We investigate the entanglement properties of the valence-bond-solid (VBS) state defined on two-dimensional lattices, which is the exact ground state of the Affleck-Kennedy-Lieb-Tasaki model. It is shown that the entanglement entropy obeys an area law and the nonuniversal prefactor of the leading term is strictly less than $\ln 2$. The analysis of entanglement spectra for various lattices reveals that the reduced density matrix associated with the VBS state is closely related to a thermal density matrix of a holographic spin chain, the spectrum of which is reminiscent of that of the spin-1/2 Heisenberg chain. This correspondence is further supported by comparing the entanglement entropy in the holographic spin chain with conformal field theory predictions.

• Received 1 December 2011

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.84.245128