Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:1611.05030 · Physical review. B./Physical review. B

Approximate light cone effects in a nonrelativistic quantum field theory after a local quench

Bruno Bertini

Published Feb 27, 2017• 44 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We study the spreading of correlations after a local quench in a nonrelativistic quantum field theory. We focus on noninteracting nonrelativistic fermions and study the time evolution after two identical systems in their ground states are suddenly joined together with a localized impurity at the junction. We find that, even if the quasiparticles of the system have unbounded dispersion, the correlations show light cone effects. We carry out a detailed study of these effects by developing an accurate asymptotic expansion of the two-point function and determining exactly the density of particles at any time after the quench. In particular, we find that the width of the light cone region is $\ensuremath{\propto}{t}^{1/2}$. The structure of correlations, however, does not show a pure light cone form: ``superluminal corrections'' are much larger than in the bounded-dispersion case. These findings can be explained by inspecting the structure of excitations generated by the initial state. We show that a similar picture also emerges in the presence of a harmonic trapping potential and when more than two systems are suddenly joined at a single point.

DOI
10.1103/physrevb.95.075153

Related papers

Inhomogeneous quenches in a free fermionic chain: Exact results

Jacopo Viti, Jean-Marie Stéphan, Jérôme Dubail +1 more

We consider the non-equilibrium physics induced by joining together two tight-binding fermionic chains to form a single chain. Before being joined, each chain is in a many-fermion ground state. The fillings (densities) in the two chains might be different. We present a number of exact results, focusing on two-point correlators and the Loschmidt echo (return probability). For the non-interacting case, we identify through an exact derivation the regime in which a semiclassical ansatz is valid. We present a number of analytical results beyond semiclassics, such as the approach to the non-equilibrium steady state and the appearance of Tracy-Widom distributions at the front of the light cone. The light cone behavior is quantified through a series expansion in time, and this description is shown to be valid for interacting systems as well. Results on the Loschmidt echo, presented for finite and zero interactions, illustrate that the physics is different from both local and global quenches.

arXiv:1507.08132•Europhysics Letters (EPL)•Aug 1, 2016•139 citations

Out-of-horizon correlations following a quench in a relativistic quantum field theory

Kukuljan, I., Sotiriadis, S., Takacs, G.

One of the manifestations of relativistic invariance in non-equilibrium quantum field theory is the "horizon effect" a.k.a.light-cone spreading of correlations: starting from an initially short-range correlated state, measurements of two observers at distant space-time points are expected to remain independent until their past light-cones overlap.Surprisingly, we find that in the presence of topological excitations correlations can develop outside of horizon and indeed even between infinitely distant points.We demonstrate this effect for a wide class of global quantum quenches to the sine-Gordon model.We point out that besides the maximum velocity bound implied by relativistic invariance, clustering of initial correlations is required to establish the "horizon effect".We show that quenches in the sine-Gordon model have an interesting property: despite the fact that the initial states have exponentially decaying correlations and cluster in terms of the bosonic fields, they violate the clustering condition for the soliton fields, which is argued to be related to the non-trivial field topology.The nonlinear dynamics governed by the solitons makes the clustering violation manifest also in correlations of the local bosonic fields after the quench.

•Jul 1, 2020•15 citations

Out-of-horizon correlations following a quench in a relativistic quantum field theory

I. Kukuljan, Spyros Sotiriadis, G. Takács

Abstract One of the manifestations of relativistic invariance in non-equilibrium quantum field theory is the “horizon effect” a.k.a. light-cone spreading of correlations: starting from an initially short-range correlated state, measurements of two observers at distant space-time points are expected to remain independent until their past light-cones overlap. Surprisingly, we find that in the presence of topological excitations correlations can develop outside of horizon and indeed even between infinitely distant points. We demonstrate this effect for a wide class of global quantum quenches to the sine-Gordon model. We point out that besides the maximum velocity bound implied by relativistic invariance, clustering of initial correlations is required to establish the “horizon effect”. We show that quenches in the sine-Gordon model have an interesting property: despite the fact that the initial states have exponentially decaying correlations and cluster in terms of the bosonic fields, they violate the clustering condition for the soliton fields, which is argued to be related to the non-trivial field topology. The nonlinear dynamics governed by the solitons makes the clustering violation manifest also in correlations of the local bosonic fields after the quench.

arXiv:1906.02750•Journal of High Energy Physics•Jul 1, 2020•12 citations

Analysis of the buildup of spatiotemporal correlations and their bounds outside of the light cone

Nils O. Abeling, Lorenzo Cevolani, Stefan K. Kehrein

In non-relativistic quantum theories the Lieb-Robinson bound defines an effective light cone with exponentially small tails outside of it. In this work we use it to derive a bound for the correlation function of two local disjoint observables at different times if the initial state has a power-law decay. We show that the exponent of the power-law of the bound is identical to the initial (equilibrium) decay. We explicitly verify this result by studying the full dynamics of the susceptibilities and correlations in the exactly solvable Luttinger model after a sudden quench from the non-interacting to the interacting model.

arXiv:1707.02328•SciPost Physics•Nov 26, 2018•9 citations

Local quantum quenches in critical one-dimensional systems: entanglement, the Loschmidt echo, and light-cone effects

Abstract. We study a particular type of local quench in a generic quantum critical one-dimensional system, using conformal field theory (CFT) techniques, and providing numerical checks of the results in free fermion systems. The system is initially cut into two subsystems A and B which are glued together at time t = 0. We study the entanglement entropy (EE) between the two parts A and B, using previous results by Calabrese and Cardy [1, 2], and further extending them. We also study in detail the (logarithmic) Loschmidt echo (LLE). For finite-size systems both quantities turn out to be (almost) periodic in the scaling limit, and exhibit striking light-cone effects. While these two quantities behave similarly immediately after the quench—namely as c/3 log t for the EE and c/4 log t for the LLE—, we observe some discrepancy once the excitations emitted by the quench bounce on the boundary and evolve within the same subsystem A (or B). The decay of the EE is then non-universal, as noticed by Eisler and Peschel [3]. In contrast, we find that the evolution of the LLE is less sensitive than the EE to non-universal details of the model, and is still accurately described by our CFT prediction. To further probe these light-cone effects, we also introduce a variant of the Loschmidt echo specifically constructed to detect the excitations emitted just after the quench.

•Aug 17, 2016•101 citations

Light-cone effect and relaxation after a quantum quench from excited states in the Ising chain

Leda Bucciantini

The time evolution and stationary behaviour of local observables is studied after a quantum quench of the magnetic field in the transverse field Ising chain, when the initial state is chosen as an excited state of the pre-quench Hamiltonian. Relaxation to the Generalized Gibbs Ensemble is proved. Equal-time longitudinal two point function and entanglement entropy are analytically derived for a class of excited states which confirm the light-cone spreading of correlations also starting from excited states.

Journal of Physics Conference Series•Dec 12, 2014•1 citation
We study the spreading of correlations after a local quench in a nonrelativistic quantum field theory. We focus on noninteracting nonrelativistic fermions and study the time evolution after two identical systems in their ground states are suddenly joined together with a localized impurity at the junction. We find that, even if the quasiparticles of the system have unbounded dispersion, the correlations show light cone effects. We carry out a detailed study of these effects by developing an accurate asymptotic expansion of the two-point function and determining exactly the density of particles at any time after the quench. In particular, we find that the width of the light cone region is \ensuremath∝t1/2\ensuremath{\propto}{t}^{1/2}\ensuremath∝t1/2. The structure of correlations, however, does not show a pure light cone form: ``superluminal corrections'' are much larger than in the bounded-dispersion case. These findings can be explained by inspecting the structure of excitations generated by the initial state. We show that a similar picture also emerges in the presence of a harmonic trapping potential and when more than two systems are suddenly joined at a single point.
We consider the non-equilibrium physics induced by joining together two tight-binding fermionic chains to form a single chain. Before being joined, each chain is in a many-fermion ground state. The fillings (densities) in the two chains might be different. We present a number of exact results, focusing on two-point correlators and the Loschmidt echo (return probability). For the non-interacting case, we identify through an exact derivation the regime in which a semiclassical ansatz is valid. We present a number of analytical results beyond semiclassics, such as the approach to the non-equilibrium steady state and the appearance of Tracy-Widom distributions at the front of the light cone. The light cone behavior is quantified through a series expansion in time, and this description is shown to be valid for interacting systems as well. Results on the Loschmidt echo, presented for finite and zero interactions, illustrate that the physics is different from both local and global quenches.
One of the manifestations of relativistic invariance in non-equilibrium quantum field theory is the "horizon effect" a.k.a.light-cone spreading of correlations: starting from an initially short-range correlated state, measurements of two observers at distant space-time points are expected to remain independent until their past light-cones overlap.Surprisingly, we find that in the presence of topological excitations correlations can develop outside of horizon and indeed even between infinitely distant points.We demonstrate this effect for a wide class of global quantum quenches to the sine-Gordon model.We point out that besides the maximum velocity bound implied by relativistic invariance, clustering of initial correlations is required to establish the "horizon effect".We show that quenches in the sine-Gordon model have an interesting property: despite the fact that the initial states have exponentially decaying correlations and cluster in terms of the bosonic fields, they violate the clustering condition for the soliton fields, which is argued to be related to the non-trivial field topology.The nonlinear dynamics governed by the solitons makes the clustering violation manifest also in correlations of the local bosonic fields after the quench.
Abstract One of the manifestations of relativistic invariance in non-equilibrium quantum field theory is the “horizon effect” a.k.a. light-cone spreading of correlations: starting from an initially short-range correlated state, measurements of two observers at distant space-time points are expected to remain independent until their past light-cones overlap. Surprisingly, we find that in the presence of topological excitations correlations can develop outside of horizon and indeed even between infinitely distant points. We demonstrate this effect for a wide class of global quantum quenches to the sine-Gordon model. We point out that besides the maximum velocity bound implied by relativistic invariance, clustering of initial correlations is required to establish the “horizon effect”. We show that quenches in the sine-Gordon model have an interesting property: despite the fact that the initial states have exponentially decaying correlations and cluster in terms of the bosonic fields, they violate the clustering condition for the soliton fields, which is argued to be related to the non-trivial field topology. The nonlinear dynamics governed by the solitons makes the clustering violation manifest also in correlations of the local bosonic fields after the quench.
In non-relativistic quantum theories the Lieb-Robinson bound defines an effective light cone with exponentially small tails outside of it. In this work we use it to derive a bound for the correlation function of two local disjoint observables at different times if the initial state has a power-law decay. We show that the exponent of the power-law of the bound is identical to the initial (equilibrium) decay. We explicitly verify this result by studying the full dynamics of the susceptibilities and correlations in the exactly solvable Luttinger model after a sudden quench from the non-interacting to the interacting model.
Abstract. We study a particular type of local quench in a generic quantum critical one-dimensional system, using conformal field theory (CFT) techniques, and providing numerical checks of the results in free fermion systems. The system is initially cut into two subsystems A and B which are glued together at time t = 0. We study the entanglement entropy (EE) between the two parts A and B, using previous results by Calabrese and Cardy [1, 2], and further extending them. We also study in detail the (logarithmic) Loschmidt echo (LLE). For finite-size systems both quantities turn out to be (almost) periodic in the scaling limit, and exhibit striking light-cone effects. While these two quantities behave similarly immediately after the quench—namely as c/3 log t for the EE and c/4 log t for the LLE—, we observe some discrepancy once the excitations emitted by the quench bounce on the boundary and evolve within the same subsystem A (or B). The decay of the EE is then non-universal, as noticed by Eisler and Peschel [3]. In contrast, we find that the evolution of the LLE is less sensitive than the EE to non-universal details of the model, and is still accurately described by our CFT prediction. To further probe these light-cone effects, we also introduce a variant of the Loschmidt echo specifically constructed to detect the excitations emitted just after the quench.
The time evolution and stationary behaviour of local observables is studied after a quantum quench of the magnetic field in the transverse field Ising chain, when the initial state is chosen as an excited state of the pre-quench Hamiltonian. Relaxation to the Generalized Gibbs Ensemble is proved. Equal-time longitudinal two point function and entanglement entropy are analytically derived for a class of excited states which confirm the light-cone spreading of correlations also starting from excited states.