Free fermions in disguise
Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical IOP Science 52 (2019) 335002
Abstract:
I solve a quantum chain whose Hamiltonian is comprised solely of local four-fermi operators by constructing free-fermion raising and lowering operators. The free-fermion operators are both non-local and highly non-linear in the local fermions. This construction yields the complete spectrum of the Hamiltonian and an associated classical transfer matrix. The spatially uniform system is gapless with dynamical critical exponent z=3/2, while staggering the couplings gives a more conventional free-fermion model with an Ising transition. The Hamiltonian is equivalent to that of a spin-1/2 chain with next-nearest-neighbour interactions, and has a supersymmetry generated by a sum of fermion trilinears. The supercharges are part of a large non-abelian symmetry algebra that results in exponentially large degeneracies. The model is integrable for either open or periodic boundary conditions but the free-fermion construction only works for the former, while for the latter the extended symmetry is broken and the degeneracies split.Onsager symmetries in $U(1)$ -invariant clock models
Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment IOP Science 2019:April 2019 (2019) 043107
Abstract:
We show how the Onsager algebra, used in the original solution of the two-dimensional Ising model, arises as an infinite-dimensional symmetry of certain self-dual models that also have a symmetry. We describe in detail the example of nearest-neighbour n-state clock chains whose symmetry is enhanced to . As a consequence of the Onsager-algebra symmetry, the spectrum of these models possesses degeneracies with multiplicities 2 N for positive integer N. We construct the elements of the algebra explicitly from transfer matrices built from non-fundamental representations of the quantum-group algebra . We analyse the spectra further by using both the coordinate Bethe ansatz and a functional approach, and show that the degeneracies result from special exact n-string solutions of the Bethe equations. We also find a family of commuting chiral Hamiltonians that break the degeneracies and allow an integrable interpolation between ferro- and antiferromagnets.John Cardy’s scale-invariant journey in low dimensions: a special issue for his 70th birthday
Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical IOP Publishing 51:28 (2018) 280301
Lattice supersymmetry and order-disorder coexistence in the tricritical Ising model
Physical Review Letters American Physical Society 120:20 (2018) 206403
Abstract:
We introduce and analyze a quantum spin or Majorana chain with a tricritical Ising point separating a critical phase from a gapped phase with order-disorder coexistence. We show that supersymmetry is not only an emergent property of the scaling limit but also manifests itself on the lattice. Namely, we find explicit lattice expressions for the supersymmetry generators and currents. Writing the Hamiltonian in terms of these generators allows us to find the ground states exactly at a frustration-free coupling. These confirm the coexistence between two (topologically) ordered ground states and a disordered one in the gapped phase. Deforming the model by including explicit chiral symmetry breaking, we find the phases persist up to an unusual chiral phase transition where the supersymmetry becomes exact even on the lattice.Prethermal strong zero modes and topological qubits
Physical Review X American Physical Society 7:4 (2017) 041062