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Abstract We develop a nonequilibrium increment method in quantum Monte Carlo simulations to obtain the Rényi entanglement entropy of various quantum many-body systems with high efficiency and precision. To demonstrate its power, we show the results on a few important yet difficult (2 + 1) d quantum lattice models, ranging from the Heisenberg quantum antiferromagnet with spontaneous symmetry breaking, the quantum critical point with O(3) conformal field theory (CFT) to the toric code $${{\mathbb{Z}}}_{2}$$ Z 2 topological ordered state and the Kagome $${{\mathbb{Z}}}_{2}$$ Z 2 quantum spin liquid model with frustration and multi-spin interactions. In all these cases, our method either reveals the precise CFT data from the logarithmic correction or extracts the quantum dimension in topological order, from the dominant area law in finite-size scaling, with very large system sizes, controlled errorbars, and minimal computational costs. Our method, therefore, establishes a controlled and practical computation paradigm to obtain the difficult yet important universal properties in highly entangled quantum matter. 

We study the gauging of a global U(1) symmetry in a gapped system in(2+1)d. The gauging procedure has been well-understood for a finiteglobal symmetry group, which leads to a new gapped phase with emergentgauge structure and can be described algebraically using themathematical framework of modular tensor category (MTC). We develop acategorical description of U(1) gauging in a MTC, taking into accountthe dynamics of U(1) gauge field absent in the finite group case. Whenthe ungauged system has a non-zero Hall conductance, the gauged theoryremains gapped and we determine the complete set of anyon data for thegauged theory. On the other hand, when the Hall conductance vanishes, weargue that gauging has the same effect of condensing a special Abeliananyon nucleated by inserting 2\pi 2 π U(1) flux. We apply our procedure to theSU(2) _k k MTCs and derive the full MTC data for the \mathbb{Z}_k ℤ k parafermion MTCs. We also discuss a dual U(1) symmetry that emergesafter the original U(1) symmetry of an MTC is gauged. 

We study scaling behavior of the disorder parameter, defined as theexpectation value of a symmetry transformation applied to a finiteregion, at the deconfined quantum critical point in (2+1)d in the J-Q_3 J − Q 3 model via large-scale quantum Monte Carlo simulations. We show that thedisorder parameter for U(1) spin rotation symmetry exhibits perimeterscaling with a logarithmic correction associated with sharp corners ofthe region, as generally expected for a conformally-invariant criticalpoint. However, for large rotation angle the universal coefficient ofthe logarithmic corner correction becomes negative, which is not allowedin any unitary conformal field theory. We also extract the currentcentral charge from the small rotation angle scaling, whose value ismuch smaller than that of the free theory. 

Abstract The experimental discovery of the fractional Hall conductivity in two-dimensional electron gases revealed new types of quantum particles, called anyons, which are beyond bosons and fermions as they possess fractionalized exchange statistics. These anyons are usually studied deep inside an insulating topological phase. It is natural to ask whether such fractionalization can be detected more broadly, say near a phase transition from a conventional to a topological phase. To answer this question, we study a strongly correlated quantum phase transition between a topological state, called a $${{\mathbb{Z}}}_{2}$$ Z 2 quantum spin liquid, and a conventional superfluid using large-scale quantum Monte Carlo simulations. Our results show that the universal conductivity at the quantum critical point becomes a simple fraction of its value at the conventional insulator-to-superfluid transition. Moreover, a dynamically self-dual optical conductivity emerges at low temperatures above the transition point, indicating the presence of the elusive vison particles. Our study opens the door for the experimental detection of anyons in a broader regime, and has ramifications in the study of quantum materials, programmable quantum simulators, and ultra-cold atomic gases. In the latter case, we discuss the feasibility of measurements in optical lattices using current techniques.