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1. Continuous Symmetry Breaking in a Trapped-Ion Spin Chain

   Lei Feng, Or Katz (January 2022, arXivorg)

   One-dimensional systems exhibiting a continuous symmetry can host quantum phases of matter with true long-range order only in the presence of sufficiently long-range interactions. In most physical systems, however, the interactions are short-ranged, hindering the emergence of such phases in one dimension. Here we use a one-dimensional trapped-ion quantum simulator to prepare states with long-range spin order that extends over the system size of up to 23 spins and is characteristic of the continuous symmetry-breaking phase of matter. Our preparation relies on simultaneous control over an array of tightly focused individual-addressing laser beams, generating long-range spin-spin interactions. We also observe a disordered phase with frustrated correlations. We further study the phases at different ranges of interaction and the out-of-equilibrium response to symmetry-breaking perturbations. This work opens an avenue to study new quantum phases and out-of-equilibrium dynamics in low-dimensional systems. 

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2. Digital quantum simulation of Floquet symmetry-protected topological phases

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-04854-3  

   Zhang, Xu; Jiang, Wenjie; Deng, Jinfeng; Wang, Ke; Chen, Jiachen; Zhang, Pengfei; Ren, Wenhui; Dong, Hang; Xu, Shibo; Gao, Yu; et al (July 2022, Nature)

   Abstract Quantum many-body systems away from equilibrium host a rich variety of exotic phenomena that are forbidden by equilibrium thermodynamics. A prominent example is that of discrete time crystals 1–8 , in which time-translational symmetry is spontaneously broken in periodically driven systems. Pioneering experiments have observed signatures of time crystalline phases with trapped ions 9,10 , solid-state spin systems 11–15 , ultracold atoms 16,17 and superconducting qubits 18–20 . Here we report the observation of a distinct type of non-equilibrium state of matter, Floquet symmetry-protected topological phases, which are implemented through digital quantum simulation with an array of programmable superconducting qubits. We observe robust long-lived temporal correlations and subharmonic temporal response for the edge spins over up to 40 driving cycles using a circuit of depth exceeding 240 and acting on 26 qubits. We demonstrate that the subharmonic response is independent of the initial state, and experimentally map out a phase boundary between the Floquet symmetry-protected topological and thermal phases. Our results establish a versatile digital simulation approach to exploring exotic non-equilibrium phases of matter with current noisy intermediate-scale quantum processors 21 . 

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3. Dimer description of the SU(4) antiferromagnet on the triangular lattice

   https://doi.org/10.21468/SciPostPhys.8.5.076  

   Keselman, Anna; Savary, Lucile; Balents, Leon (January 2020, SciPost Physics)

   null (Ed.)

   In systems with many local degrees of freedom, high-symmetry points in the phase diagram can provide an important starting point for the investigation of their properties throughout the phase diagram. In systems with both spin and orbital (or valley) degrees of freedom such a starting point gives rise to SU(4)-symmetric models.Here we consider SU(4)-symmetric "spin'' models, corresponding to Mott phases at half-filling, i.e. the six-dimensional representation of SU(4). This may be relevant to twisted multilayer graphene.In particular, we study the SU(4) antiferromagnetic "Heisenberg'' model on the triangular lattice, both in the classical limit and in the quantum regime. Carrying out a numerical study using the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG), we argue that the ground state is non-magnetic.We then derive a dimer expansion of the SU(4) spin model. An exact diagonalization (ED) study of the effective dimer model suggests that the ground state breaks translation invariance, forming a valence bond solid (VBS) with a 12-site unit cell.Finally, we consider the effect of SU(4)-symmetry breaking interactions due to Hund's coupling, and argue for a possible phase transition between a VBS and a magnetically ordered state. 

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4. Fractional matter coupled to the emergent gauge field in a quantum spin ice

   Porée, Victor; Yan, Han; Desrochers, Félix; Petit, Sylvain; Lhotel, Elsa; Appel, Markus; Ollivier, Jacques; Kim, Yong Baek; Nevidomskyy, Andriy H.; Sibille, Romain (May 2023, arXivorg)

   Electronic spins can form long-range entangled phases of condensed matter named quantum spin liquids. Their existence is conceptualized in models of two- or three-dimensional frustrated magnets that evade symmetry-breaking order down to zero temperature. Quantum spin ice (QSI) is a theoretically well-established example described by an emergent quantum electrodynamics, with excitations behaving like photon and matter quasiparticles. The latter are fractionally charged and equivalent to the `spinons' emerging from coherent phases of singlets in one dimension, where clear experimental proofs of fractionalization exist. However, in frustrated magnets it remains difficult to establish consensual evidence for quantum spin liquid ground states and their fractional excitations. Here, we use backscattering neutron spectroscopy to achieve extremely high resolution of the time-dependent magnetic response of the candidate QSI material Ce2Sn2O7. We find a gapped spectrum featuring a threshold and peaks that match theories for pair production and propagation of fractional matter excitations (spinons) strongly coupled to a background gauge field. The observed peaks provide evidence for a QSI through spectroscopic signatures of space-time symmetry fractionalization, while the threshold behavior corroborates the regime of strong light-matter interaction predicted for the emergent universe in a QSI. 

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5. From deconfined spinons to coherent magnons in an antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chain with long range interactions

   https://doi.org/10.21468/SciPostPhys.10.5.110  

   Yang, Luhang; Feiguin, Adrian (January 2021, SciPost Physics)

   We study the nature of the excitations of an antiferromagnetic (AFM) Heisenberg chain with staggered long range interactions using the time-dependent density matrix renormalization group method and by means of a multi-spinon approximation. The chain undergoes true symmetry breaking and develops long range order, transitioning from a gapless spin liquid to a gapless ordered AFM phase. The spin dynamic structure factor shows that the emergence of Néel order can be associated to the formation of bound states of spinons that become coherent magnons. The quasiparticle band leaks out from the two-spinon continuum that is pushed up to higher energies. Our physical picture is also supported by an analysis of the behavior of the excitations in real-time. 

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