Theory of classical and quantum frustration in quantum many-body systems

Theory of classical and quantum frustration in quantum many-body systems

Seminar author:Alex Monras

Event date and time:03/31/2011 12:30:pm

Event location:IFAE Seminar Room

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We present a general scheme for the study of frustration in quantum systems. After introducing a universal measure of frustration for arbitrary quantum systems, we derive for it an exact inequality in terms of a class of entanglement monotones. We then state sufficient conditions for the ground states of quantum spin systems to saturate the inequality and confirm them with extensive numerical tests. These conditions provide a generalization to the quantum domain of the Toulouse criteria for classical frustration-free systems and establish a unified framework for studying the intertwining of geometric and quantum contributions to frustration.