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Gapped Hamiltonian
In many-body physics, most commonly within condensed-matter physics, a gapped Hamiltonian is a Hamiltonian for an infinitely large many-body system where there is a finite energy gap separating the (possibly degenerate) ground space from the first excited states. A Hamiltonian that is not gapped is called gapless. The property of being gapped or gapless is formally defined through a sequence of Hamiltonians on finite lattices in the thermodynamic limit. An example is the BCS Hamiltonian in the theory of superconductivity. In quantum many-body systems, ground states of gapped Hamiltonians have exponential decay of correlations. In quantum field theory, a continuum limit of many-body physics, a gapped Hamiltonian induces a mass gap In quantum field theory, the mass gap is the difference in energy between the lowest energy state, the vacuum, and the next lowest energy state. The energy of the vacuum is zero by definition, and assuming that all energy states can be thought of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Many-body Physics
The many-body problem is a general name for a vast category of physical problems pertaining to the properties of microscopic systems made of many interacting particles. ''Microscopic'' here implies that quantum mechanics has to be used to provide an accurate description of the system. ''Many'' can be anywhere from three to infinity (in the case of a practically infinite, homogeneous or periodic system, such as a crystal), although three- and four-body systems can be treated by specific means (respectively the Faddeev and Faddeev–Yakubovsky equations) and are thus sometimes separately classified as few-body systems. In general terms, while the underlying physical laws that govern the motion of each individual particle may (or may not) be simple, the study of the collection of particles can be extremely complex. In such a quantum system, the repeated interactions between particles create quantum correlations, or entanglement. As a consequence, the wave function of the system is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Condensed-matter Physics
Condensed matter physics is the field of physics that deals with the macroscopic and microscopic physical properties of matter, especially the solid and liquid phases which arise from electromagnetic forces between atoms. More generally, the subject deals with "condensed" phases of matter: systems of many constituents with strong interactions between them. More exotic condensed phases include the superconducting phase exhibited by certain materials at low temperature, the ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic phases of spins on crystal lattices of atoms, and the Bose–Einstein condensate found in ultracold atomic systems. Condensed matter physicists seek to understand the behavior of these phases by experiments to measure various material properties, and by applying the physical laws of quantum mechanics, electromagnetism, statistical mechanics, and other theories to develop mathematical models. The diversity of systems and phenomena available for study makes condensed matter phys ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hamiltonian (quantum Mechanics)
Hamiltonian may refer to: * Hamiltonian mechanics, a function that represents the total energy of a system * Hamiltonian (quantum mechanics), an operator corresponding to the total energy of that system ** Dyall Hamiltonian, a modified Hamiltonian with two-electron nature ** Molecular Hamiltonian, the Hamiltonian operator representing the energy of the electrons and nuclei in a molecule * Hamiltonian (control theory), a function used to solve a problem of optimal control for a dynamical system * Hamiltonian path, a path in a graph that visits each vertex exactly once * Hamiltonian group, a non-abelian group the subgroups of which are all normal * Hamiltonian economic program, the economic policies advocated by Alexander Hamilton, the first United States Secretary of the Treasury See also * Alexander Hamilton (1755 or 1757–1804), American statesman and one of the Founding Fathers of the US * Hamilton (other) * List of things named after William Rowan Hamilton {{ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Energy Gap
In solid-state physics, an energy gap is an energy range in a solid where no electron states exist, i.e. an energy range where the density of states vanishes. Especially in condensed-matter physics, an energy gap is often known more abstractly as a spectral gap, a term which need not be specific to electrons or solids. Band gap If an energy gap exists in the band structure of a material, it is called band gap. The physical properties of semiconductors are to a large extent determined by their band gaps, but also for insulators and metals the band structure—and thus any possible band gaps—govern their electronic properties. Superconductors For superconductors the energy gap is a region of suppressed density of states around the Fermi energy, with the size of the energy gap much smaller than the energy scale of the band structure. The superconducting energy gap is a key aspect in the theoretical description of superconductivity and thus features prominently in BCS theory. Her ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ground State
The ground state of a quantum-mechanical system is its stationary state of lowest energy; the energy of the ground state is known as the zero-point energy of the system. An excited state is any state with energy greater than the ground state. In quantum field theory, the ground state is usually called the vacuum state or the vacuum. If more than one ground state exists, they are said to be degenerate. Many systems have degenerate ground states. Degeneracy occurs whenever there exists a unitary operator that acts non-trivially on a ground state and commutes with the Hamiltonian of the system. According to the third law of thermodynamics, a system at absolute zero temperature exists in its ground state; thus, its entropy is determined by the degeneracy of the ground state. Many systems, such as a perfect crystal lattice, have a unique ground state and therefore have zero entropy at absolute zero. It is also possible for the highest excited state to have absolute zero te ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Excited State
In quantum mechanics, an excited state of a system (such as an atom, molecule or nucleus) is any quantum state of the system that has a higher energy than the ground state (that is, more energy than the absolute minimum). Excitation refers to an increase in energy level above a chosen starting point, usually the ground state, but sometimes an already excited state. The temperature of a group of particles is indicative of the level of excitation (with the notable exception of systems that exhibit negative temperature). The lifetime of a system in an excited state is usually short: spontaneous or induced emission of a quantum of energy (such as a photon or a phonon) usually occurs shortly after the system is promoted to the excited state, returning the system to a state with lower energy (a less excited state or the ground state). This return to a lower energy level is often loosely described as decay and is the inverse of excitation. Long-lived excited states are often cal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lattice Model (physics)
In mathematical physics, a lattice model is a mathematical model of a physical system that is defined on a lattice, as opposed to a continuum, such as the continuum of space or spacetime. Lattice models originally occurred in the context of condensed matter physics, where the atoms of a crystal automatically form a lattice. Currently, lattice models are quite popular in theoretical physics, for many reasons. Some models are exactly solvable, and thus offer insight into physics beyond what can be learned from perturbation theory. Lattice models are also ideal for study by the methods of computational physics, as the discretization of any continuum model automatically turns it into a lattice model. The exact solution to many of these models (when they are solvable) includes the presence of solitons. Techniques for solving these include the inverse scattering transform and the method of Lax pairs, the Yang–Baxter equation and quantum groups. The solution of these models h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thermodynamic Limit
In statistical mechanics, the thermodynamic limit or macroscopic limit, of a system is the limit for a large number of particles (e.g., atoms or molecules) where the volume is taken to grow in proportion with the number of particles.S.J. Blundell and K.M. Blundell, "Concepts in Thermal Physics", Oxford University Press (2009) The thermodynamic limit is defined as the limit of a system with a large volume, with the particle density held fixed. : N \to \infty,\, V \to \infty,\, \frac N V =\text In this limit, macroscopic thermodynamics is valid. There, thermal fluctuations in global quantities are negligible, and all thermodynamic quantities, such as pressure and energy, are simply functions of the thermodynamic variables, such as temperature and density. For example, for a large volume of gas, the fluctuations of the total internal energy are negligible and can be ignored, and the average internal energy can be predicted from knowledge of the pressure and temperature of the ga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BCS Theory
BCS theory or Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer theory (named after John Bardeen, Leon Cooper, and John Robert Schrieffer) is the first microscopic theory of superconductivity since Heike Kamerlingh Onnes's 1911 discovery. The theory describes superconductivity as a microscopic effect caused by a condensation of Cooper pairs. The theory is also used in nuclear physics to describe the pairing interaction between nucleons in an atomic nucleus. It was proposed by Bardeen, Cooper, and Schrieffer in 1957; they received the Nobel Prize in Physics for this theory in 1972. History Rapid progress in the understanding of superconductivity gained momentum in the mid-1950s. It began with the 1948 paper, "On the Problem of the Molecular Theory of Superconductivity", where Fritz London proposed that the phenomenological London equations may be consequences of the coherence of a quantum state. In 1953, Brian Pippard, motivated by penetration experiments, proposed that this would modify ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quantum Field Theory
In theoretical physics, quantum field theory (QFT) is a theoretical framework that combines classical field theory, special relativity, and quantum mechanics. QFT is used in particle physics to construct physical models of subatomic particles and in condensed matter physics to construct models of quasiparticles. QFT treats particles as excited states (also called quanta) of their underlying quantum fields, which are more fundamental than the particles. The equation of motion of the particle is determined by minimization of the Lagrangian, a functional of fields associated with the particle. Interactions between particles are described by interaction terms in the Lagrangian involving their corresponding quantum fields. Each interaction can be visually represented by Feynman diagrams according to perturbation theory in quantum mechanics. History Quantum field theory emerged from the work of generations of theoretical physicists spanning much of the 20th century. Its devel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Continuum Limit
In mathematical physics and mathematics, the continuum limit or scaling limit of a lattice model refers to its behaviour in the limit as the lattice spacing goes to zero. It is often useful to use lattice models to approximate real-world processes, such as Brownian motion. Indeed, according to Donsker's theorem, the discrete random walk would, in the scaling limit, approach the true Brownian motion. Terminology The term ''continuum limit'' mostly finds use in the physical sciences, often in reference to models of aspects of quantum physics, while the term ''scaling limit'' is more common in mathematical use. Application in quantum field theory A lattice model that approximates a continuum quantum field theory in the limit as the lattice spacing goes to zero may correspond to finding a second order phase transition of the model. This is the scaling limit of the model. See also * Universality classes In statistical mechanics, a universality class is a collection of mathematica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mass Gap
In quantum field theory, the mass gap is the difference in energy between the lowest energy state, the vacuum, and the next lowest energy state. The energy of the vacuum is zero by definition, and assuming that all energy states can be thought of as particles in plane-waves, the mass gap is the mass of the lightest particle. Since the energies of exact (i.e. nonperturbative) energy eigenstates are spread out and therefore they are not technically eigenstates, a more precise definition is that the mass gap is the greatest lower bound of the energy of any state which is orthogonal to the vacuum. The analog of a mass gap in many-body physics on a discrete lattice arises from a gapped Hamiltonian. Mathematical definitions For a given real-valued quantum field \phi(x), where x = (\boldsymbol,t), we can say that the theory has a mass gap if the two-point function has the property :\langle\phi(0,t)\phi(0,0)\rangle\sim \sum_nA_n\exp\left(-\Delta_nt\right) with \Delta_0>0 being the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
