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Probing Conformal Invariant of Non-unitary Two-Dimensional Systems by Central Spin Decoherence
1School of Physics and Energy, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China. bbwei@szu.edu.cn.
Scientific Reports
|February 17, 2018
Summary
Researchers developed a new method to experimentally measure the effective central charge of non-unitary critical theories using quantum coherence. This technique was successfully applied to the Yang-Lee edge singularity, paving the way for future experimental observations.
Area of Science:
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Quantum Field Theory
- Statistical Mechanics
Background:
- Universality classes of 2D non-unitary critical theories are defined by the central charge.
- Experimental determination of the central charge is challenging due to complex parameters in non-unitary theories.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose and demonstrate a novel method for experimentally extracting the effective central charge of 2D non-unitary critical points.
- To enable the first experimental observation of the effective central charge in non-unitary conformal field theories.
Main Methods:
- Coupling a probe spin to a 2D lattice model to measure quantum coherence.
- Utilizing the proportionality between probe spin coherence and the bath's partition function with complex parameters.
- Applying the method to the Yang-Lee edge singularity of the 2D Ising model.
Main Results:
- Successfully extracted the effective central charge of the Yang-Lee edge singularity with high precision.
- Validated other predictions of non-unitary conformal field theory.
- Demonstrated the feasibility of using quantum coherence for probing non-unitary critical phenomena.
Conclusions:
- Quantum coherence measurements offer a viable pathway for experimentally determining the effective central charge of non-unitary critical theories.
- This work bridges the gap between theoretical non-unitary conformal field theory and experimental observation.
- Opens new avenues for studying complex systems and critical phenomena.
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