Geometric entanglement from matrix product state representations

Abstract: An efficient scheme to compute the geometric entanglement per lattice site for quantum many-body systems on a periodic finite-size chain is proposed in the context of a tensor network algorithm based on the matrix product state representations. It is systematically tested for three prototypical critical quantum spin chains, which belong to the same Ising universality class. The simulation results lend strong support to the previous claim [Q.-Q. Shi, R. Or\'{u}s, J. O. Fj{\ae}restad, and H.-Q. Zhou, New J. Phys \textbf{12}, 025008 (2010); J.-M. St\'{e}phan, G. Misguich, and F. Alet, Phys. Rev. B \textbf{82}, 180406R (2010)] that the leading finite-size correction to the geometric entanglement per lattice site is universal, with its remarkable connection to the celebrated Affleck-Ludwig boundary entropy corresponding to a conformally invariant boundary condition.