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arXiv:1802.09293 · Physical review. B./Physical review. B

Singularities in large deviations of work in quantum quenches

Pietro Rotondo, Jiří Minář, Juan P. Garrahan, Igor Lesanovsky, Matteo Marcuzzi

Published Nov 16, 2018• 8 citations
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Abstract

We investigate large deviations of the work performed in a quantum quench across two different phases separated by a quantum critical point, using as an example the Dicke model quenched from its superradiant to its normal phase. We extract the distribution of the work from the Loschmidt amplitude and compute for both the corresponding large-deviation forms. Comparing these findings with the predictions of the classification scheme put forward in Gambassi and Silva [Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 250602 (2012)], we are able to identify a regime which is in fact distinct to the ones identified so far: here the rate function exhibits a nonanalytical point which is a strong indication of the existence of an out-of-equilibrium phase transition in the rare fluctuations of the work.

DOI
10.1103/physrevb.98.184303

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We investigate large deviations of the work performed in a quantum quench across two different phases separated by a quantum critical point, using as an example the Dicke model quenched from its superradiant to its normal phase. We extract the distribution of the work from the Loschmidt amplitude and compute for both the corresponding large-deviation forms. Comparing these findings with the predictions of the classification scheme put forward in Gambassi and Silva [Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 250602 (2012)], we are able to identify a regime which is in fact distinct to the ones identified so far: here the rate function exhibits a nonanalytical point which is a strong indication of the existence of an out-of-equilibrium phase transition in the rare fluctuations of the work.
Many previous studies have demonstrated that work statistics can exhibit certain singular behaviors in the quantum critical regimes of many-body systems at zero or very low temperatures. However, as the temperature increases, it is commonly believed that such singularities will vanish. Contrary to this common recognition, we report a nonanalytic behavior of the averaged work done, which occurs at finite temperature, in the Dicke model as well as the Lipkin-Meshkov-Glick model subjected to the sudden quenches of their work parameters. It is revealed that work statistics can be viewed as a signature of the thermal phase transition when the quenched parameters are tuned across the critical line that separates two different thermal phases.
Quantum quenches in the Dicke model were studied both in the thermodynamic limit and the finite systems. For the integrable situation in the thermodynamic limit, the generalized Gibbs ensemble can effectively describe the energy-level occupations for the quench within the normal phase, but it fails for the quench to the superradiant phase. For the finite systems which are considered non-integrable, the post quench systems were studied by comparing with the thermal ensembles. The canonical ensembles are directly available for the quench within the normal phase. With the increasing of the target coupling strength over the equilibrium phase transition critical point, sudden changes take place for the effective temperature and the distance to the thermal ensembles. The thermalization was also studied by comparing with the results of the microcanonical ensembles.
We investigate dynamical quantum phase transitions (DQPTs) in the extended Agassi model following sudden quenches of same level pairing (ΣΣΣ), monopole-monopole (χχχ) and cross level pairing (ΛΛΛ) strengths. Using exact diagonalization, we characterize the non-equilibrium dynamics through the Loschmidt echo and intensive return-rate function. Quenches across equilibrium phase boundaries produce cusp-like structures in the return rate that shows non-analyticities with increasing system size. Equilibrium finite size to large scaling identifies the χχχ-driven transition as a second order phase transition similar to mean-field, Dicke, and Lipkin-Meshkov-Glick (LMG) models critical behaviour with the exponent of the order parameter β≃1/2β\simeq 1/2β≃1/2, while the ΣΣΣ- and ΛΛΛ-driven transitions are first order. We further characterize the associated dynamical singularities through a local scaling exponent ααα, with αχ≃2/3α_χ\simeq 2/3αχ​≃2/3, αΛ≃1/3α_Λ\simeq 1/3αΛ​≃1/3, and αΣ≃3/2α_Σ\simeq 3/2αΣ​≃3/2 of all three parameters. The distinct scaling behaviours across the parameter channels show that dynamical criticality is not determined solely by the equilibrium order of the transition, revealing multiple dynamical scaling regimes. These non-analyticities are associated with the Fisher zeros of the Loschmidt amplitude, which cross the real time axis at critical times and the time derivatives of the return-rate function to characterize the order of DQPTs within the extended Agassi model.
The emerging field of quantum thermodynamics is contributing important results and insights into archetypal many-body problems, including quantum phase transitions. Still, the question whether out-of-equilibrium quantities, such as fluctuations of work, exhibit critical scaling after a sudden quench in a closed system has remained elusive. Here, we take a novel approach to the problem by studying a quench across an impurity quantum critical point. By performing density matrix renormalization group computations on the two-impurity Kondo model, we are able to establish that the irreversible work produced in a quench exhibits finite-size scaling at quantum criticality. This scaling faithfully predicts the equilibrium critical exponents for the crossover length and the order parameter of the model, and, moreover, implies an exponent for the rescaled irreversible work. By connecting the irreversible work to the two-impurity spin correlation function, our findings can be tested experimentally.
The notion of a dynamical quantum phase transition (DQPT) was recently introduced [Heyl et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 135704 (2013)] as the nonanalytic behavior of the Loschmidt echo at critical times in the thermodynamic limit. In this work the quench dynamics in the ground state sector of the two-dimensional Kitaev honeycomb model is studied regarding the occurrence of DQPTs. For general two-dimensional systems of BCS type it is demonstrated how the zeros of the Loschmidt echo coalesce to areas in the thermodynamic limit, implying that DQPTs occur as discontinuities in the second derivative. In the Kitaev honeycomb model DQPTs appear after quenches across a phase boundary or within the massless phase. In the 1d limit of the Kitaev honeycomb model it becomes clear that the discontinuity in the higher derivative is intimately related to the higher dimensionality of the nondegenerate model. Moreover, there is a strong connection between the stationary value of the rate function of the Loschmidt echo after long times and the occurrence of DQPTs in this model.
Dynamical Quantum Phase Transition of the Quantum NNN-state Potts Chain with Quenched Disorder
We present an exact renormalization group analysis of the Loschmidt amplitude of the quantum NNN-state Potts chain with random quench-disordered nearest neighbor bonds, under the extreme dynamical quantum quench. We prove that the phase transition of the Loschmidt rate function remains sharp in general. For typical bond distributions, the phase transition is found to be a linear-cusp, as in the pure model. For some special discrete bond distributions, however, the rate function exhibits logarithmic divergences. These singularities are due to the competition between the non-critical dynamical phases of the pure model, which is very different from how disorder affects equilibrium phase transitions. In addition, due to the periodicity of the complex exponential function, all continuous bond distributions result in rate functions which converge to a universal value at large time.