matrix product state representation with the infinite time evolving block decimation method. In the whole range of the interaction parameters, we find that four distinct string orders characterize the four different Haldane phases and the topological quantum phase transition occurs between the Haldane phases. The critical exponents of the string order parameters β = 1/8 and the cental charges c = 1/2 at the critical points show that the topological phase transitions between the phases belong to an Ising type of universality classes. In addition to the string order parameters, the singularities of the second derivative of the ground state energies per site, the continuous and singular behaviors of the Von Neumann entropy and the pinch points of the fidelity per lattice site manifest that the phase transitions between the phases are of the second-order, in contrast to the first-order transition suggested in previous studies.

Z3symmetry-protected topological phases in the SU(3) AKLT model

We study $\mathbb{Z}_3$ symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases in one-dimensional spin systems with $Z_3 \times Z_3$ symmetry. We construct ground-state wave functions of the matrix product form for nontrivial $\mathbb{Z}_3$ phases and their parent Hamiltonian from a cocycle of the group cohomology $H^2(Z_3\times Z_3,U(1))$. The Hamiltonian is an SU(3) version of the Affleck-Kennedy-Lieb-Tasaki (AKLT) model, consisting of bilinear and biquadratic terms of su(3) generators in the adjoint representation. A generalization to the SU($N$) case, the SU($N$) AKLT Hamiltonian, is also presented which realizes nontrivial $\mathbb{Z}_N$ SPT phases. We use the infinite-size variant of the density matrix renormalization group (iDMRG) method to determine the ground-state phase diagram of the SU(3) bilinear-biquadratic model as a function of the parameter $\theta$ controlling the ratio of the bilinear and biquadratic coupling constants. The nontrivial $\mathbb{Z}_3$ SPT phase is found for a range of the parameter $\theta$ including the point of vanishing biquadratic term ($\theta=0$) as well as the SU(3) AKLT point [$\theta=\arctan(2/9)$]. A continuous phase transition to the SU(3) dimer phase takes place at $\theta \approx -0.027\pi$, with a central charge $c\approx3.2$. For SU(3) symmetric cases we define string order parameters for the $\mathbb{Z}_3$ SPT phases in a similar way to the conventional Haldane phase. We propose simple spin models that effectively realize the SU(3) and SU(4) AKLT models.

String order and degenerate entanglement spectrum of S = 1 / 2 and S = 1 Heisenberg bond-alternating chains

Generalized string orders and entanglement spectrum of S = 1/2 and S = 1 Heisenberg bond-alternating chains have been investigated by the infinite time-evolving block decimation (iTEBD) method. Generalized string order parameters with appropriate θ are capable of distinguishing all the topological phases. Central charges c ≃ 1 and critical exponents β ≃ 1/12 indicate all the topological QPTs belong to the Gaussian universality class. Interestingly, odd- and even-fold degeneracies of the entanglement spectrum are observed. Even-fold (doubly) degenerate entanglement spectra and the typical two-fold degenerate lowest-lying level are found to exist in both the spin-1/2 dimer and the S = 1 Haldane phases. However, odd-fold degenerate entanglement spectra with three-fold degenerate lowest-lying level are observed in both the S = 1 dimer and the S = 2 Haldane phase. The degeneracy of the lowest-lying entanglement spectrum level, which can be understood by entanglement spectra in the dimer limit (J 1 = 0), is adopted to estimate the lowest boundary of the bipartite entanglement. The entanglement spectrum and the generalized string orders are valuable for uncovering the underlying features of these symmetry-protect topological (SPT) states. Similar entanglement spectrum shows that the S = 1 (S = 2) Haldane phase is essentially the same as the S = 1/2 (S = 1) dimer phase.

Sign structure and ground-state properties for aspin−St−Jchain

The antiferromagnetic Heisenberg spin chain of odd spin $S$ is in the Haldane phase with several defining physical properties, such as thermodynamical ground-state degeneracy, symmetry-protected edge states, and nonzero string order parameter. If nonzero hole concentration $\ensuremath{\delta}$ and hole hopping energy $t$ are considered, the spin chain is replaced by a $\text{spin}\ensuremath{-}S$ $t\ensuremath{-}J$ chain. The motivation of this paper is to generalize the discussions of the Haldane phase to the doped spin chain. The first result of this paper is that, for the model considered here, the ${\mathbb{Z}}_{2}$ sign structure in the usual Ising basis can be totally removed by two consecutive unitary transformations consisting of a spatially local one and a nonlocal one. Direct from the sign structure, the second result of this paper is that the Marshall theorem and the Lieb-Mattis theorem for pure spin systems are generalized to the $t\ensuremath{-}J$ chain for arbitrary $S$ and $\ensuremath{\delta}$. A corollary of the theorem provides us with the ground-state degeneracy in the thermodynamic limit. The third result of this paper is about the phase diagram. We show that the defining properties of the Haldane phase survive in the small $t/J$ limit. The large $t/J$ phase supports a gapped spin sector with similar properties (ground-state degeneracy, edge state, and string order parameter) of the Haldane chain, although the charge sector is gapless.

Detecting Majorana fermions in quasi-one-dimensional topological phases using nonlocal order parameters

Topological phases which host Majorana fermions can not be identified via local order parameters. We give simple nonlocal order parameters to distinguish quasi-one-dimensional (1D) topological superconductors of spinless fermions, for any interacting model in the absence of time reversal symmetry. These string or ``brane'' order parameters are natural for measurements in cold atom systems using quantum gas microscopy. We propose them as a way to identify symmetry-protected topological phases of Majorana fermions in cold atom experiments via bulk rather than edge degrees of freedom. Subsequently, we study two-dimensional (2D) topological superconductors via the quasi-1D limit of coupling $N$ identical chains on the cylinder. We classify the symmetric, interacting topological phases protected by the additional ${\mathbb{Z}}_{N}$ translation symmetry. The phases include quasi-1D analogs of (i) the $p+ip$ chiral topological superconductor, which can be distinguished up to the 2D Chern number mod 2, and (ii) the 2D weak topological superconductor. We devise general rules for constructing nonlocal order parameters which distinguish the phases. These rules encode the signature of the fermionic topological phase in the symmetry properties of the terminating operators of the nonlocal string or brane. The nonlocal order parameters for some of these phases simply involve a product of the string order parameters for the individual chains. Finally, we give a physical picture of one of the topological phases as a condensate of certain defects, which motivates the form of the nonlocal order parameter and is reminiscent of higher dimensional constructions of topological phases.

Symmetry-protected topological order and negative-sign problem forSO(N)bilinear-biquadratic chains

Using a generalized Jordan-Wigner transformation combined with the defining representation of the SO(N) spin, we map the SO(N) bilinear-biquadratic(BLBQ) spin chain into the N-color bosonic particle model. We find that, when the Jordan-Wigner transformation disentangles the symmetry-protected topological entanglement, this bosonic model becomes negative-sign free in the context of quantum Monte-Carlo simulation. For the SO(3) case, moreover, the Kennedy-Tasaki transformation for the S=1 BLBQ chain, which is also a topological disentangler, derives the same bosonic model through the dimer-R bases. We present the temperature dependence of the energy, entropy and string order parameter for the SO(N=3, 4, 5) BLBQ chains by a world-line Monte-Carlo simulation for the N-color bosonic particle model.

Thermal conductance as a probe of the nonlocal order parameter for a topological superconductor with gauge fluctuations

We investigate the effect of quantum phase slips on a helical quantum wire coupled to a superconductor by proximity. The effective low-energy description of the wire is that of a Majorana chain minimally coupled to a dynamical $\mathbb{Z}_2$ gauge field. Hence the wire emulates a matter-coupled gauge theory, with fermion parity playing the role of the gauged global symmetry. Quantum phase slips lift the ground state degeneracy associated with unpaired Majorana edge modes at the ends of the chain, a change that can be understood as a transition between the confined and the Higgs-mechanism regimes of the gauge theory. We identify the quantization of thermal conductance at the transition as a robust experimental feature separating the two regimes. We explain this result by establishing a relation between thermal conductance and the Fredenhagen-Marcu string order-parameter for confinement in gauge theories. Our work indicates that thermal transport could serve as a measure of non-local order parameters for emergent or simulated topological quantum order.

Topological Many-Body States in Quantum Antiferromagnets via Fuzzy Supergeometry

Recent vigorous investigations of topological order have not only discovered new topological states of matter, but also shed new light on “already known” topological states. One established example with topological order is the valence bond solid (VBS) states in quantum antiferromagnets. The VBS states are disordered spin liquids with no spontaneous symmetry breaking, but most typically manifest a topological order known as a hidden string order on the 1D chain. Interestingly, the VBS models are based on mathematics analogous to fuzzy geometry. We review applications of the mathematics of fuzzy supergeometry in the construction of supersymmetric versions of VBS (SVBS) states and give a pedagogical introduction of SVBS models and their properties. As concrete examples, we present detailed analysis of supersymmetric versions of SU(2) and SO(5) VBS states, i.e., UOSp(N|2) and UOSp(N|4) SVBS states, whose mathematics are closely related to fuzzy two- and four-superspheres. The SVBS states are physically interpreted as hole-doped VBS states with a superconducting property that interpolates various VBS states, depending on the value of a hole-doping parameter. The parent Hamiltonians for SVBS states are explicitly constructed, and their gapped excitations are derived within the single-mode approximation on 1D SVBS chains. Prominent features of the SVBS chains are discussed in detail, such as a generalized string order parameter and entanglement spectra. It is realized that the entanglement spectra are at least doubly degenerate, regardless of the parity of bulk (super)spins. The stability of the topological phase with supersymmetry is discussed, with emphasis on its relation to particular edge (super)spin states.

Quantum entanglement and topological order in hole-doped valence-bond solid states

We present a detailed analysis of topological properties of the valence bond solid (VBS) states doped with fermionic holes. As concrete examples, we consider the supersymmetric extension of the SU(2)- and the SO(5) VBS states, dubbed UOSp(1|2) and UOSp(1|4) supersymmetric VBS states, respectively. Specifically, we investigate the string-order parameters and the entanglement spectra of these states to find that, even when the parent states (bosonic VBS states) do not support the string order, they recover it when holes are doped and the fermionic sector appears in the entanglement spectrum. These peculiar properties are discussed in light of the symmetry-protected topological order. To this end, we characterize a few typical classes of symmetry-protected topological orders in terms of supermatrix-product states (SMPS). From this, we see that the topological order in the bulk manifests itself in the transformation properties of the SMPS in question and thereby affects the structure of the entanglement spectrum. Then, we explicitly relate the existence of the string order and the structure of the entanglement spectrum to explain the recovery and the stabilization of the string order in the supersymmetric systems.

Discriminating string order parameter for topological phases of gappedSU(N)spin chains

One-dimensional gapped spin chains with symmetry PSU(N) = SU(N)/Z_N are known to possess N different topological phases. In this paper, we introduce a non-local string order parameter which characterizes each of these N phases unambiguously. Numerics confirm that our order parameter allows to extract a quantized topological invariant from a given non-degenerate gapped ground state wave function. Discontinuous jumps in the discrete topological order that arise when varying physical couplings in the Hamiltonian may be used to detect quantum phase transitions between different topological phases.