Entanglement in a two-qubit Ising model under a site-dependent external magnetic field

We investigate the ground state and the thermal entanglement in the two-qubit Ising model interacting with a site-dependent magnetic field. The degree of entanglement is measured by calculating the concurrence. For zero temperature and for certain direction of the applied magnetic field, the quantum phase transition observed under a uniform external magnetic field disappears once a very small non-uniformity is introduced. Furthermore, we have shown analytically and confirmed numerically that once the direction of one of the magnetic field is along the Ising axis then no entangled states can be produced, independently of the degree of non-uniformity of the magnetic fields on each site.