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Universal Quantum Correlations at Finite Temperature

Phase transitions at a finite (i.e. non-zero) temperature are typically dominated by classical correlations, in contrast to zero temperature transitions where quantum mechanics plays an essential role. Therefore, it is natural to ask if there are any signatures of a finite temperature phase transition in measures that are sensitive only to quantum correlations. In this talk I will discuss one such measure, called ‘entanglement negativity’, across finite temperature phase transitions, and show evidence that at conventional order-parameter phase transitions, the universal, long-distance quantum correlations vanish in the thermodynamic limit. This allows one to define a ‘quantum correlation length’ which remains finite even though the physical correlation length is divergent.