We introduce a class of states, called minimally entangled typical thermal states (METTS), designed to resemble a typical state of a quantum system at finite temperature with a bias towards classical (minimally entangled) properties. These states reveal in an intuitive way properties such as short-range order which may be hidden in correlation functions. An algorithm is presented which, when used with the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG), is faster by a factor of $10^3 - 10^{10}$ than previous heat-bath approaches for thermally averaged quantities.
We extend White's minimally entangled typically thermal states approach (METTS) to allow Abelian and non-Ablian symmetries to be exploited when computing finite-temperature response functions in one-dimensional (1D) quantum systems. Our approach, called SYMETTS, starts from a METTS sample of states that are not symmetry eigenstates, and generates from each a symmetry eigenstate. These symmetry states are then used to calculate dynamic response functions. SYMETTS is ideally suited to determine the low-temperature spectra of 1D quantum systems with high resolution. We employ this method to study…
The minimally entangled typical thermal states algorithm is applied to fermionic systems using the Krylov-space approach to evolve the system in imaginary time. The convergence of local observables is studied in a tight-binding system with a site-dependent potential. The temperature dependence of the superconducting correlations of the attractive Hubbard model is analyzed on chains, showing an exponential decay with distance and exponents proportional to the temperature at low temperatures, as expected. In addition, the non-local parity correlator is calculated at finite temperature. Other pos…
We discuss a method based on sampling minimally entangled typical thermal states (METTS) that can simulate finite temperature quantum systems with a computational cost comparable to ground state DMRG. Detailed implementations of each step of the method are presented, along with efficient algorithms for working with matrix product states and matrix product operators. We furthermore explore how properties of METTS can reveal characteristic order and excitations of systems and discuss why METTS form an efficient basis for sampling. Finally, we explore the extent to which the average entanglement …
Based on the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG), strongly correlated quantum many-body systems at finite temperatures can be simulated by sampling over a certain class of pure matrix product states (MPS) called minimally entangled typical thermal states (METTS). When a system features symmetries, these can be utilized to substantially reduce MPS computation costs. It is conceptually straightforward to simulate canonical ensembles using symmetric METTS. In practice, it is important to alternate between different symmetric collapse bases to decrease autocorrelations in the Markov chain …
Minimally entangled typical thermal states (METTS) are a construction that allows one to to solve for the imaginary time evolution of quantum many body systems. By using wave functions that are weakly entangled, one can take advantage of efficient representations in the form of matrix product states. We generalize these ideas to arbitrary variational wave functions and we focus, as illustration, on the particular case of restricted Boltzmann machines. The imaginary time evolution is carried out using stochastic reconfiguration (natural gradient descent), combined with Monte Carlo sampling. Sin…
Finite temperature problems in the strong correlated systems are important but challenging tasks. Minimally entangled typical thermal states (METTS) are a powerful method in the framework of tensor network methods to simulate finite temperature systems, including Fermions and frustrated spins which introduce a sign problem in the typical Monte Carlo methods. In this work, we introduce an extension of the METTS algorithm by using a new basis, the auxiliary matrix product state. This new basis achieves the pre-summation process in the partition function, and thus improve the convergence in the M…
We extend finite-temperature tensor network methods to compute Matsubara imaginary-time correlation functions, building on the minimally entangled typical thermal states (METTS) and purification algorithms. While imaginary-time correlation functions are straightforward to formulate with these methods, care is needed to avoid convergence issues that would result from naive estimators. As a benchmark, we study the single-band Anderson impurity model, even though the algorithm is quite general and applies to lattice models. The special structure of the impurity model benchmark system and our choi…
For the simulation of equilibrium states and finite-temperature response functions of strongly-correlated quantum many-body systems, we compare the efficiencies of two different approaches in the framework of the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG). The first is based on matrix product purifications. The second, more recent one, is based on so-called minimally entangled typical thermal states (METTS). For the latter, we highlight the interplay of statistical and DMRG truncation errors, discuss the use of self-averaging effects, and describe schemes for the computation of response funct…
Here we show how the Minimally Entangled States (MES) of a 2d system with topological order can be identified using the geometric measure of entanglement. We show this by minimizing this measure for the doubled semion, doubled Fibonacci and toric code models on a torus with non-trivial topological partitions. Our calculations are done either quasi-exactly for small system sizes, or using the tensor network approach in [R. Orus, T.-C. Wei, O. Buerschaper, A. Garcia-Saez, arXiv:1406.0585] for large sizes. As a byproduct of our methods, we see that the minimisation of the geometric entanglement c…
Minimally Entangled Typical Thermal States for Classical and Quantum Simulation of 1+1-Dimensional $\mathbb Z_2$ Lattice Gauge Theory at Finite Temperature and Density
In this paper we study the effect of non-trivial spatial topology on quantum entanglement by examining the degenerate ground states of a topologically ordered system on torus. Using the string-net (fixed-point) wave-function, we propose a general formula of the reduced density matrix when the system is partitioned into two cylinders. The cylindrical topology of the subsystems makes a significant difference in regard to entanglement: a global quantum number for the many-body states comes into play, together with a decomposition matrix $M$ which describes how topological charges of the ground st…
Purification is a powerful technique in quantum physics whereby a mixed quantum state is extended to a pure state on a larger system. This process is not unique, and in systems composed of many degrees of freedom, one natural purification is the one with minimal entanglement. Here we study the entropy of the minimally entangled purification, called the entanglement of purification, in three model systems: an Ising spin chain, conformal field theories holographically dual to Einstein gravity, and random stabilizer tensor networks. We conjecture values for the entanglement of purification in all…
Variational methods are a common approach for computing properties of ground states but have not yet found analogous success in finite temperature calculations. In this work we develop a new variational finite temperature algorithm (VAFT) which combines ideas from minimally entangled typical thermal states (METTS), variational Monte Carlo (VMC) optimization and path integral Monte Carlo (PIMC). This allows us to define an implicit variational density matrix to estimate finite temperature properties in two and three dimensions. We benchmark the algorithm on the bipartite Heisenberg model and co…
We examine in details the connections between topological and entanglement properties of short-range resonating valence bond (RVB) wave functions using Projected Entangled Pair States (PEPS) on kagome and square lattices on (quasi-)infinite cylinders with generalized boundary conditions (and perimeters with up to 20 lattice spacings). Making use of disconnected topological sectors in the space of dimer lattice coverings, we explicitly derive (orthogonal) "minimally entangled" PEPS RVB states. For the kagome lattice, we obtain, using the quantum Heisenberg antiferromagnet as a reference model, …
We develop an entangled-probe scattering theory, including quantum detection, that extends the scope of standard scattering approaches. We argue that these probes may be revolutionary in studying entangled matter such as unconventional phases of strongly correlated systems. Our presentation focuses on a neutron beam probe that is mode-entangled in spin and path as is experimentally realized in [1], although similar ideas also apply to photon probes. We generalize the traditional van Hove theory [2] whereby the response is written as a properly-crafted combination of two-point correlation funct…
Incommensurate order with translationally invariant projected entangled-pair states: Spiral states and quantum spin liquid on the anisotropic triangular lattice
There has been a great interest in magnetic field induced quantum spin liquids in Kitaev magnets after the discovery of neutron scattering continuum and half quantized thermal Hall conductivity in the material $α$-RuCl$_3$. In this work, we provide a semiclassical analysis of the relevant theoretical models on large system sizes, and compare the results to previous studies on quantum models with small system sizes. We find a series of competing magnetic orders with fairly large unit cells at intermediate magnetic fields, which are most likely missed by previous approaches. We show that quantum…
This thesis describes several topics related to finite temperature studies of strongly correlated systems: finite temperature density matrix embedding theory (FT-DMET), finite temperature metal-insulator transition, and quantum algorithms including quantum imaginary time evolution (QITE), quantum Lanczos (QLanczos), and quantum minimally entangled typical thermal states (QMETTS) algorithms. While the absolute zero temperature is not reachable, studies of physical and chemical problems at finite temperatures, especially at low temperature, is essential for understanding the quantum behaviors of…
We establish the double perovskite Ba$_2$CeIrO$_6$ as a nearly ideal model system for j=1/2 moments, with resonant inelastic x-ray scattering indicating a deviation of less than 1% from the ideally cubic j=1/2 state. The local j=1/2 moments form an fcc lattice and are found to order antiferromagnetically at $T_N$=14K, more than an order of magnitude below the Curie-Weiss temperature. Model calculations show that the geometric frustration of the fcc Heisenberg antiferromagnet is further enhanced by a next-nearest neighbor exchange, indicated by ab initio theory. Magnetic order is driven by a bo…
A typical quantum state obeying the area law for entanglement on an infinite 2D lattice can be represented by a tensor network ansatz -- known as an infinite projected entangled pair state (iPEPS) -- with a finite bond dimension $D$. Its real/imaginary time evolution can be split into small time steps. An application of a time step generates a new iPEPS with a bond dimension $k$ times the original one. The new iPEPS does not make optimal use of its enlarged bond dimension $kD$, hence in principle it can be represented accurately by a more compact ansatz, favourably with the original $D$. In th…
