SciPost Phys. 17, 099 (2024) ·
published 2 October 2024
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We present the finite-size scaling theory of one-dimensional quantum critical systems in the presence of boundaries. While the finite-size spectrum in the conformal limit, namely of a conformal field theory with conformally invariant boundary conditions, is related to the dimensions of boundary operators by Cardy, the actual spectra of lattice models are affected by both bulk and boundary perturbations and contain non-universal boundary energies. We obtain a general expression of the finite-size energy levels in the presence of bulk and boundary perturbations. In particular, a generic boundary perturbation related to the energy-momentum tensor gives rise to a renormalization of the effective system size. We verify our field-theory formulation by comparing the results with the exact solution of the critical transverse-field Ising chain and with accurate numerical results on the critical three-state Potts chain obtained by Density-Matrix Renormalization Group.
SciPost Phys. 17, 013 (2024) ·
published 15 July 2024
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Symmetry protected topological (SPT) phases are one of the simplest, yet nontrivial, gapped systems that go beyond the Landau paradigm. In this work, we study an extension of the notion of SPT for gapless systems, namely, gapless symmetry protected topological states. We construct several simple gapless-SPT models using the decorated defect construction, which allow analytical understanding of non-trivial topological features including the symmetry charge under twisted boundary conditions, and boundary (quasi)-degeneracy under open boundary conditions. We also comment on the stability of the gapless-SPT models under symmetric perturbations, and apply small-scale exact diagonalization when direct analytic understanding is not available.
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