Quantum Strong-to-Weak Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking in Decohered One Dimensional Critical States

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Guo, Yuxuan, Yang, Sheng, Yu, Xue-Jia
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Guo, Yuxuan
Yang, Sheng
Yu, Xue-Jia
author_facet Guo, Yuxuan
Yang, Sheng
Yu, Xue-Jia
contents Symmetry breaking has been a central theme in classifying quantum phases and phase transitions. Recently, this concept has been extended to the mixed states of open systems, attracting considerable attention due to the emergence of novel physics beyond closed systems. In this work, we reveal a new type of phase transition in mixed states, termed \emph{quantum} strong-to-weak spontaneous symmetry breaking (SWSSB). Using a combination of field theory calculations and large-scale matrix product state simulations, we map out the global phase diagram of the XXZ critical spin chain under local strong symmetry preserving decoherence, which features an SWSSB phase and a trivial Luttinger liquid phase, separated by a straight critical line that belongs to the boundary Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless universality class with a varying effective central charge. Importantly, we analyze this transition from two complementary perspectives: on one hand, through the behavior of order parameters that characterize the symmetry breaking; on the other hand, from a quantum information viewpoint by studying entropic quantities and the concept of quantum recoverability. Remarkably, the SWSSB transition in our case is \emph{purely quantum} in the sense that it can only be driven by tuning the Hamiltonian parameter even under arbitrary decoherence strength, fundamentally distinguishing it from the decoherence-driven SWSSB transitions extensively discussed in previous literature. Importantly, our unified theoretical framework is applicable to a broad class of one-dimensional quantum systems, including spin chains and fermionic systems, whose low-energy physics can be described by Luttinger liquid theory, under arbitrary symmetry-preserving decoherence channels. Finally, we also discuss the experimental relevance of our theory on quantum simulator platforms.
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id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_14221
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Quantum Strong-to-Weak Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking in Decohered One Dimensional Critical States
Guo, Yuxuan
Yang, Sheng
Yu, Xue-Jia
Strongly Correlated Electrons
Statistical Mechanics
Quantum Physics
Symmetry breaking has been a central theme in classifying quantum phases and phase transitions. Recently, this concept has been extended to the mixed states of open systems, attracting considerable attention due to the emergence of novel physics beyond closed systems. In this work, we reveal a new type of phase transition in mixed states, termed \emph{quantum} strong-to-weak spontaneous symmetry breaking (SWSSB). Using a combination of field theory calculations and large-scale matrix product state simulations, we map out the global phase diagram of the XXZ critical spin chain under local strong symmetry preserving decoherence, which features an SWSSB phase and a trivial Luttinger liquid phase, separated by a straight critical line that belongs to the boundary Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless universality class with a varying effective central charge. Importantly, we analyze this transition from two complementary perspectives: on one hand, through the behavior of order parameters that characterize the symmetry breaking; on the other hand, from a quantum information viewpoint by studying entropic quantities and the concept of quantum recoverability. Remarkably, the SWSSB transition in our case is \emph{purely quantum} in the sense that it can only be driven by tuning the Hamiltonian parameter even under arbitrary decoherence strength, fundamentally distinguishing it from the decoherence-driven SWSSB transitions extensively discussed in previous literature. Importantly, our unified theoretical framework is applicable to a broad class of one-dimensional quantum systems, including spin chains and fermionic systems, whose low-energy physics can be described by Luttinger liquid theory, under arbitrary symmetry-preserving decoherence channels. Finally, we also discuss the experimental relevance of our theory on quantum simulator platforms.
title Quantum Strong-to-Weak Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking in Decohered One Dimensional Critical States
topic Strongly Correlated Electrons
Statistical Mechanics
Quantum Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.14221