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### Topological defects in quantum field theory with matrix product states

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 Title: Topological defects in quantum field theory with matrix product states Authors: Gillman, ERajantie, A Item Type: Journal Article Abstract: Topological defects (kinks) in a relativistic $\phi^{4}$ scalar field theory in $D=(1+1)$ are studied using the matrix product state tensor network. The one kink state is approximated as a matrix product state and the kink mass is calculated. The approach used is quite general and can be applied to a variety of theories and tensor networks. Additionally, the contribution of kink-antikink excitations to the ground state is examined and a general method to estimate the scalar mass from equal time ground state observables is provided. The scalar and kink mass are compared at strong coupling and behave as expected from universality arguments. This suggests that the matrix product state can adequately capture the physics of defect-antidefect excitations and thus provides a promising technique to study challenging non-equilibrium physics such as the Kibble-Zurek mechanism of defect formation. Issue Date: 21-Nov-2017 Date of Acceptance: 25-Jun-2017 URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/54362 DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.96.094509 ISSN: 1550-2368 Publisher: American Physical Society Journal / Book Title: Physical Review D - Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology Volume: 96 Copyright Statement: © 2017 American Physical Society. Sponsor/Funder: Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Funder's Grant Number: ST/L00044X/1 Keywords: quant-phhep-lat0201 Astronomical And Space Sciences0202 Atomic, Molecular, Nuclear, Particle And Plasma Physics0206 Quantum PhysicsNuclear & Particles Physics Notes: 17 pages, 6 figures ; v2: typos corrected, reference added Publication Status: Published Article Number: 094509 Appears in Collections: PhysicsTheoretical PhysicsFaculty of Natural Sciences