Contrasting pseudo-criticality in the classical two-dimensional Heisenberg and $\mathrm{RP}^2$ models: zero-temperature phase transition versus finite-temperature crossover

Abstract: Tensor-network methods are used to perform a comparative study of the two-dimensional classical Heisenberg and $\mathrm{RP}^2$ models. We demonstrate that uniform matrix product states (MPS) with explicit $\mathrm{SO}(3)$ symmetry can probe correlation lengths up to $\mathcal{O}(10^3)$ sites accurately, and we study the scaling of entanglement entropy and universal features of MPS entanglement spectra. For the Heisenberg model, we find no signs of a finite-temperature phase transition, supporting the scenario of asymptotic freedom. For the $\mathrm{RP}^2$ model we observe an abrupt onset of scaling behaviour, consistent with hints of a finite-temperature phase transition reported in previous studies. A careful analysis of the softening of the correlation length divergence, the scaling of the entanglement entropy and the MPS entanglement spectra shows that our results are inconsistent with true criticality, but are rather in agreement with the scenario of a crossover to a pseudo-critical region which exhibits strong signatures of nematic quasi-long-range order at length scales below the true correlation length. Our results reveal a fundamental difference in scaling behaviour between the Heisenberg and $\mathrm{RP}^2$ models: Whereas the emergence of scaling in the former shifts to zero temperature if the bond dimension is increased, it occurs at a finite bond-dimension independent crossover temperature in the latter.