Extensive nonadditive entropy in quantum spin chains

Abstract

We present details on a physical realization, in a many-body Hamiltonian system, of the abstract probabilistic structure recently exhibited by Gell-Mann, Sato and one of us (C.T.), that the nonadditive entropy $S_q=k [1- Tr \hatρ^q]/[q-1]$ ($\hatρ\equiv$ density matrix; $S_1=-k Tr \hatρ \ln \hatρ$) can conform, for an anomalous value of q (i.e., q not equal to 1), to the classical thermodynamical requirement for the entropy to be extensive. Moreover, we find that the entropic index q provides a tool to characterize both universal and nonuniversal aspects in quantum phase transitions (e.g., for a L-sized block of the Ising ferromagnetic chain at its T=0 critical transverse field, we obtain $\lim_{L\to\infty}S_{\sqrt{37}-6}(L)/L=3.56 \pm 0.03$). The present results suggest a new and powerful approach to measure entanglement in quantum many-body systems. At the light of these results, and similar ones for a d=2 Bosonic system discussed by us elsewhere, we conjecture that, for blocks of linear size L of a large class of Fermionic and Bosonic d-dimensional many-body Hamiltonians with short-range interaction at T=0, we have that the additive entropy $S_1(L) \propto [L^{d-1}-1]/(d-1)$ (i.e., $ \ln L$ for $d=1$, and $ L^{d-1}$ for d>1), hence it is not extensive, whereas, for anomalous values of the index q, we have that the nonadditive entropy $S_q(L)\propto L^d$ ($\forall d$), i.e., it is extensive. The present discussion neatly illustrates that entropic additivity and entropic extensivity are quite different properties, even if they essentially coincide in the presence of short-range correlations.

9 pages, 4 figures, Invited Paper presented at the international conference CTNEXT07, satellite of STATPHYS23, 1-5 July 2007, Catania, Italy