On multivariate trace inequalities of Sutter, Berta and Tomamichel

We consider a family of multivariate trace inequalities recently derived by Sutter, Berta and Tomamichel. These inequalities generalize the Golden-Thompson inequality and Lieb's three-matrix inequality to an arbitrary number of matrices in a way that features complex matrix powers. We show that their inequalities can be rewritten as an $n$-matrix generalization of Lieb's original three-matrix inequality. The complex matrix powers are replaced by resolvents and appropriate maximally entangled states. We expect that the technically advantageous properties of resolvents, in particular for perturbation theory, can be of use in applications of the $n$-matrix inequalities, e.g., for analyzing the rotated Petz recovery map in quantum information theory.Comment: 14 pages; comments welcom

New Counterexamples for Sums-Differences

We present new counterexamples, which provide stronger limitations to sums-differences statements than were previously known. The main idea is to consider non-uniform probability measures.Comment: 5 pages, to appear in Proc. Amer. Math. So

Finite-size criteria for spectral gaps in DD-dimensional quantum spin systems

We generalize the existing finite-size criteria for spectral gaps of frustration-free spin systems to $D>2$ dimensions. We obtain a local gap threshold of $\frac{3}{n}$, independent of $D$, for nearest-neighbor interactions. The $\frac{1}{n}$ scaling persists for arbitrary finite-range interactions in $\mathbb Z^3$. The key observation is that there is more flexibility in Knabe's combinatorial approach if one employs the operator Cauchy-Schwarz inequality.Comment: 16 page

Gaplessness is not generic for translation-invariant spin chains

The existence of a spectral gap above the ground state has far-reaching consequences for the low-energy physics of a quantum many-body system. A recent work of Movassagh [R. Movassagh, PRL 119 (2017), 220504] shows that a spatially random local quantum Hamiltonian is generically gapless. Here we observe that a gap is more common for translation-invariant quantum spin chains, more specifically, that these are gapped with a positive probability if the interaction is of small rank. This is in line with a previous analysis of the spin-$1/2$ case by Bravyi and Gosset. The Hamiltonians are constructed by selecting a single projection of sufficiently small rank at random, and then translating it across the entire chain. By the rank assumption, the resulting Hamiltonians are automatically frustration-free and this fact plays a key role in our analysis.Comment: 17 pages; minor changes; comments welcom

Gapped PVBS models for all species numbers and dimensions

Product vacua with boundary states (PVBS) are cousins of the Heisenberg XXZ spin model and feature $n$ particle species on $\mathbb Z^d$. The PVBS models were originally introduced as toy models for the classification of ground state phases. A crucial ingredient for this classification is the existence of a spectral gap above the ground state sector. In this work, we derive a spectral gap for PVBS models at arbitrary species number $n$ and in arbitrary dimension $d$ in the perturbative regime of small anisotropy parameters. Instead of using the more common martingale method, the proof verifies a finite-size criterion in the spirit of Knabe.Comment: 22 pages; revised version to appear in Rev. Math. Phy

Multi-component Ginzburg-Landau theory: microscopic derivation and examples

This paper consists of three parts. In part I, we microscopically derive Ginzburg--Landau (GL) theory from BCS theory for translation-invariant systems in which multiple types of superconductivity may coexist. Our motivation are unconventional superconductors. We allow the ground state of the effective gap operator $K_{T_c}+V$ to be $n$-fold degenerate and the resulting GL theory then couples $n$ order parameters. In part II, we study examples of multi-component GL theories which arise from an isotropic BCS theory. We study the cases of (a) pure $d$-wave order parameters and (b) mixed $(s+d)$-wave order parameters, in two and three dimensions. In part III, we present explicit choices of spherically symmetric interactions $V$ which produce the examples in part II. In fact, we find interactions $V$ which produce ground state sectors of $K_{T_c}+V$ of arbitrary angular momentum, for open sets of of parameter values. This is in stark contrast with Schr\"odinger operators $-\nabla^2+V$, for which the ground state is always non-degenerate. Along the way, we prove the following fact about Bessel functions: At its first maximum, a half-integer Bessel function is strictly larger than all other half-integer Bessel functions.Comment: 57 pages, 2 tables and 1 figure. Final version to appear in Ann. H. Poincar\'