Variational reduced density matrix method in the doubly-occupied configuration interaction space using four-particle N-representability conditions: Application to the XXZ model of quantum magnetism.

This work deals with the variational determination of the two-particle reduced density matrix (2-RDM) and the energy corresponding to the ground state of N-particle systems within the doubly occupied configuration interaction (DOCI) space. Here, we impose for the first time up to four-particle N-representability constraint conditions in the variational determination of the 2-RDM matrix elements using the standard semidefinite programming algorithms. The energies and 2-RDMs obtained from this treatment and the corresponding computational costs are compared with those arisen from previously reported less restrictive variational methods [D. R. Alcoba et al., J. Chem. Phys. 149, 194105 (2018)] as well as with the exact DOCI values. We apply the different approximations to the one-dimensional XXZ model of quantum magnetism, which has a rich phase diagram with one critical phase and constitutes a stringent test for the method. The numerical results show the usefulness of our treatment to achieve a high degree of accuracy.

Local physics of magnetization plateaux in the Shastry-Sutherland model.

We address the physical mechanism responsible for the emergence of magnetization plateaux in the Shastry-Sutherland model. By using a hierarchical mean-field approach, we demonstrate that a plateau is stabilized in a certain spin pattern, satisfying local commensurability conditions derived from our formalism. Our results provide evidence in favor of a robust local physics nature of the plateaux states and are in agreement with recent NMR experiments on SrCu2(BO3)2.

Benchmarking the Variational Reduced Density Matrix Theory in the Doubly Occupied Configuration Interaction Space with Integrable Pairing Models.

The variational reduced density matrix theory has been recently applied with great success to models within the truncated doubly occupied configuration interaction space, which corresponds to the seniority zero subspace. Conservation of the seniority quantum number restricts the Hamiltonians to be based on the SU(2) algebra. Among them there is a whole family of exactly solvable Richardson-Gaudin pairing Hamiltonians. We benchmark the variational theory against two different exactly solvable models, the Richardson-Gaudin-Kitaev and the reduced BCS Hamiltonians. We obtain exact numerical results for the so-called [Formula: see text] N-representability conditions in both cases for systems that go from 10 to 100 particles. However, when random single-particle energies as appropriate for small superconducting grains are considered, the exactness is lost but still a high accuracy is obtained.

Decoherence induced by an interacting spin environment in the transition from integrability to chaos.

We investigate the decoherence properties of a central system composed of two spins 12 in contact with a spin bath. The dynamical regime of the bath ranges from a fully integrable limit to complete chaoticity. We show that the dynamical regime of the bath determines the efficiency of the decoherence process. For perturbative regimes, the integrable limit provides stronger decoherence, while in the strong coupling regime the chaotic limit becomes more efficient. We also show that the decoherence time behaves in a similar way. On the contrary, the rate of decay of magnitudes like linear entropy or fidelity does not depend on the dynamical regime of the bath. We interpret the latter results as due to a comparable complexity of the Hamiltonian for both the integrable and the fully chaotic limits.

Stringent numerical test of the Poisson distribution for finite quantum integrable Hamiltonians.

Using a class of exactly solvable models based on the pairing interaction, we show that it is possible to construct integrable Hamiltonians with a Wigner distribution of nearest-neighbor level spacings. However, these Hamiltonians involve many-body interactions and the addition of a small integrable perturbation very quickly leads the system to a Poisson distribution. Besides this exceptional case, we show that the accumulated distribution of an ensemble of random integrable two-body pairing Hamiltonians is in perfect agreement with the Poisson limit. These numerical results for quantum integrable Hamiltonians provide a further empirical confirmation of the work of Berry and Tabor in the semiclassical limit.

Quantum phase transitions of atom-molecule Bose mixtures in a double-well potential.

The ground state and spectral properties of Bose gases in double-well potentials are studied in two different scenarios: (i) an interacting atomic Bose gas, and (ii) a mixture of an atomic gas interacting with diatomic molecules. A ground state second-order quantum phase transition is observed in both scenarios. For large attractive values of the atom-atom interaction, the ground state is degenerate. For repulsive and small attractive interaction, the ground state is not degenerate and is well approximated by a boson coherent state. Both systems depict an excited state quantum phase transition. In both cases, a critical energy separates a region in which all the energy levels are degenerate in pairs, from another region in which there are no degeneracies. For the atomic system, the critical point displays a singularity in the density of states, whereas this behavior is largely smoothed for the mixed atom-molecule system.

Composite fermion-boson mapping for fermionic lattice models.

We present a mapping of elementary fermion operators onto a quadratic form of composite fermionic and bosonic cluster operators. The mapping is an exact isomorphism as long as the physical constraint of one composite particle per cluster is satisfied. This condition is treated on average in a composite particle mean-field approach, which consists of an ansatz that decouples the composite fermionic and bosonic sectors. The theory is tested on the 1D and 2D Hubbard models. Using a Bogoliubov determinant for the composite fermions and either a coherent or Bogoliubov state for the bosons, we obtain a simple and accurate procedure for treating the Mott insulating phase of the Hubbard model with mean-field computational cost.

Excited-state phase transition and onset of chaos in quantum optical models.

We study the critical behavior of excited states and its relation to order and chaos in the Jaynes-Cummings and Dicke models of quantum optics. We show that both models exhibit a chain of excited-state quantum phase transitions demarcating the upper edge of the superradiant phase. For the Dicke model, the signatures of criticality in excited states are blurred by the onset of quantum chaos. We show that the emergence of quantum chaos is caused by the precursors of the excited-state quantum phase transition.

The phase diagram of the Heisenberg antiferromagnet with four-spin interactions.

We study the quantum phase diagram of the Heisenberg planar antiferromagnet with a subset of four-spin ring exchange interactions, using the recently proposed hierarchical mean-field approach. By identifying relevant degrees of freedom, we are able to use a single variational ansatz to map the entire phase diagram of the model and uncover the nature of its various phases. It is shown that there exists a transition between a Néel state and a quantum paramagnetic phase, characterized by broken translational invariance. The non-magnetic phase preserves the lattice rotational symmetry, and has a correlated plaquette nature. Our results also suggest that this phase transition can be properly described within the Landau paradigm.

Exact solution of the spin-isospin proton-neutron pairing Hamiltonian.

The exact solution of the proton-neutron isoscalar-isovector (T=0,1) pairing Hamiltonian with nondegenerate single-particle orbits and equal pairing strengths is presented for the first time. The Hamiltonian is a particular case of a family of integrable SO(8) Richardson-Gaudin models. The exact solution of the T=0,1 pairing Hamiltonian is reduced to a problem of 4 sets of coupled nonlinear equations that determine the spectral parameters of the complete set of eigenstates. The microscopic structure of individual eigenstates is analyzed in terms of evolution of the spectral parameters in the complex plane for a system of A=80 nucleons. The spectroscopic trends of the exact solutions are discussed in terms of generalized rotations in isospace.

Density matrix renormalization group approach for many-body open quantum systems.

The density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) approach is extended to complex-symmetric density matrices characteristic of many-body open quantum systems. Within the continuum shell model, we investigate the interplay between many-body configuration interaction and coupling to open channels in case of the unbound nucleus (7)He. It is shown that the extended DMRG procedure provides a highly accurate treatment of the coupling to the nonresonant scattering continuum.

Exact solution of the isovector neutron-proton pairing Hamiltonian.

The complete exact solution of the T = 1 neutron-proton pairing Hamiltonian is presented in the context of the SO(5) Richardson-Gaudin model with nondegenerate single-particle levels and including isospin symmetry-breaking terms. The power of the method is illustrated with a numerical calculation for for 64Ge for a pf + g9/2 model space which is out of reach of modern shell-model codes.

Integrative models for asymmetric fermi superfluids: emergence of a new exotic pairing phase.

We introduce an exactly solvable model to study the competition between the Larkin-Ovchinnikov-Fulde-Ferrell (LOFF) and breached-pair superfluid in strongly interacting ultracold asymmetric Fermi gases. One can thus investigate homogeneous and inhomogeneous states on equal footing and establish the quantum phase diagram. For certain values of the filling and the interaction strength, the model exhibits a new stable exotic pairing phase which combines an inhomogeneous state with an interior gap to pair excitations. It is proven that this phase is the exact ground state in the strong-coupling limit, while numerical examples in finite lattices show that also at finite interaction strength it can have lower energy than the breached-pair or LOFF states.

Condensate fragmentation in a new exactly solvable model for confined bosons.

Based on Richardson's exact solution of the multilevel pairing model we derive a new class of exactly solvable models for the finite boson system. As an example we solve a particular Hamiltonian which displays a transition to a fragmented condensate for repulsive pairing interaction.

New mechanism for the enhancement of sd dominance in interacting boson models.

We introduce an exactly solvable model for interacting bosons that extend up to high spin and interact through a repulsive pairing force. The model exhibits a phase transition to a state with almost complete sd dominance. The repulsive pairing interaction that underlies the model has a natural microscopic origin in the Pauli exclusion principle between constituent nucleons. As such, repulsive pairing between bosons seems to provide a new mechanism for the enhancement of sd dominance, giving further support for the validity of the sd interacting boson model.

Class of exactly solvable pairing models.

We present three classes of exactly solvable models for fermion and boson systems, based on the pairing interaction. These models are solvable in any dimension. As an example we show the first results for fermions interacting with repulsive pairing forces in a two-dimensional square lattice. In spite of the repulsive pairing force the exact results show attractive pair correlations.

Electrostatic mapping of nuclear pairing.

The traditional nuclear pairing problem is shown to be in one-to-one correspondence with a classical electrostatic problem in two dimensions. We make use of this analogy in a series of calculations in the tin region, showing that the extremely rich phenomenology that appears in this classical problem can provide interesting new insights into nuclear superconductivity.

Phase diagram of the proton-neutron interacting boson model.

We study the phase diagram of the proton-neutron interacting boson model with special emphasis on the phase transitions leading to triaxial phases. The existence of a new critical point between spherical and triaxial shapes is reported.

Exactly solvable models for atom-molecule Hamiltonians.

We present a family of exactly solvable generalizations of the Jaynes-Cummings model involving the interaction of an ensemble of SU(2) or SU(1,1) quasispins with a single boson field. They are obtained from the trigonometric Richardson-Gaudin models by replacing one of the SU(2) or SU(1,1) degrees of freedom by an ideal boson. The application to a system of bosonic atoms and molecules is reported.