Dimensional crossover and the link between thermodynamics and dynamics: the case of Ising models at complex temperature

Abstract: We study dimensional crossover in Ising systems at complex temperatures by comparing three types of system: the infinite isotropic 2D Ising model; the infinite anisotropic 2D Ising model; and Ising ladders with a finite number of legs. In particular we present evidence, from both tensor-network calculations and numerical evaluations based on the exact solution of the model, that the infinite anisotropic 2D Ising model exhibits long-range spatially modulated magnetization in certain regions of the complex-temperature plane. We discuss the physics of the special unitary points that exists in the complex-temperature plane, and their connections to the theory of quantum information processing.