Real-space renormalization group methods in the age of tensor network states
Year: 2018
Type: dissertation
Abstract: This dissertation contributes to the ongoing effort of understanding the origins and applications of real-space renormalization group methods in tensor network representations of classical and quantum many-body systems. First, we construct a matrix product operator ansatz to coarse-grain real-space transfer matrices of matrix product state descriptions of one-dimensional quantum spin chains. By treating the physical spin as an impurity, we unravel the virtual entanglement degrees of freedom of matrix product states into a layered structure to reveal an inherent renormalization group scale. Secondly, we rephrase tensor network renormalization for two-dimensional classical lattice models in a manifestly nonnegative way. The resulting real-space renormalization group flow preserves positivity and hence yields an interpretation in terms of Hamiltonian flows, reconciling modern real-space tensor network renormalization methods with traditional block-spin approaches. Thirdly, we study non-local symmetries in tensor networks by expressing two-dimensional classical partition functions in terms of strange correlators of judiciously chosen product states and string-net wave functions. We exhibit and exploit the emerging non-local symmetries of the partition function at criticality and highlight parallels between topological sectors and conformal primary fields in the shared framework of matrix product operator symmetries. Additionally, we provide a complementary perspective on real-space renormalization by recognizing known tensor network renormalization methods as the approximate truncation of an exactly coarse-grained strange correlator.
Author: Matthias Bal
Language: English
Topic: Quantum many-body systems
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2797136362