English

On the criticality of the configuration-space statistical geometry

Statistical Mechanics 2026-05-21 v2

Abstract

While phases and phase transitions are conventionally described by local order parameters in real space, we present a unified framework characterizing the phase transition through the geometry of configuration space defined by the statistics of pairwise distances rHr_H between configurations. Focusing on the concrete example of Ising spins, we establish crucial analytical links between this geometry and fundamental real-space observables, i.e., the magnetization and two-point spin correlation functions. This link unveils the universal scaling law in the configuration space: the standard deviation of the normalized distances exhibits universal criticality as Var(rH)L2β/ν\sqrt{\mathrm{Var}(r_H)}\sim L^{-2\beta/\nu}, provided that the system possesses zero magnetization and satisfies 4β/ν<d4\beta/\nu < d. We validate this scaling with stochastic series expansion quantum Monte Carlo simulations of the transverse-field Ising model(TFIM). Furthermore, we propose configuration-space diagnostics that go beyond local real-space observables. First, the distribution probability P(rH)P(r_H) parameterized by the transverse field hh forms a one-dimensional manifold. Information-geometric analyses, particularly the Fisher information defined on this manifold, successfully pinpoint the TFIM phase transition, regardless of the measurement basis. Second, for the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger Heisenberg model, a parity index derived from P(rH)P(r_H) successfully characterizes the symmetry-protected topological phase and its transition. Our work establishes configuration space geometry as a novel perspective on quantum criticality, revealing how macroscopic universal phenomena are encoded within its global statistical features.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2508.00787,
  title  = {On the criticality of the configuration-space statistical geometry},
  author = {Yu-Jing Liu and Wen-Yu Su and Yong-Feng Yang and Nvsen Ma and Chen Cheng},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2508.00787},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

16 pages, 14 figures