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arXiv:1801.06260 · Physical Review A

Off-equilibrium infrared structure of self-interacting scalar fields: Universal scaling, vortex-antivortex superfluid dynamics, and Bose-Einstein condensation

Jian Xin Deng, Sören Schlichting, Raju Venugopalan B, Qun Wang

Published May 11, 2018• 31 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We map the infrared dynamics of a relativistic single-component ($N=1$) interacting scalar field theory to that of nonrelativistic complex scalar fields. The Gross-Pitaevskii (GP) equation, describing the real-time dynamics of single-component ultracold Bose gases, is obtained at first nontrivial order in an expansion proportional to the powers of $\ensuremath{\lambda}{\ensuremath{\phi}}^{2}/{m}^{2}$ where $\ensuremath{\lambda}$, $\ensuremath{\phi}$, and $m$ are the coupling constant, the scalar field, and the particle mass respectively. Our analytical studies are corroborated by numerical simulations of the spatial and momentum structure of overoccupied scalar fields in (2+1)-dimensions. Universal scaling of infrared modes, vortex-antivortex superfluid dynamics, and the off-equilibrium formation of a Bose-Einstein condensate are observed. Our results for the universal scaling exponents are in agreement with those extracted in the numerical simulations of the GP equation. As in these simulations, we observe coarsening phase kinetics in the Bose superfluid with strongly anomalous scaling exponents relative to that of vertex resummed kinetic theory. Our relativistic field theory framework further allows one to study more closely the coupling between superfluid and normal fluid modes, specifically the turbulent momentum and spatial structure of the coupling between a quasiparticle cascade to the infrared and an energy cascade to the ultraviolet. We outline possible applications of the formalism to the dynamics of vortex-antivortex formation and to the off-equilibrium dynamics of the strongly interacting matter formed in heavy-ion collisions.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.97.053606

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Abstract Closed quantum systems far from thermal equilibrium can show universal dynamics near attractor solutions, known as non-thermal fixed points, generically in the form of scaling behaviour in space and time. A systematic classification and comprehensive understanding of such scaling solutions are tasks of future developments in non-equilibrium quantum many-body theory. In this tutorial review, we outline several analytical approaches to non-thermal fixed points and summarise corresponding numerical and experimental results. The analytic methods include a non-perturbative kinetic theory derived within the two-particle irreducible effective action formalism, as well as a low-energy effective field theory framework. As one of the driving forces of this research field are numerical simulations, we summarise the main results of exemplary cases of universal dynamics in ultracold Bose gases. This encompasses quantum vortex ensembles in turbulent superfluids as well as recently observed real-time instanton solutions in one-dimensional spinor condensates.
We apply a Boltzmann approach to the kinetic regime of a relativistic Bose-Einstein condensate of scalar bosons by decomposing the one-particle distribution function in a condensate part and a nonzero momentum part of excited modes, leading to a coupled set of evolution equations which are then solved efficiently with an adaptive higher order Runge-Kutta scheme. We compare our results to the partonic cascade Monte Carlo simulation BAMPS for a critical but far from equilibrium case of massless bosons. Motivated by the color glass condensate initial conditions in QCD with a strongly overpopulated initial glasma state, we also discuss the time evolution starting from an overpopulated initial distribution function of massive scalar bosons. In this system a self-similar evolution of the particle cascade with a nonrelativistic turbulent scaling in the infrared sector is observed as well as a relativistic exponent for the direct energy cascade, confirming a weak wave turbulence in the ultraviolet region.
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