SP Seminar @ICTP Stasi Seminar Room Tuesday 9 January at 11:00 a.m. Norbert SCHUCH

[CM Section]

Joint ICTP/SISSA Statistical Physics Seminar

Tuesday 9 January at 11:00 a.m.
ICTP, Luigi Stasi Seminar Room, first floor, Leonardo building
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Speaker:
Norbert SCHUCH (MPI fuer Quantenoptik, Garching, Germany)

Title:
Topological Order and Tensor Networks: A Local Perspective
on Global Entanglement

Abstract:
Strongly correlated quantum systems exhibit a wide range of phases with
unconventional behavior. These phases are characterized by non-trivial
global entanglement patterns and cannot be described within the Landau
paradigm due to their lack of local order parameters. In my talk, I will 
discuss
how quantum information theory allows us to describe such systems in a way
which reconciles their global entanglement with a local description, 
based on
the framework of tensor networks. I will show how tensor networks allow to
capture both the structure of the physical interactions as well as 
global topological
entanglement within a unified local description, and how this allows us 
to build
a comprehensive framework to study topologically ordered systems and their
excitations.
I will then discuss applications of this framework: First, I will show  
how it allows
to characterize the precise nature of topological spin liquids; and 
second, I will
discuss how it can be used to explain topological phase transitions 
driven by
anyon condensation through phases in their entanglement, allowing us to 
devise
measurable order parameters for anyon condensation and thus to study 
topological
phase transitions at a microscopic level.