Precision study of the massive Schwinger model near quantum criticality

Abstract: We perform a numerical analysis of the massive Schwinger model in the presence of a background electric field. Using the Density Matrix Renormalization Group (DMRG) approach, we efficiently compute the spectrum of the Schwinger model on a staggered lattice with up to 3000 qubits. As a result, we achieve a precise computation of the critical mass of the massive Schwinger model to five digits using four different 'criticality criteria', observing perfect agreement among them. Additionally, we discuss the effect of a four-fermion operator deformation of the Schwinger model and compute the critical mass for various values of the deformation parameter.