Entanglement renormalization, scale invariance, and quantum criticality

The use of entanglement renormalization in the presence of scale invariance is investigated. We explain how to compute an accurate approximation of the critical ground state of a lattice model and how to evaluate local observables, correlators, and critical exponents. Our results unveil a precise connection between the multiscale entanglement renormalization ansatz and conformal field theory (CFT). Given a critical Hamiltonian on the lattice, this connection can be exploited to extract most of the conformal data of the CFT that describes the model in the continuum limit.