Kaleidoscope of quantum phases in a long-range interacting spin-1 chain

Abstract

Motivated directly by recent trapped-ion quantum simulation experiments, we carry out a comprehensive study of the phase diagram of a spin-1 chain with XXZ-type interactions that decay as 1/<i>r^α</i> , using a combination of finite and infinite-size DMRG calculations, spin-wave analysis, and field theory. In the absence of long-range interactions, varying the spin-coupling anisotropy leads to four distinct and well-studied phases: a ferromagnetic Ising phase, a disordered XY phase, a topological Haldane phase, and an antiferromagnetic Ising phase. If long-range interactions are antiferromagnetic and thus frustrated, we find primarily a quantitative change of the phase boundaries. On the other hand, ferromagnetic (nonfrustrated) long-range interactions qualitatively impact the entire phase diagram. Importantly, for <i>α</i> ≲ 3 long-range interactions destroy the Haldane phase, break the conformal symmetry of the XY phase, give rise to a new phase that spontaneously breaks a <i>U</i>(1) continuous symmetry, and introduce a possibly exotic tricritical point with no direct parallel in short-range interacting spin chains. Importantly, we show that the main signatures of all five phases found could be observed experimentally in the near future.