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arXiv:1504.05599 · Physical review. B./Physical review. B

Dynamical topological order parameters far from equilibrium

Jan Carl Budich, Markus Heyl

Published Feb 10, 2016• 253 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We introduce a topological quantum number---coined dynamical topological order parameter (DTOP)---that is dynamically defined in the real-time evolution of a quantum many-body system and represented by a momentum space winding number of the Pancharatnam geometric phase. Our construction goes conceptually beyond the standard notion of topological invariants characterizing the wave function of a system, which are constants of motion under coherent time evolution. In particular, we show that the DTOP can change its integer value at discrete times where so called dynamical quantum phase transitions occur, thus serving as a dynamical analog of an order parameter. Interestingly, studying quantum quenches in one-dimensional two-banded Bogoliubov--de Gennes models, we find that the DTOP is capable of resolving if the topology of the system Hamiltonian has changed over the quench. Furthermore, we investigate the relation of the DTOP to the dynamics of the string order parameter that characterizes the topology of such systems in thermal equilibrium.

DOI
10.1103/physrevb.93.085416

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We introduce a topological quantum number---coined dynamical topological order parameter (DTOP)---that is dynamically defined in the real-time evolution of a quantum many-body system and represented by a momentum space winding number of the Pancharatnam geometric phase. Our construction goes conceptually beyond the standard notion of topological invariants characterizing the wave function of a system, which are constants of motion under coherent time evolution. In particular, we show that the DTOP can change its integer value at discrete times where so called dynamical quantum phase transitions occur, thus serving as a dynamical analog of an order parameter. Interestingly, studying quantum quenches in one-dimensional two-banded Bogoliubov--de Gennes models, we find that the DTOP is capable of resolving if the topology of the system Hamiltonian has changed over the quench. Furthermore, we investigate the relation of the DTOP to the dynamics of the string order parameter that characterizes the topology of such systems in thermal equilibrium.
Dynamical quantum phase transitions (DQPTs) manifested in the nonanalyticities in the temporal evolution of a closed quantum system generated by the time-independent final Hamiltonian, following a quench (or ramping) of a parameter of the Hamiltonian, is an emerging frontier of nonequilibrium quantum dynamics. We, here, introduce the notion of a dynamical topological order parameter (DTOP) that characterizes these DQPTs occurring in quenched (or ramped) two-dimensional closed quantum systems; this is quite a nontrivial generalization of the notion of DTOP introduced in Budich and Heyl [Phys. Rev. B 93, 085416 (2016)] for one-dimensional situations. This DTOP is obtained from the ``gauge-invariant'' Pancharatnam phase extracted from the Loschmidt overlap, i.e., the modulus of the overlap between the initially prepared state and its time-evolved counterpart reached following a temporal evolution generated by the time-independent final Hamiltonian. This generic proposal is illustrated considering DQPTs occurring in the subsequent temporal evolution following a sudden quench of the staggered mass of the topological Haldane model on a hexagonal lattice where it stays fixed to zero or unity and makes a discontinuous jump between these two values at critical times at which DQPTs occur. What is remarkable is that while the topology of the equilibrium model is characterized by the Chern number, the emergent topology associated with the DQPTs is characterized by a generalized winding number.
Quantum processes of inherent dynamical nature, such as quantum walks, defy a description in terms of an equilibrium statistical physics ensemble. Until now, identifying the general principles behind the underlying unitary quantum dynamics has remained a key challenge. Here, we show and experimentally observe that split-step quantum walks admit a characterization in terms of a dynamical topological order parameter (DTOP). This integer-quantized DTOP measures, at a given time, the winding of the geometric phase accumulated by the wavefunction during a quantum walk. We observe distinct dynamical regimes in our experimentally realized quantum walks, and each regime can be attributed to a qualitatively different temporal behavior of the DTOP. Upon identifying an equivalent many-body problem, we reveal an intriguing connection between the nonanalytic changes of the DTOP in quantum walks and the occurrence of dynamical quantum phase transitions.
Dynamical quantum phase transitions (DQPTs) probe the nonequilibrium evolution of quantum systems, unveiling their geometric and topological characteristics. In this study, we introduce the concepts of parallel quench and dynamic geometrical order parameter (DGOP) for nonband models without momentum-space structure, where these quantities capture the geometric shifts associated with DQPTs. At zero temperature, the DGOP corresponds to the Pancharatnam geometric phase, while at finite temperatures, it extends to the interferometric geometric phase. We further generalize the dynamic topological order parameter (DTOP) to finite-temperature band models, examining its behavior in the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model. Our analysis shows that thermal fluctuations and boundary effects at finite temperatures disrupt the quantization of the DTOP, yet it retains signatures of topological transitions. These findings deepen the understanding of geometric and topological properties in quantum dynamics, illuminating DQPTs across both nonband and band frameworks.
We show that dynamical quantum phase transitions (DQPTs) in the quench dynamics of two-dimensional topological systems can be characterized by a dynamical topological invariant defined along an appropriately chosen closed contour in momentum space. Such a dynamical topological invariant reflects the vorticity of dynamical vortices responsible for the DQPTs, and thus serves as a dynamical topological order parameter in two dimensions. We demonstrate that when the contour crosses topologically protected fixed points in the quench dynamics, an intimate connection can be established between the dynamical topological order parameter in two dimensions and those in one dimension. We further define a reduced rate function of the Loschmidt echo on the contour, which features nonanalyticities at critical times and is sufficient to characterize DQPTs in two dimensions. We illustrate our results using the Haldane honeycomb model and the quantum anomalous Hall model as concrete examples, both of which have been experimentally realized using cold atoms.
We study the dynamical quantum phase transition of a critical quantum quench, in which the prequenched Hamiltonian, or the postquenched Hamiltonian, or both of them are set to be the critical points of equilibrium quantum phase transitions. We find a half-quantized or unquantized dynamical topological order parameter and dynamical Chern number; these results and also the existence of dynamical quantum phase transition are all closely related to the singularity of the Bogoliubov angle at the gap-closing momentum. The effects of the singularity may also be canceled out if both the prequenched and postquenched Hamiltonians are critical; then the dynamical topological order parameter and dynamical Chern number restore to integer ones. Our findings show that the widely accepted definitions of the dynamical topological order parameter and dynamical Chern number are problematic for the critical quenches in the perspective of topology, which call for new definitions of them.
Topological order is defined by topological invariants, rather than symmetries and local order parameters. Nonetheless some topological phases can be characterized by string order parameters and entanglement. In this article we study how string order parameters and entanglement spectra behave out-of-equilibrium following quenches in one dimensional topological models with Z\mathbb{Z}Z invariants. Previously it has been suggested that string order parameters could serve as an experimental probe of dynamical quantum phase transitions. Despite the existence of clear zeroes in the order parameters at critical times, we show that in general there is no exact quantitative or qualitative connection with the critical times of dynamical quantum phase transitions. Another possible connection is of dynamical string order parameter zeroes and dynamical crossings at the center of entanglement spectra. Here we see that there can sometimes be a connection, but it is not typical. Again there is no general quantitative or qualitative connection. Each dynamical form of criticality behaves independently, though we do see that critical times tend to be of the same order of magnitude and give an argument for why this is the case. We also find that a string order parameter which labels one topological phase can undergo non-trivial dynamics even following a quench between \emph{other} topological phases. We elucidate where connections can be made, and where they result from a consideration of insufficiently general models. These results cast doubt on the idea of genuine dynamical phases following quenches in such models.