We numerically study the single-flavor Schwinger model with a topological $θ$-term, which is practically inaccessible by standard lattice Monte Carlo simulations due to the sign problem. By using numerical methods based on tensor networks, especially the one-dimensional matrix product states, we explore the non-trivial $θ$-dependence of several lattice and continuum quantities in the Hamiltonian formulation. In particular, we compute the ground-state energy, the electric field, the chiral fermion condensate, and the topological vacuum susceptibility for positive, zero, and even negative fermion mass. In the chiral limit, we demonstrate that the continuum model becomes independent of the vacuum angle $θ$, thus respecting CP invariance, while lattice artifacts still depend on $θ$. We also confirm that negative masses can be mapped to positive masses by shifting $θ\rightarrow θ+π$ due to the axial anomaly in the continuum, while lattice artifacts non-trivially distort this mapping. This mass regime is particularly interesting for the (3+1)-dimensional QCD analog of the Schwinger model, the sign problem of which requires the development and testing of new numerical techniques beyond the conventional Monte Carlo approach.
We perform digital quantum simulation, using a classical simulator, to study screening and confinement in a gauge theory with a topological term, focusing on ($1+1$)-dimensional quantum electrodynamics (Schwinger model) with a theta term. We compute the ground state energy in the presence of probe charges to estimate the potential between them, via adiabatic state preparation. We compare our simulation results and analytical predictions for a finite volume, finding good agreements. In particular our result in the massive case shows a linear behavior for non-integer charges and a non-linear beh…
Lattice regularized Schwinger model with a so-called $θ$ term is studied by using the Grassmann tensor renormalization group. We perform the Lee-Yang and Fisher zero analyses in order to investigate the phase structure at $θ=π$. We find a first order phase transition at larger fermion mass. Both of the Lee-Yang zero and Fisher zero analyses indicate that the critical endpoint at which the first order phase transition terminates belongs to the Ising universality class.
We perform a digital quantum simulation of a gauge theory with a topological term in Minkowski spacetime, which is practically inaccessible by standard lattice Monte Carlo simulations. We focus on $1+1$ dimensional quantum electrodynamics with the $θ$-term known as the Schwinger model. We construct the true vacuum state of a lattice Schwinger model using adiabatic state preparation which, in turn, allows us to compute an expectation value of the fermion mass operator with respect to the vacuum. Upon taking a continuum limit we find that our result in massless case agrees with the known exact r…
We study the massless Schwinger model with an additional 4-fermi interaction and a topological term. For topological angle $θ= π$ charge conjugation symmetry is implemented in a non-trivial way and we study the possibility of its spontaneous breaking. For the lattice discretization we use staggered fermions and the Villain action for the gauge fields, where the topological term is an integer and charge conjugation at $θ= π$ is an exact symmetry. The complex action problem is overcome by a suitable worldline/worldsheet representation. We find that as a function of the 4-fermi coupling the syste…
We discuss simulation strategies for the massless lattice Schwinger model with a topological term and finite chemical potential. The simulation is done in a dual representation where the complex action problem is solved and the partition function is a sum over fermion loops, fermion dimers and plaquette-occupation numbers. We explore strategies to update the fermion loops coupled to the gauge degrees of freedom and check our results with conventional simulations (without topological term and at zero chemical potential), as well as with exact summation on small volumes. Some physical implicatio…
I give a quick summary of my proposal for simulating an improvement on quenched QCD with dynamical fermions which interact with the gluon configuration only via the topological index of the latter. It amounts to include only the topological part of the functional determinant into the measure, thereby absorbing a correction factor into the observable. I discuss the prospects of this concept from a study in the massive $N_f$-flavour Schwinger model, where the correction factor is indeed found to be of order $O(1)$.
We study the out-of-equilibrium properties of $1+1$ dimensional quantum electrodynamics (QED), discretized via the staggered-fermion Schwinger model with an Abelian $\mathbb{Z}_{n}$ gauge group. We look at two relevant phenomena: first, we analyze the stability of the Dirac vacuum with respect to particle/antiparticle pair production, both spontaneous and induced by an external electric field; then, we examine the string breaking mechanism. We observe a strong effect of confinement, which acts by suppressing both spontaneous pair production and string breaking into quark/antiquark pairs, indic…
We construct a tensor network representation of the partition function for the massless Schwinger model on a two dimensional lattice using staggered fermions. The tensor network representation allows us to include a topological term. Using a particular implementation of the tensor renormalization group (HOTRG) we calculate the phase diagram of the theory. For a range of values of the coupling to the topological term $θ$ and the gauge coupling $β$ we compare with results from hybrid Monte Carlo when possible and find good agreement.
The Schwinger model is studied in a finite lattice by means of the P-representation. The vacuum energy, mass gap and chiral condensate are evaluated showing good agreement with the expected values in the continuum limit.
Topological freezing is a well known problem in lattice simulations: with shrinking lattice spacing a transition between topological sectors becomes increasingly improbable, leading to a problematic increase of the autocorrelation time regarding several observables. We present our investigation of metadynamics as a solution for topological freezing in the Schwinger model. Specifically, we take a closer look at the collective variable and its scaling behaviour, visualize the effects of topological freezing and how metadynamics helps in that respect and explore alternatives for a more efficient …
In the continuum, the single flavor massless Schwinger model has an exact global axial $U(1)$ symmetry in the sector of perturbative gauge fields. This symmetry is explicitly broken by gauge fields with nonzero topological charge inducing a nonzero expectation value for the bilinear $\barψψ$. We show that a lattice formulation of this model, using the overlap formalism to treat the massless fermions, explicitly exhibits this phenomenon. A Monte Carlo simulation of the complete system yields the correct value of the fermion condensate and shows unambiguously that it originates from the sector o…
Matrix Product States (MPS) are used for the simulation of the real-time dynamics induced by an electric quench on the vacuum state of the massive Schwinger model. For small quenches it is found that the obtained oscillatory behavior of local observables can be explained from the single-particle excitations of the quenched Hamiltonian. For large quenches damped oscillations are found and comparison of the late time behavior with the appropriate Gibbs states seems to give some evidence for the onset of thermalization. Finally, the MPS real-time simulations are explicitly compared with the semi-…
Digital Quantum Simulation of Nonequilibrium Dynamics in the Schwinger Model under a Strong External Electric Field
State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Technology, Institute of Quantum Matter, South China Normal University（华南师范大学量子物质研究院核物理与技术国家重点实验室）；Key Laboratory of Atomic and Subatomic Structure and Quantum Control (MOE), Guangdong-Hong Kong Joint Laboratory of Quantum Matter（原子与亚原子结构及量子控制教育部重点实验室粤港澳量子物质联合实验室）；Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Structure and Fundamental Interactions of Matter, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Nuclear Science（广东省物质结构与基本相互作用卓越研究中心广东省核科学重点实验室）
We derive an exact representation of the massless Schwinger model on the lattice in terms of dual variables which are configurations of loops, dimers and plaquette occupation numbers. When expressed with the dual variables the partition sum has only real and positive terms also when a chemical potential or a topological term are added -- situations where the conventional representation has a complex action problem. The dual representation allows for Monte Carlo simulations without restrictions on the values of the chemical potential or the vacuum angle.
At small lattice spacing QCD simulations are expected to become stuck in a single topological sector. Observables evaluated in a fixed topological sector differ from their counterparts in full QCD, i.e. at unfixed topology, by volume dependent corrections. We investigate these corrections in the two-flavor Schwinger model, which is in several aspects similar to QCD, using Wilson fermions. We also try to remove these corrections by suitable extrapolations to infinite volume.
I readdress the issue whether the topological charge of the gauge background has an influence on a hadronic observable. To this end pion correlators in the Schwinger model with 2 dynamical flavours are determined on subensembles with a fixed topological charge. It turns out that the answer depends on a specific function of the sea-quark mass and the box volume which is in close analogy to the Leutwyler-Smilga parameter in full QCD.
Lüscher's ``admissibility'' condition on the gauge field space plays an essential role in constructing lattice gauge theories which has exact chiral symmetries. We apply the gauge action proposed by Lüscher with the domain-wall fermion action to the numerical simulation of the massive Schwinger model. We find this action can generate configurations in each topological sector separately without any topology changes. By developing a new method to sum over different topological sectors, we calculate meson masses in nonzero-$θ$ vacuum.
The phase diagram of the Schwinger model on the lattice with Wilson fermions is investigated in the Hartree-Fock approximation. In case of single flavour (not directly amenable to simulations), the calculation indicates the existence of the parity violating phase at both weak and intermediate-to-strong couplings. Hartree-Fock vacuum sustains a nonzero electric field in this broken phase. The phase structure of the model with two flavours is also discussed.
We present simulation results for the 2-flavour Schwinger model with dynamical overlap fermions. In particular we apply the overlap hypercube operator at seven light fermion masses. In each case we collect sizable statistics in the topological sectors 0 and 1. Since the chiral condensate Sigma vanishes in the chiral limit, we observe densities for the microscopic Dirac spectrum, which have not been addressed yet by Random Matrix Theory (RMT). Nevertheless, by confronting the averages of the lowest eigenvalues in different topological sectors with chiral RMT in unitary ensemble we obtain -- for…
We compare continuum and lattice formulation of the geometric Schwinger Model on the torus. The lattice reproduces the $U(1)_A$ anomaly, related to non-trivial topological gauge configurations and zero modes.
1. We compare Monte Carlo results with analytic predictions for the fermion condensate, in the massive one-flavour Schwinger model. 2. We illustrate on the Schwinger model how to facilitate transitions between topological sectors by a simple reweighting method. 3. We discuss exact, non-perturbative improvement of the gauge sector.
The phase diagram of the Schwinger model on the lattice with one and two degenerate flavours of Wilson fermions is investigated in the Hartree-Fock approximation. In case of a single flavour (not directly amenable to numerical simulation), the calculation indicates the existence of the parity violating phase at both weak and intermediate-to-strong couplings. In the broken phase, the Hartree-Fock vacuum sustains a nonzero electric field. With two flavours, parity is not broken at weak coupling. However, both parity and flavour become spontaneously broken at the Hartree-Fock level as the couplin…
We present a numerical study of the massive two-flavor QED in two dimensions with the gauge action proposed by Lüscher, which allows only ``admissible'' gauge fields. We find that the admissibility condition does not allow any topology changes by the local updation in Hybrid Monte Carlo algorithm so that the configurations in each topological sector can be generated separately. By developing a new method to sum over different topological sectors, we investigate $θ$ vacuum effects. Combining with domain-wall fermion action, we obtain the fermion mass dependence and $θ$ dependence of the meson m…
We present numerical results for the 2-flavour Schwinger model with dynamical chiral lattice fermions. We insert an approximately chiral hypercube Dirac operator into the overlap formula to construct the overlap hypercube operator. This is an exact solution to the Ginsparg-Wilson relation, with an excellent level of locality and scaling. Due to its similarity with the hypercubic kernel, a low polynomial in this kernel provides a numerically efficient Hybrid Monte Carlo force. We measure the microscopic Dirac spectrum and discuss the corresponding scale-invariant parameter, which takes a surpri…
We study the scalar condensate and the topological susceptibility for a continuous range of quark masses in the Schwinger model with $N_f=0,1,2$ dynamical flavors, using both the overlap and the staggered discretization. At finite lattice spacing the differences between the two formulations become rather dramatic near the chiral limit, but they get severely reduced, at the coupling considered, after a few smearing steps.
Using the approach developed in [V. Azcoiti, G. Di Carlo, A. Galante, V. Laliena, \textit{Phys. Lett.} \textbf{B563}, (2003) 117], we are able to reconstruct the behavior of the massive 1-flavor Schwinger model with a $θ$ term and a quantized topological charge. We calculate the full dependence of the order parameter with $θ$. Our results at $θ= π$ are compatible with Coleman's conjecture on the phase diagram of this model.
