On quantum phase crossovers in finite systems

Abstract

In this work we define a formal notion of a quantum phase crossover for certain Bethe ansatz solvable models. The approach we adopt exploits an exact mapping of the spectrum of a many-body integrable system, which admits an exact Bethe ansatz solution, into the quasi-exactly solvable spectrum of a one-body Schrödinger operator. Bifurcations of the minima for the potential of the Schrödinger operator determine the crossover couplings. By considering the behaviour of particular ground-state correlation functions, these may be identified as quantum phase crossovers in the many-body integrable system with finite particle number. In this approach the existence of the quantum phase crossover is not dependent on the existence of a thermodynamic limit, rendering applications to finite systems feasible. We study two examples of bosonic Hamiltonians which admit second-order crossovers.