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Anomalous quantum states in finite macroscopic systems
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors consider a class of pure states that do not have the ''cluster property'' and obtain general and universal results, by making full use of the locality of the theory.
Abstract: We consider finite macroscopic systems, i.e., systems of large but finite degrees of freedom, which we believe are poorly understood as compared with small systems and infinite systems. We focus on pure states that do not have the `cluster property.' Such a pure state is entangled macroscopically, and is quite anomalous in view of many-body physics because it does not approach any pure state in the infinite-size limit. However, we often encounter such anomalous states when studying finite macroscopic systems, such as quantum computers with many qubits and finite systems that will exhibit symmetry breaking in the infinite-size limit. We study stabilities of such anomalous states in general systems. In contrast to the previous works, we obtain general and universal results, by making full use of the locality of the theory. Using the general results, we discuss roles of anomalous states in quantum computers, and the mechanism of emergence of a classical world from quantum theory.
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TL;DR: A Bell inequality is derived for a state of n spin-1/2 particles which superposes two macroscopically distinct states and quantum mechanics violates this inequality by an amount that grows exponentially with n.
Abstract: A Bell inequality is derived for a state of n spin-1/2 particles which superposes two macroscopically distinct states. Quantum mechanics violates this inequality by an amount that grows exponentially with n.
1,218 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors consider a quantum many-body system on a lattice which exhibits spontaneous symmetry breaking in its infinite-volume ground states, but in which the corresponding order operator does not commute with the Hamiltonian.
Abstract: We consider a quantum many-body system on a lattice which exhibits a spontaneous symmetry breaking in its infinite-volume ground states, but in which the corresponding order operator does not commute with the Hamiltonian. Typical examples are the Heisenberg antiferromagnet with a Neel order and the Hubbard model with a (superconducting) off-diagonal long-range order. In the corresponding finite system, the symmetry breaking is usually “obscured” by “quantum fluctuation” and one gets a symmetric ground state with a long-range order. In such a situation, Horsch and von der Linden proved that the finite system has a low-lying eigenstate whose excitation energy is not more than of orderN
−1, whereN denotes the number of sites in the lattice. Here we study the situation where the broken symmetry is a continuous one. For a particular set of states (which are orthogonal to the ground state and with each other), we prove bounds for their energy expectation values. The bounds establish that there exist ever-increasing numbers of low-lying eigenstates whose excitation energies are bounded by a constant timesN
−1. A crucial feature of the particular low-lying states we consider is that they can be regarded as finite-volume counterparts of the infinite-volume ground states. By forming linear combinations of these low-lying states and the (finite-volume) ground state and by taking infinite-volume limits, we construct infinite-volume ground states with explicit symmetry breaking. We conjecture that these infinite-volume ground states are ergodic, i.e., physically natural. Our general theorems not only shed light on the nature of symmetry breaking in quantum many-body systems, but also provide indispensable information for numerical approaches to these systems. We also discuss applications of our general results to a variety of interesting examples. The present paper is intended to be accessible to readers without background in mathematical approaches to quantum many-body systems.
85 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the ground state and the lowest excited states of the spin 1/2-Heisenberg model were investigated by exact diagonalization and variational Monte Carlo techniques.
Abstract: The ground state and the lowest excited states of the spin 1/2-Heisenberg model are investigated by exact diagonalization and variational Monte Carlo techniques. Our trial state represents a generalization of a wave function introduced by Hulthen, Kasteleijn and Marshall. The long range character of the spin-correlation function is in excellent agreement with exact diagonalization and also with recent neutron scattering results for La2CuO4. The asymptotic behavior of the spin-correlation function is found to differ from spin-wave theory. From the exact (N<=20 spins) and variational (N<=400) ground state energies we determine as asymptotic values 1.3025 and 1.288, respectively. We calculate the dispersion for the spin-wave excitations and identify an excited triplet which becomes degenerate with the ground state in the thermodynamic limit. This triplet state allows spontaneous symmetry breaking to occur atT=0 K. Quantum fluctuations reduce the sublattice magnetization to an effective value of 0.195 (3) as compared to the Neel-state value of 1/2.
80 citations
TL;DR: The mechanism of symmetry-breaking in finite systems of finite volume V is discussed and it is shown that if a state, pure or mixed, has the "cluster property," then it is stable against local measurements, and vice versa.
Abstract: We study the stability of quantum states of macroscopic systems of finite volume V. By using both the locality and huge degrees of freedom, we show the following: (i) If square fluctuation of every additive operator is O(V) or less for a pure state, then it is not fragile for any weak classical noises or weak perturbations from environments. (ii) If square fluctuation of some additive operator is O(V2) for a pure state, then it is fragile for some of these. (iii) If a state, pure or mixed, has the "cluster property," then it is stable against local measurements, and vice versa. Among many applications, we discuss the mechanism of symmetry-breaking in finite systems.
75 citations