Entanglement and correlation functions following a local quench: a conformal field theory approach

Abstract

We show that the dynamics resulting from preparing a one-dimensional quantum system in the ground state of two decoupled parts, then joined together and left to evolve unitarily with a translational invariant Hamiltonian (a local quench), can be described by means of quantum field theory. In the case when the corresponding theory is conformal, we study the evolution of the entanglement entropy for different bi-partitions of the line. We also consider the behavior of one- and two-point correlation functions. All our findings may be explained in terms of a picture, that we believe to be valid more generally, whereby quasiparticles emitted from the joining point at the initial time propagate semiclassically through the system.

19 pages, 4 figures, v2 typos corrected and refs added

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Cited by in corpus (14)

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• Evolution of entanglement entropy following a quantum quench: Analytic results for the XY chain in a transverse magnetic field
• The Statistics of the Work Done on a Quantum Critical System by Quenching a Control Parameter
• Quantum Quench from a Thermal Initial State
• Time evolution of correlations in strongly interacting fermions after a quantum quench
• Entanglement evolution after connecting finite to infinite quantum chains
• Junctions of anyonic Luttinger wires
• Entanglement in spin chains with gradients
• Time evolution of 1D gapless models from a domain-wall initial state: SLE continued?
• Entanglement growth and simulation efficiency in one-dimensional quantum lattice systems
• Work fluctuations in quantum spin chains
• Excitations in two-component Bose-gases
• Observations Outside the Light-Cone: Algorithms for Non-Equilibrium and Thermal States
• Extraction of Pure Entangled States from Many Body Systems by Distant Local Projections