Entanglement and edge effects in superpositions of many-body Fock states with spatial constraints

Abstract: We investigate how entangled states can be created by considering collections of point-particles arranged at different spatial configurations, i.e., Fock states with spatial constraints. This type of states can be realized in Hubbard chains of spinless hard-core bosons, at different fillings, which have gapped energy spectrum with a highly degenerate ground state. We calculate the bipartite entanglement entropy for superpositions of such Fock states and show that their entanglement can be controlled via the spatial freedom of the particles, determined by the system filling. In addition we study the effect of confinement/boundary conditions on the Fock states and show that edge modes appear at the ends of the system, when open boundary conditions are considered. Our result is an example of entangled many-body states in 1D systems of strongly interacting particles, without requiring the spin, long-range microscopic interactions or external fields. Instead, the entanglement can be tuned by the empty space in the system, which determines the spatial freedom of the interacting particles. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]