Condensed Matter Theory

Abstract:

As well as several different kinds of periodically ordered ferroic phases, there are now recognized several different examples of ferroic glassiness, although not always described as such and in material fields of study that have mostly been developed separately. In this chapter an attempt is made to indicate common concep- tual origins and features, observed or anticipated. Throughout, this aim is pursued through the use of simple models, in an attempt to determine probable fundamental origins within a larger picture of greater complication, and analogies between sys- tems in different areas, both experimental and theoretical, in the light of significant progress in spin glass understanding.

Abstract:

We consider the behavior of quantum Hall edges away from the Luttinger liquid fixed point that occurs in the low-energy, large-system limit. Using the close links between quantum Hall wave functions and conformal field theories, we construct effective Hamiltonians from general principles and then constrain their forms by considering the effect of bulk symmetries on the properties of the edge. In examining the effect of bulk interactions on this edge, we find remarkable simplifications to these effective theories which allow for a very accurate description of the low-energy physics of quantum Hall edges relatively far away from the Luttinger liquid fixed point, and which apply to small systems and higher energies.

Abstract:

We discuss eigenstate correlations for ergodic, spatially extended many-body quantum systems, in terms of the statistical properties of matrix elements of local observables. While the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis (ETH) is known to give an excellent description of these quantities, the butterfly effect implies structure beyond ETH. We determine the universal form of this structure at long distances and small eigenvalue separations for Floquet systems. We use numerical studies of a Floquet quantum circuit to illustrate both the accuracy of ETH and the existence of our predicted additional correlations.