Statistical mechanics and machine learning of the α-Rényi ensemble

We study the statistical physics of the classical Ising model in the so-called α-Rényi ensemble, a finite-temperature thermal state approximation that minimizes a modified free energy based on the α-Rényi entropy. We begin by characterizing its critical behavior in mean-field theory in different reg...

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Main Authors: Andrew Jreissaty, Juan Carrasquilla
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: American Physical Society 2025-01-01
Series:Physical Review Research
Online Access:http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.7.013070
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author Andrew Jreissaty
Juan Carrasquilla
author_facet Andrew Jreissaty
Juan Carrasquilla
author_sort Andrew Jreissaty
collection DOAJ
description We study the statistical physics of the classical Ising model in the so-called α-Rényi ensemble, a finite-temperature thermal state approximation that minimizes a modified free energy based on the α-Rényi entropy. We begin by characterizing its critical behavior in mean-field theory in different regimes of the Rényi index α. Next, we re-introduce correlations and consider the model in one and two dimensions, presenting analytical arguments for the former and devising a Monte Carlo approach to the study of the latter. Remarkably, we find that while mean-field predicts a continuous phase transition below a threshold index value of α∼1.303 and a first-order transition above it, the Monte Carlo results in two dimensions point to a continuous transition at all α. We conclude by performing a variational minimization of the α-Rényi free energy using a recurrent neural network (RNN) Ansatz where we find that the RNN performs well in two dimensions when compared to the Monte Carlo simulations. Our work highlights the potential opportunities and limitations associated with the use of the α-Rényi ensemble formalism in probing the thermodynamic equilibrium properties of classical and quantum systems.
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spelling doaj-art-a72d989d21f44a68a34a006f5342b77c2025-01-21T15:08:03ZengAmerican Physical SocietyPhysical Review Research2643-15642025-01-017101307010.1103/PhysRevResearch.7.013070Statistical mechanics and machine learning of the α-Rényi ensembleAndrew JreissatyJuan CarrasquillaWe study the statistical physics of the classical Ising model in the so-called α-Rényi ensemble, a finite-temperature thermal state approximation that minimizes a modified free energy based on the α-Rényi entropy. We begin by characterizing its critical behavior in mean-field theory in different regimes of the Rényi index α. Next, we re-introduce correlations and consider the model in one and two dimensions, presenting analytical arguments for the former and devising a Monte Carlo approach to the study of the latter. Remarkably, we find that while mean-field predicts a continuous phase transition below a threshold index value of α∼1.303 and a first-order transition above it, the Monte Carlo results in two dimensions point to a continuous transition at all α. We conclude by performing a variational minimization of the α-Rényi free energy using a recurrent neural network (RNN) Ansatz where we find that the RNN performs well in two dimensions when compared to the Monte Carlo simulations. Our work highlights the potential opportunities and limitations associated with the use of the α-Rényi ensemble formalism in probing the thermodynamic equilibrium properties of classical and quantum systems.http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.7.013070
spellingShingle Andrew Jreissaty
Juan Carrasquilla
Statistical mechanics and machine learning of the α-Rényi ensemble
Physical Review Research
title Statistical mechanics and machine learning of the α-Rényi ensemble
title_full Statistical mechanics and machine learning of the α-Rényi ensemble
title_fullStr Statistical mechanics and machine learning of the α-Rényi ensemble
title_full_unstemmed Statistical mechanics and machine learning of the α-Rényi ensemble
title_short Statistical mechanics and machine learning of the α-Rényi ensemble
title_sort statistical mechanics and machine learning of the α renyi ensemble
url http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.7.013070
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