We present several improvements of the infinite matrix product state (iMPS)
algorithm for finding ground states of one-dimensional quantum systems with
long-range interactions. As a main new ingredient we introduce the superposed
multi-optimization (SMO) method, which allows an efficient optimization of
exponentially many MPS of different length at different sites all in one step.
Hereby the algorithm becomes protected against position dependent effects as
caused by spontaneously broken translational invariance. So far, these have
been a major obstacle to convergence for the iMPS algorithm if no prior
knowledge of the systems translational symmetry was accessible. Further, we
investigate some more general methods to speed up calculations and improve
convergence, which might be partially interesting in a much broader context,
too. As a more special problem, we also look into translational invariant
states close to an invariance braking phase transition and show how to avoid
convergence into wrong local minima for such systems. Finally, we apply the new
methods to polar bosons with long-range interactions. We calculate several
detailed Devil's Staircases with the corresponding phase diagrams and
investigate some supersolid properties.Comment: Main text: 17 pages plus references, 8 figures. Supplementary info: 6
pages. v2: improved presentation and more results adde