Diagonalization- and Numerical Renormalization-Group-Based Methods for Interacting Quantum Systems

In these lecture notes, we present a pedagogical review of a number of related {\it numerically exact} approaches to quantum many-body problems. In particular, we focus on methods based on the exact diagonalization of the Hamiltonian matrix and on methods extending exact diagonalization using renormalization group ideas, i.e., Wilson's Numerical Renormalization Group (NRG) and White's Density Matrix Renormalization Group (DMRG). These methods are standard tools for the investigation of a variety of interacting quantum systems, especially low-dimensional quantum lattice models. We also survey extensions to the methods to calculate properties such as dynamical quantities and behavior at finite temperature, and discuss generalizations of the DMRG method to a wider variety of systems, such as classical models and quantum chemical problems. Finally, we briefly review some recent developments for obtaining a more general formulation of the DMRG in the context of matrix product states as well as recent progress in calculating the time evolution of quantum systems using the DMRG and the relationship of the foundations of the method with quantum information theory.Comment: 51 pages; lecture notes on numerically exact methods. Pedagogical review appearing in the proceedings of the "IX. Training Course in the Physics of Correlated Electron Systems and High-Tc Superconductors", Vietri sul Mare (Salerno, Italy, October 2004

Nonconforming P1 elements on distorted triangulations: Lower bounds for the discrete energy norm error

Compared to conforming P1 finite elements, nonconforming P1 finite element discretizations are thought to be less sensitive to the appearance of distorted triangulations. E.g., optimal-order discrete $H^1$ norm best approximation error estimates for $H^2$ functions hold for arbitrary triangulations. However, similar estimates for the error of the Galerkin projection for second-order elliptic problems show a dependence on the maximum angle of all triangles in the triangulation. We demonstrate on the example of a special family of distorted triangulations that this dependence is essential, and due to the deterioration of the consistency error. We also provide examples of sequences of triangulations such that the nonconforming P1 Galerkin projections for a Poisson problem with polynomial solution do not converge or converge at arbitrarily slow speed. The results complement analogous findings for conforming P1 elements.Comment: 23 pages, 10 figure