Frank Göhmann

Long-lived spin-helix states facilitate the study of nonequilibrium dynamics in quantum magnets. We consider the decay of transverse spin helices in antiferromagnetic spin- S XXZ chains with single-ion anisostropy. The spin-helix decay is observable in the time evolution of the local magnetization that we calculate numerically for the system in the thermodynamic limit using infinite time-evolving block decimation simulations. Although the single-ion anisotropy prevents helix states from being eigenstates of the Hamiltonian, they still can be long-lived for appropriately chosen wave numbers. In the case of easy-axis exchange anisotropy, the single-ion anisotropy may even stabilize the helices. Within a spin-wave approximation, we obtain a condition giving an estimate for the most stable wave number Q that agrees qualitatively with our numerical results.

Owing to the fact that the particle current operator in nonrelativistic gases is proportional to the total momentum operator, the particle transport in such systems is always ballistic and fully characterized by a Drude weight Δ. The Drude weight can be calculated within linear response theory. It is given by the formula Δ=2πD, where D is the density of the gas. This holds in any dimension and for every equilibrium ensemble, in particular for generalized Gibbs ensembles that describe possible equilibrium states of isolated integrable quantum systems. In the canonical ensemble case, the Drude weight can be equivalently obtained from a generalized susceptibility related to the fluctuations of the conserved particle current. Such susceptibility can be rigorously calculated for the integrable Lieb-Liniger Bose gas in any generalized Gibbs ensemble using a generalized Yang-Yang thermodynamic formalism. The resulting expression agrees with a prediction made within the context of generalized hydrodynamics. It also allows us to see explicitly that, within truly generalized Gibbs ensembles, the conductivity related with the particle current is not determined by the corresponding current-current autocorrelation function.

This work proposes a closed formula for the leading term of the long-distance and large-time asymptotics in a cone of the space-like regime for the transverse dynamical two-point functions of the XXZ spin 1/2 chain at finite temperatures. The result follows from a simple analysis of the thermal form factor series for dynamical correlation functions. The leading asymptotics we obtain are driven by the Bethe Ansatz data associated with the first sub-leading Eigenvalue of the quantum transfer matrix.

Evaluating a lattice path integral in terms of spectral data and matrix elements pertaining to a suitably defined quantum transfer matrix, we derive form-factor series expansions for the dynamical two-point functions of arbitrary local operators in fundamental Yang–Baxter integrable lattice models at finite temperature. The summands in the series are parameterised by solutions of the Bethe Ansatz equations associated with the eigenvalue problem of the quantum transfer matrix. We elaborate on the example of the XXZ chain for which the solutions of the Bethe Ansatz equations are sufficiently well understood in certain limiting cases. We work out in detail the case of the spin-zero operators in the antiferromagnetic massive regime at zero temperature. In this case the thermal form-factor series turn into series of multiple integrals with fully explicit integrands. These integrands factorize into an operator-dependent part, determined by the so-called Fermionic basis, and a part which we call the universal weight as it is the same for all spin-zero operators. The universal weight can be inferred from our previous work. The operator-dependent part is rather simple for the most interesting short-range operators. It is determined by two functions ρ and ω for which we obtain explicit expressions in the considered case. As an application we rederive the known explicit form-factor series for the two-point function of the magnetization operator and obtain analogous expressions for the magnetic current and the energy operators.

We present a series representation for the dynamical two-point function of the local spin current for the XXZ chain in the antiferromagnetic massive regime at zero temperature. From this series we can compute the correlation function with very high accuracy up to very long times and large distances. Each term in the series corresponds to the contribution of all scattering states of an even number of excitations. These excitations can be interpreted in terms of an equal number of particles and holes. The lowest term in the series comprises all scattering states of one hole and one particle. This term determines the long-time large-distance asymptotic behaviour which can be obtained explicitly from a saddle-point analysis. The space-time Fourier transform of the two-point function of currents at zero momentum gives the optical spin conductivity of the model. We obtain highly accurate numerical estimates for this quantity by numerically Fourier transforming our data. For the one-particle, one-hole contribution, equivalently interpreted as a two-spinon contribution, we obtain an exact and explicit expression in terms of known special functions. For large enough anisotropy, the two-spinon contribution carries most of the spectral weight, as can be seen by calculating the f-sum rule.

We give a descriptive review of the fermionic basis approach to the theory of correlation functions of the XXZ quantum spin chain. The emphasis is on explicit formulae for short-range correlation functions which will be presented in a way that allows for their direct implementation on a computer. Within the fermionic basis approach a huge class of stationary reduced density matrices, compatible with the integrable structure of the model, assumes a factorized form. This means that all expectation values of local operators and all two-point functions, in particular, can be represented as multivariate polynomials in only two functions ρ and ω and their derivatives with coefficients that are rational in the deformation parameter q of the model. These coefficients are of ‘algebraic origin’. They do not depend on the choice of the density matrix, which only impacts the form of ρ and ω . As an example we work out in detail the case of the grand canonical ensemble at temperature T and magnetic field h for q in the critical regime. We compare our exact results for the fourth-neighbour two-point functions with asymptotic formulae for h , T = 0 and for finite h and T .