Gauge Invariance, the Quantum Metric Tensor and the Quantum Fidelity

Abstract

The quantum metric tensor was introduced for defining the distance in the parameter space of a system. However, it is also useful for other purposes, like predicting quantum phase transitions. Due to the physical information this tensor provides, its gauge independence sounds reasonable. Moreover, its original construction was made by looking for this gauge independence. The aim of this paper, however, is to prove that the quantum metric tensor does depend on the gauge. In addition, a real gauge invariant quantum metric tensor is introduced. A related concept is the quantum fidelity, which is also shown to depend on the gauge in this paper. The gauge dependences are explicitly shown by computing the quantum metric tensor and the quantum fidelity of the Landau problem in different gauges. Then, a real gauge independent metric tensor is proposed and computed for the same Landau problem. Since the gauge dependences have not been observed before, the results of this paper might lead to a new study of topics that are believed to be completely understood.