On the fidelity of mixed states of two qubits

We consider a single copy of a mixed state of two qubits and show how its fidelity or maximal singlet fraction is related to the entanglement measures concurrence and negativity. We characterize the extreme points of the convex set of states with constant fidelity, and use this to prove tight lower and upper bounds on the fidelity for a given amount of entanglement.Comment: 4 pages; part I of quant-ph/0203073v2; see quant-ph/0303007 for part I

Diagonalizing transfer matrices and matrix product operators: a medley of exact and computational methods

Transfer matrices and matrix product operators play an ubiquitous role in the field of many body physics. This paper gives an ideosyncratic overview of applications, exact results and computational aspects of diagonalizing transfer matrices and matrix product operators. The results in this paper are a mixture of classic results, presented from the point of view of tensor networks, and of new results. Topics discussed are exact solutions of transfer matrices in equilibrium and non-equilibrium statistical physics, tensor network states, matrix product operator algebras, and numerical matrix product state methods for finding extremal eigenvectors of matrix product operators.Comment: Lecture notes from a course at Vienna Universit

Fermionic Implementation of Projected Entangled Pair States Algorithm

We present and implement an efficient variational method to simulate two-dimensional finite size fermionic quantum systems by fermionic projected entangled pair states. The approach differs from the original one due to the fact that there is no need for an extra string-bond for contracting the tensor network. The method is tested on a bi-linear fermionic model on a square lattice for sizes up to ten by ten where good relative accuracy is achieved. Qualitatively good results are also obtained for an interacting fermionic system.Comment: As published in Phys. Rev.

Variational Numerical Renormalization Group: Bridging the gap between NRG and Density Matrix Renormalization Group

The numerical renormalization group (NRG) is rephrased as a variational method with the cost function given by the sum of all the energies of the effective low-energy Hamiltonian. This allows to systematically improve the spectrum obtained by NRG through sweeping. The ensuing algorithm has a lot of similarities to the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) when targeting many states, and this synergy of NRG and DMRG combines the best of both worlds and extends their applicability. We illustrate this approach with simulations of a quantum spin chain and a single impurity Anderson model (SIAM) where the accuracy of the effective eigenstates is greatly enhanced as compared to the NRG, especially in the transition to the continuum limit.Comment: As accepted to PRL. Main text: 4 pages, 4 (PDF) figures; Supplementary material: 4 pages, 6 PDF figures; revtex4-

On the geometry of entangled states

The basic question that is addressed in this paper is finding the closest separable state for a given entangled state, measured with the Hilbert Schmidt distance. While this problem is in general very hard, we show that the following strongly related problem can be solved: find the Hilbert Schmidt distance of an entangled state to the set of all partially transposed states. We prove that this latter distance can be expressed as a function of the negative eigenvalues of the partial transpose of the entangled state, and show how it is related to the distance of a state to the set of positive partially transposed states (PPT-states). We illustrate this by calculating the closest biseparable state to the W-state, and give a simple and very general proof for the fact that the set of W-type states is not of measure zero. Next we show that all surfaces with states whose partial transposes have constant minimal negative eigenvalue are similar to the boundary of PPT states. We illustrate this with some examples on bipartite qubit states, where contours of constant negativity are plotted on two-dimensional intersections of the complete state space.Comment: submitted to Journal of Modern Optic

Boundary-field-driven control of discontinuous phase transitions on hyperbolic lattices

The multistate Potts models on two-dimensional hyperbolic lattices are studied with respect to various boundary effects. The free energy is numerically calculated by Corner Transfer Matrix Renormalization Group method. We analyze phase transitions of the Potts models in the thermodynamic limit with respect to contracted boundary layers. A false phase transition is present even if a couple of the boundary layers are contracted. Its significance weakens, as the number of the contracted boundary layers increases, until the correct phase transition (deep inside the bulk) prevails over the false one. For this purpose we derive a thermodynamic quantity, the so-called bulk excess free energy, which depends on the contracted boundary layers and memorizes additional boundary effects. In particular, the magnetic field is imposed on the outermost boundary layer. While the boundary magnetic field does not affect the second-order phase transition in the bulk if suppressing all the boundary effects on the hyperbolic lattices, the first-order (discontinuous) phase transition is significantly sensitive to the boundary magnetic field. Contrary to the phase transition on the Euclidean lattices, the discontinuous phase transition on the hyperbolic lattices can be continuously controlled (within a certain temperature coexistence region) by varying the boundary magnetic field.Comment: 12 pages, 13 figure