We consider a class of quantum systems with spin-flip symmetry and derive the quantum correlation measured by the quantum discord (QD). As an illustration, we investigate the QD in a three-body interaction model and an XYZ interaction model, whose ground states can be expressed as matrix product states, and the QD is exactly soluble. We show that the QD behaves differently than the quantum entanglement (QE) in many ways; for example, they may show opposite monotonicity and completely different finite-size effects. Furthermore, we compare the capability of the QD and the QE to detect quantum phase transitions (QPTs) and find that the QD is more reliable than the QE for signaling QPTs in these models: In the three-body interaction model, the QE is singular at the quantum critical point, however, it exhibits an additional singularity in the noncritical region, while the analyticity of the QD can be used to identify the quantum critical point perfectly; and in the XYZ interaction model, the QE vanishes in the thermodynamic limit, thus losing its ability to detect QPTs, while the QD still functions very well.

• Received 15 July 2010

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.82.032310