Quantum phase transitions detected by a local probe using time correlations and violations of Leggett-Garg inequalities

In the present paper we introduce a way of identifying quantum phase transitions of many-body systems by means of local time correlations and Leggett-Garg inequalities. This procedure allows us to experimentally determine the quantum critical points not only of finite-order transitions but also thos...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Gómez-Ruiz, F. J., Mendoza-Arenas, J. J., Rodríguez, F. J., Tejedor de Paz, Carlos, Quiroga, L.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2016
País:España
Institución:Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Repositorio:Biblos-e Archivo. Repositorio Institucional de la UAM
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.uam.es:10486/677615
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10486/677615
https://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.93.035441
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Quantum phase
Leggett-Garg
Física
Descripción
Sumario:In the present paper we introduce a way of identifying quantum phase transitions of many-body systems by means of local time correlations and Leggett-Garg inequalities. This procedure allows us to experimentally determine the quantum critical points not only of finite-order transitions but also those of infinite order, as the Kosterlitz-Thouless transition that is not always easy to detect with current methods. By means of simple analytical arguments for a general spin-1/2 Hamiltonian, and matrix product simulations of one-dimensional XXZ and anisotropic XY models, we argue that finite-order quantum phase transitions can be determined by singularities of the time correlations or their derivatives at criticality. The same features are exhibited by corresponding Leggett-Garg functions, which noticeably indicate violation of the Leggett-Garg inequalities for early times and all the Hamiltonian parameters considered. In addition, we find that the infinite-order transition of the XXZ model at the isotropic point can be revealed by the maximal violation of the Leggett-Garg inequalities. We thus show that quantum phase transitions can be identified by purely local measurements and that many-body systems constitute important candidates to observe experimentally the violation of Leggett-Garg inequalities