Abstract
We study the generation and propagation of local perturbations in a quantum many-body spin system. In particular, we study the Ising model in transverse field in the presence of a local field defect at one edge. This system possesses a rich phase diagram with different regions characterized by the presence of one or two Majorana zero modes. We show that their localized character (i) enables a characterization of the Ising phase transition through a local-only measurement performed on the edge spin, and (ii) strongly affects the propagation of quasiparticles emitted after the sudden removal of the defect, so that the dynamics of the local magnetization show clear deviations from a ballistic behavior in the presence of the Majorana fermions.
- Received 25 July 2016
- Revised 12 November 2016
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.94.245103
©2016 American Physical Society