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We implement a Langevin approach for the transport of heavy quarks in the ultrarelativistic quantum molecular dynamics (UrQMD) hybrid model, which uses the transport model UrQMD to determine realistic initial conditions for the hydrodynamical evolution of quark gluon plasma and heavy charm and bottom quarks. It provides a realistic description of the background medium for the evolution of relativistic heavy ion collisions. The diffusion of heavy quarks is simulated with a relativistic Langevin approach, using two sets of drag and diffusion coefficients, one based on a T -matrix approach and one based on a resonance model for elastic scattering of heavy quarks within the medium. In the case of the resonance model we investigate the effects of different decoupling temperatures of heavy quarks from the medium, ranging between 130 and 180 MeV. We present calculations of the nuclear modification factor RAA, as well as of the elliptic flow v2 in Au + Au collisions at πsNN = 200 GeV and Pb + Pb collisions at πsNN = 2.76 TeV. To make our results comparable to experimental data at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and Large Hadron Collider (LHC), we implement a Peterson fragmentation and a quark coalescence approach followed by semileptonic decay of the D and B mesons to electrons. We find that our results strongly depend on the decoupling temperature and the hadronization mechanism. At a decoupling temperature of 130 MeV we reach a good agreement with the measurements at both the RHIC and the LHC energies simultaneously for the elliptic flow v2 and the nuclear modification factor RAA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a recent article, Grover [Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 130402(2013)] introduced a simple method to compute Renyi entanglement entropies in the realm of the auxiliary field quantum Monte Carlo algorithm. Here, we develop this approach further and provide a stabilization scheme to compute higher-order Renyi entropies and an extension to access the entanglement spectrum. The method is tested on systems of correlated topological insulators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the quantum phases of fermions with an explicit SU(N)-symmetric, Heisenberg-like nearest-neighbor flavor exchange interaction on the honeycomb lattice at half filling. Employing projective (zero temperature) quantum Monte Carlo simulations for even values of N, we explore the evolution from a weak-coupling semimetal into the strong-coupling, insulating regime. Furthermore, we compare our numerical results to a saddle-point approximation in the large-N limit. From the large-N regime down to the SU(6) case, the insulating state is found to be a columnar valence bond crystal, with a direct transition to the semimetal at weak, finite coupling, in agreement with the mean-field result in the large-N limit. At SU(4) however, the insulator exhibits a subtly different valence bond crystal structure, stabilized by resonating valence bond plaquettes. In the SU(2) limit, our results support a direct transition between the semimetal and an antiferromagnetic insulator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We employ quantum Monte Carlo techniques to calculate the Z2 topological invariant in a two-dimensional model of interacting electrons that exhibits a quantum spin Hall topological insulator phase. In particular, we consider the parity invariant for inversion-symmetric systems, which can be obtained from the bulk's imaginary-time Green's function after an appropriate continuation to zero frequency. This topological invariant is used here in order to study the trivial-band to topological-insulator transitions in an interacting system with spin-orbit coupling and an explicit bond dimerization. We discuss the accessibility and behavior of this topological invariant within quantum Monte Carlo simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate chiral graphene nanoribbons using projective quantum Monte Carlo simulations within the local Hubbard-model description and study the effects of electron-electron interactions on the electronic and magnetic properties at the ribbons' edges. Static and dynamical properties are analyzed for nanoribbons of varying width and edge chirality and compared to a self-consistent Hartee-Fock mean-field approximation. Our results show that for chiral ribbons of sufficient width, the spin correlations exhibit exceedingly long correlation lengths, even between zigzag segments that are well separated by periodic armchair regions. Characteristic enhancements in the magnetic correlations for distinct ribbon widths and chiralities are associated with energy gaps in the tight-binding limit of such ribbons. We identify specific signatures in the local density of states and low-energy modes in the local spectral function which directly relate to enhanced electronic correlations along graphene nanoribbons. These signatures in the local density of states might be accessed by scanning tunneling spectroscopy on graphene nanoribbons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study J/Ψ absorption in high-multiplicity proton-proton (pp) collisions at √sNN = 7TeV. We predict a modification of the J/Ψ yield within the ultrarelativistic quantum molecular dynamics (UrQMD) transport model approach, where explicit interactions of the J/Ψ with the surrounding comovers and a prehadronic phase with adjusted cross sections and J/Ψ melting is included. We present the analog of the nuclear modification factor in pp collisions at various charged particle multiplicities. It turns out that J/Ψ mesons may be suppressed towards higher particle multiplicities in pp collisions at LHC energies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a combination of quantum Monte Carlo simulations, functional renormalization group calculations and mean-field theory, we study the Hubbard model on the Bernal-stacked honeycomb bilayer at half-filling as a model system for bilayer graphene. The free bands consisting of two Fermi points with quadratic dispersions lead to a finite density of states at the Fermi level, which triggers an antiferromagnetic instability that spontaneously breaks sublattice and spin rotational symmetry once local Coulomb repulsions are introduced. Our results reveal an inhomogeneous participation of the spin moments in the ordered ground state, with enhanced moments at the threefold coordinated sites. Furthermore, we find the antiferromagnetic ground state to be robust with respect to enhanced interlayer couplings and extended Coulomb interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present quantum Monte Carlo simulations for the chiral Heisenberg Gross-Neveu-Yukawa quantum phase transition of relativistic fermions with N=4 Dirac spinor components subject to a repulsive, local four fermion interaction in (2+1)D. Here we employ a two-dimensional lattice Hamiltonian with a single, spin-degenerate Dirac cone, which exactly reproduces a linear energy-momentum relation for all finite size lattice momenta in the absence of interactions. This allows us to significantly reduce finite size corrections compared to the widely studied honeycomb and π-flux lattices. A Hubbard term dynamically generates a mass beyond a critical coupling of Uc=6.76(1) as the system acquires antiferromagnetic order and SU(2) spin rotational symmetry is spontaneously broken. At the quantum phase transition, we extract a self-consistent set of critical exponents ν=0.98(1), ηϕ=0.53(1), ηψ=0.18(1), and β=0.75(1). We provide evidence for the continuous degradation of the quasiparticle weight of the fermionic excitations as the critical point is approached from the semimetallic phase. Finally, we study the effective "speed of light" of the low-energy relativistic description, which depends on the interaction U, but is expected to be regular across the quantum phase transition. We illustrate that the strongly coupled bosonic and fermionic excitations share a common velocity at the critical point. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We revisit the effect of local interactions on the quadratic band touching (QBT) of the Bernal honeycomb bilayer model using renormalization group (RG) arguments and quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) simulations. We present a RG argument which predicts, contrary to previous studies, that weak interactions do not flow to strong coupling even if the free dispersion has a QBT. Instead, they generate a linear term in the dispersion, which causes the interactions to flow back to weak coupling. Consistent with this RG scenario, in unbiased QMC simulations of the Hubbard model we find compelling evidence that antiferromagnetism turns on at a finite U/t despite the U = 0 hopping problem having a QBT. The onset of antiferromagnetism takes place at a continuous transition which is consistent with (2+1)D Gross-Neveu criticality. We conclude that generically in models of bilayer graphene, even if the free dispersion has a QBT, small local interactions generate a Dirac phase with no symmetry breaking and that there is a finite-coupling transition out of this phase to a symmetry-broken state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electronic states at the ends of a narrow armchair nanoribbon give rise to a pair of nonlocally entangled spins. We propose two experiments to probe these magnetic states, based on magnetometry and tunneling spectroscopy, in which correlation effects lead to a striking, nonlinear response to external magnetic fields. On the basis of low-energy theories that we derive here, it is remarkably simple to assess these nonlinear signatures for magnetic edge states. The effective theories are especially suitable in parameter regimes where other methods such as quantum Monte Carlo simulations are exceedingly difficult due to exponentially small energy scales. The armchair ribbon setup discussed here provides a promisingly well-controlled (both experimentally and theoretically) environment for studying the principles behind edge magnetism in graphene-based nanostructures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe a method for deriving effective low-energy theories of electronic interactions at graphene edges. Our method is applicable to general edges of honeycomb lattices (zigzag, chiral, and even disordered) as long as localized low-energy states (edge states) are present. The central characteristic of the effective theories is a dramatically reduced number of degrees of freedom. As a consequence, the solution of the effective theory by exact diagonalization is feasible for reasonably large ribbon sizes. The quality of the involved approximations is critically assessed by comparing the correlation functions obtained from the effective theory with numerically exact quantum Monte-Carlo calculations. We discuss effective theories of two levels: a relatively complicated Fermionic edge state theory and a further reduced Heisenberg spin model. The latter theory paves the way to an efficient description of the magnetic features in long and structurally disordered graphene edges beyond the mean-field approximation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study spinless fermions with nearest-neighbor repulsive interactions (t-V model) on the two-dimensional three-band Lieb lattice. At half-filling, the free electronic band structure consists of a flat band at zero energy and a single cone with linear dispersion. The flat band is expected to be unstable upon inclusion of electronic correlations, and a natural channel is charge order. However, due to the three-orbital unit cell, commensurate charge order implies an imbalance of electron and hole densities and therefore doping away from half-filling. Our numerical results show that below a finite-temperature Ising transition a charge density wave with one electron and two holes per unit cell and its partner under particle-hole transformation are spontaneously generated. Our calculations are based on recent advances in auxiliary-field and continuous-time quantum Monte Carlo simulations that allow sign-free simulations of spinless fermions at half-filling. It is argued that particle-hole symmetry breaking provides a route to access levels of finite doping, without introducing a sign problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the edge-state magnetism of graphene nanoribbons using projective quantum Monte Carlo simulations and a self-consistent mean-field approximation of the Hubbard model. The static magnetic correlations are found to be short ranged. Nevertheless, the correlation length increases with the width of the ribbon such that already for ribbons of moderate widths we observe a strong trend towards mean-field-type ferromagnetic correlations at a zigzag edge. These correlations are accompanied by a dominant low-energy peak in the local spectral function and we propose that this can be used to detect edge-state magnetism by scanning tunneling microscopy. The dynamic spin structure factor at the edge of a ribbon exhibits an approximately linearly dispersing collective magnonlike mode at low energies that decays into Stoner modes beyond the energy scale where it merges into the particle-hole continuum.