Corner contribution to the entanglement entropy of strongly interacting O(2) quantum critical systems in 2+1 dimensions

E. M. Stoudenmire, Peter Gustainis, Ravi Johal, Stefan Wessel, and Roger G. Melko
Phys. Rev. B 90, 235106 – Published 2 December 2014

Abstract

In a D=2+1 quantum critical system, the entanglement entropy across a boundary with a corner contains a subleading logarithmic scaling term with a universal coefficient. It has been conjectured that this coefficient is, to leading order, proportional to the number of field components N in the associated O(N) continuum ϕ4 field theory. Using density matrix renormalization group calculations combined with the powerful numerical linked cluster expansion technique, we confirm this scenario for the O(2) Wilson-Fisher fixed point in a striking way, through direct calculation at the quantum critical points of two very different microscopic models. The value of this corner coefficient is, to within our numerical precision, twice the coefficient of the Ising fixed point. Our results add to the growing body of evidence that this universal term in the Rényi entanglement entropy reflects the number of low-energy degrees of freedom in a system, even for strongly interacting theories.

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  • Received 25 September 2014
  • Revised 17 November 2014

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.90.235106

©2014 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

E. M. Stoudenmire1, Peter Gustainis1,2, Ravi Johal2, Stefan Wessel3, and Roger G. Melko1,2

  • 1Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 2Y5
  • 2Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1
  • 3Institut für Theoretische Festkörperphysik, JARA-FIT and JARA-HPC, RWTH Aachen University, 52056 Aachen, Germany

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Vol. 90, Iss. 23 — 15 December 2014

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