Interplay of Quantum Phase Transition and Flat Band in Hybrid Lattices
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PHYSICAL REVIEW RESEARCH 2, 033463 (2020) Interplay of quantum phase transition and flat band in hybrid lattices Gui-Lei Zhu ,1 Hamidreza Ramezani,2 Clive Emary ,3 Jin-Hua Gao,1 Ying Wu,1 and Xin-You Lü1,* 1School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China 2Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, Texas 78539, USA 3Joint Quantum Centre (JQC) Durham-Newcastle, School of Mathematics, Statistics and Physics, Newcastle University, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne NE1 7RU, United Kingdom (Received 8 October 2019; revised 18 June 2020; accepted 5 August 2020; published 22 September 2020) We establish a connection between quantum phase transitions (QPTs) and energy band theory in an extended Dicke-Hubbard lattice, where the periodical critical curves modulated by wave number k leadstorichequi- librium dynamics. Interestingly, the chiral-symmetry-protected flat band and the localization that it engenders exclusively occurs in the normal phase and disappears in the superradiant phase. This originates from the QPT induced simultaneous breaking up of the on-site resonance condition and off-site chiral symmetry of the system, which prohibits the destructive interference for obtaining a flat band. Our work offers an approach to identify different phases of the lattice via detecting the flat bands or simply the related localizations in a single cell, and, in turn, to control the appearance of flat bands by QPT. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevResearch.2.033463 I. INTRODUCTION of light [23]. Recently, the flat bands have been observed in experiments with exciton-polariton condensates [24,25], The quantum phase transition (QPT), driven by quantum photonic lattices [26–29], and cold-atom lattices [30]. With fluctuations in many-body systems, is one of the most funda- an excellent and unique property, such a flat band is ro- mental and significant concepts in physics since it can offer bust against perturbations of system parameters, which opens the important resources for quantum metrology [1–3] and up the opportunity to detect phases of matter with strong quantum sensing [4–6]. For example, the generation of many- robustness. body entanglement through QPT enables precision metrology Here we established the connection between the flat band to reach the Heisenberg limit [7,8]. To apply QPT theory to and the QPT from the normal phase to the superradiant phase modern quantum technologies, a necessary task is to deter- in an extended Dicke-Hubbard lattice, i.e., a series of Dicke mine which phase the system is in. Traditionally, one needs models [31] coupled together through a set of atomless cavi- to detect the order parameters based on the ground states ties. Experimentally, this extended model can be implemented of the system [9], which is experimentally challenging in in hybrid superconducting circuits [32–38], in which a two- lattice systems where the complexity of the ground states in- level ensemble (e.g., NV center spins) is doped in every other creases exponentially with the size of the system. In addition, cavity [see Fig. 1(b)]. The superradiant QPT (a second-order the detecting precision is normally restricted by inevitable phase transition) was proposed in the single Dicke model experimental uncertainties and fabrication errors, e.g., small and occurs when increasing the atom-field coupling through perturbations. Hence, the development of a robust method to a critical point [39–51], which is associated with a sponta- precisely identify different phases of a quantum lattice system neously Z symmetry breaking. Extending to the periodic in the absence of ground-state detection is highly desired. 2 lattice, however, here we find that this critical point is replaced In the past decade and on a different subject, flat bands by the critical curves periodically modulated by wave num- (corresponding to a zero group velocity and an infinite ber k. The periodical boundaries of normal and superradiant effective mass) have been extensively studied in various phases intersect at some certain values of k. This predicts, condensed-matter contexts [10–16], on account of its potential in the lattice systems, a critical region between the normal applications in realizing the fractional quantum Hall effect and superradiant phases, where the first-order phase transi- in the absence of Landau levels [17–21], engineering strong tion and unstable phases alternatively appear in the different nonlinear correlations [22], and diffraction-free transmission range of k. The above connection allows us to identify different phases of the system via experimentally detectable energy bands (or *[email protected] the occupation localization in a single cell), and in turn, to control the occurrence of flat bands using QPT. Specifically, Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the in the normal phase, a chiral-symmetry-protected flat band Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further appears in the spectrum of the system, which features asym- distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) metric band structures originated from the counter-rotating and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. interactions. This flat band disappears once the system enters 2643-1564/2020/2(3)/033463(9) 033463-1 Published by the American Physical Society GUI-LEI ZHU et al. PHYSICAL REVIEW RESEARCH 2, 033463 (2020) O = √1 eik·nO (O is an arbitrary annihilation operator (a) DM n N k k n and N is the number of unit cells). In the normal phase, the λ 1 H = / ψ† M ψ , ζ Hamiltonian is given by nor (k) 1 2 k nor nor (k) nor ψ = , , , , , T 2 where nor [akA akB bkA a−kA a−kB b−kA] and the su- perscript T denote a transpose operation. The coefficient is Spins Cavity A Cavity B collected into the matrix ⎛ ⎞ ωA f λ 0 f λ (b) C C C ⎜ ∗ ω ∗ ⎟ ⎜ f B 0 f 00⎟ ⎜ λ λ ⎟ M = ⎜ 0 00⎟, A B A B A B nor (k) (2) ⎜ 0 f λωA f λ⎟ ⎝ ∗ ∗ ⎠ f 00f ωB 0 C C C λ 00λ 0 =−ζ + FIG. 1. (a) Schematic illustration of a one-dimensional (1D) ex- where f [1 exp(ik)]. Here we have taken the lat- tice constant to be identical and a periodic boundary tended Dicke-Hubbard lattice, where the unit cell consists of a Dicke M model (spin ensemble collectively interacting with cavity A) coupled condition. The matrix nor (k) can be divided into the Mon = {ω ,ω ,,ω ,ω ,} to an atomless cavity B. Cavity A interacts with the spin ensemble on-site part nor (k) diag A B A B and off- Mint = M − Mon and cavity B with coupling strengths λ and ζ , respectively, forming site interaction part nor (k) nor (k) nor (k). In par- Mint two symmetric channels of the lattice, labeled 1 and 2. (b) The ticular, the interaction matrix nor (k) satisfies the chi- C†Mint C =−Mint C = implementation of the extended Dicke-Hubbard lattice in a hybrid ral symmetry with nor (k) nor (k), where superconducting circuit with capacitance coupling C and the ensem- diag{−1, 1, 1, −1, 1, 1}, and this symmetry is exact in the ble of spins in a diamond crystal. thermodynamic limit. The Hamiltonian Hnor (k) is bilinear in terms of bosonic operators, which can be analytically diagonalized. To analytically diagonalize the Hamiltonian into the superradiant phase. Physically, the superradiant QPT H (k), first we introduce an ancillary matrix D = τ M , makes both the excitation energy and an additional potential nor nor z nor where τ = diag{1, 1, 1, −1, −1, −1}. Second, we apply the of the spin ensemble interaction dependent, which breaks up z transformation matrix T into Hamiltonian H (k), where T the on-site resonant condition and off-site chiral symmetry nor simultaneously satisfies of the lattice, respectively. Either of them can destroy the destructive interference of the lattice and, finally, lead to the −1 Enor (k)0 disappearance of the flat band. T DnorT = , (3) 0 −Enor (−k) II. SUPERRADIANT PHASE TRANSITION T †τ T = τ IN 1D LATTICE SYSTEM and z z. Lastly, based on the above method and con- sidering = ωA = ωB = ω, the energy spectra of Hnor (k)are As illustrated in Fig. 1, we consider a 1D extended Dicke- Hubbard lattice implemented by a hybrid superconducting ⎧ ⎪ circuit, with the Hamiltonian ⎪ ω2 − ω ζ 2 + + λ2, ⎨⎪ 2 2 (1 cos k) Dicke Cavity ω, H = H + H + Hint, (1) Enor (k) = (4) nA nB ⎪ nA nB ⎩⎪ ω2 + 2ω 2ζ 2(1 + cos k) + λ2. where the subscript nA (nB) denotes the lattice site of cavity A Dicke † (B). The Dicke Hamiltonian is given by H = ωAa an + nA nA A Note that both the on-site resonance condition and off-site z √λ † + J + (a + an )(J + Jn ), where an is the annihi- nA N nA A nA A A chiral symmetry ultimately lead to a robust flat band lo- lation operator of cavity A mode, and Jz = (1/2) σ z , E k = ω nA N nA cated at nor ( ) in our model (detailed discussion is J± = σ ± are the collective operators of N spins. The shown below). Here the lowest excitation energy E l (λ, k) = nA N nA nor Cavity † Hamiltonian H = ω a a describes the bare cavity B. 2 2 2 nB B nB nB ω − 2ω 2ζ (1 + cos k) + λ indicates that our model is The nearest-neighbor cavities are coupled via an x-x interac- |ζ/ω| < / † † well defined when 1 4. Beyond this regime, the tion, Hint =−ζ , (a + an )(a + an ). nA nB nA A nB B Hamiltonian does not possess normalizable eigenfunctions To explore the phase transition in this extended Dicke- and has no obvious physical meaning for all values of other Hubbard lattice, we extend and modify the method in system parameters [52].