The Kernel Polynomial Method

Efficient and stable algorithms for the calculation of spectral quantities and correlation functions are some of the key tools in computational condensed matter physics. In this article we review basic properties and recent developments of Chebyshev expansion based algorithms and the Kernel Polynomial Method. Characterized by a resource consumption that scales linearly with the problem dimension these methods enjoyed growing popularity over the last decade and found broad application not only in physics. Representative examples from the fields of disordered systems, strongly correlated electrons, electron-phonon interaction, and quantum spin systems we discuss in detail. In addition, we illustrate how the Kernel Polynomial Method is successfully embedded into other numerical techniques, such as Cluster Perturbation Theory or Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: 32 pages, 17 figs; revised versio

QCD Thermodynamics from the Lattice

We review the current methods and results of lattice simulations of quantum chromodynamics at nonzero temperatures and densities. The review is intended to introduce the subject to interested nonspecialists and beginners. It includes a brief overview of lattice gauge theory, a discussion of the determination of the crossover temperature, the QCD phase diagram at zero and nonzero densities, the equation of state, some in-medium properties of hadrons including charmonium, and some plasma transport coefficients.Comment: 74 pp. 31 figs. To appear in the European Physical Journal A and Advances in Physics of Particles and Nuclei. Added references, corrected typos, and updated the discussion of the thermal heavy quark/antiquark potential. Added and updated references. Final versio

Cold atom simulation of interacting relativistic quantum field theories

We demonstrate that Dirac fermions self-interacting or coupled to dynamic scalar fields can emerge in the low energy sector of designed bosonic and fermionic cold atom systems. We illustrate this with two examples defined in two spacetime dimensions. The first one is the self-interacting Thirring model. The second one is a model of Dirac fermions coupled to a dynamic scalar field that gives rise to the Gross-Neveu model. The proposed cold atom experiments can be used to probe spectral or correlation properties of interacting quantum field theories thereby presenting an alternative to lattice gauge theory simulations.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figues, Phys. Rev. Lett. versio

Few-qubit quantum-classical simulation of strongly correlated lattice fermions

We study a proof-of-principle example of the recently proposed hybrid quantum-classical simulation of strongly correlated fermion models in the thermodynamic limit. In a "two-site" dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT) approach we reduce the Hubbard model to an effective impurity model subject to self-consistency conditions. The resulting minimal two-site representation of the non-linear hybrid setup involves four qubits implementing the impurity problem, plus an ancilla qubit on which all measurements are performed. We outline a possible implementation with superconducting circuits feasible with near-future technology.Comment: 20 pages, 10 figure

Exact Chiral Symmetry on the Lattice

Developments during the last eight years have refuted the folklore that chiral symmetries cannot be preserved on the lattice. The mechanism that permits chiral symmetry to coexist with the lattice is quite general and may work in Nature as well. The reconciliation between chiral symmetry and the lattice is likely to revolutionize the field of numerical QCD.Comment: 30 pages, LaTeX, reference adde

A Unified Stochastic Formulation of Dissipative Quantum Dynamics. I. Generalized Hierarchical Equations

We extend a standard stochastic theory to study open quantum systems coupled to generic quantum environments including the three fundamental classes of noninteracting particles: bosons, fermions and spins. In this unified stochastic approach, the generalized stochastic Liouville equation (SLE) formally captures the exact quantum dissipations when noise variables with appropriate statistics for different bath models are applied. Anharmonic effects of a non-Gaussian bath are precisely encoded in the bath multi-time correlation functions that noise variables have to satisfy. Staring from the SLE, we devise a family of generalized hierarchical equations by averaging out the noise variables and expand bath multi-time correlation functions in a complete basis of orthonormal functions. The general hiearchical equations constitute systems of linear equations that provide numerically exact simulations of quantum dynamics. For bosonic bath models, our general hierarchical equation of motion reduces exactly to an extended version of hierarchical equation of motion which allows efficient simulation for arbitrary spectral densities and temperature regimes. Similar efficiency and exibility can be achieved for the fermionic bath models within our formalism. The spin bath models can be simulated with two complementary approaches in the presetn formalism. (I) They can be viewed as an example of non-Gaussian bath models and be directly handled with the general hierarchical equation approach given their multi-time correlation functions. (II) Alterantively, each bath spin can be first mapped onto a pair of fermions and be treated as fermionic environments within the present formalism.Comment: 31 pages, 2 figure