Free fermions in disguise

Journal article

I solve a quantum chain whose Hamiltonian is comprised solely of local four-fermi operators by constructing free-fermion raising and lowering operators. The free-fermion operators are both non-local and highly non-linear in the local fermions. This construction yields the complete spectrum of the Hamiltonian and an associated classical transfer matrix. The spatially uniform system is gapless with dynamical critical exponent z=3/2, while staggering the couplings gives a more conventional free-fermion model with an Ising transition. The Hamiltonian is equivalent to that of a spin-1/2 chain with next-nearest-neighbour interactions, and has a supersymmetry generated by a sum of fermion trilinears. The supercharges are part of a large non-abelian symmetry algebra that results in exponentially large degeneracies. The model is integrable for either open or periodic boundary conditions but the free-fermion construction only works for the former, while for the latter the extended symmetry is broken and the degeneracies split.

Authors: Fendley, P

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: IOP Science
• Journal: Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical
• Volume: 52
• Article number: 335002
• Publication date: 2019-07-09
• Acceptance date: 2019-07-09
• DOI: 10.1088/1751-8121/ab305d
• EISSN: 1751-8121
• ISSN: 1751-8113