arXiv:1810.04614 · Journal of Statistical Mechanics Theory and Experiment
Scaling properties of work fluctuations after quenches near quantum transitions
Davide Nigro, Davide Rossini, Ettore Vicari
Abstract
Abstract We study the scaling properties of the statistics of the work done on a generic many-body system at a quantum phase transition of any order and type, arising from quenches of a driving control parameter. For this purpose we exploit a dynamic finite-size scaling framework. Namely, we put forward the existence of a nontrivial finite-size scaling limit for the work distribution, defined as the large-size limit when appropriate scaling variables are kept fixed. The corresponding scaling behaviors are thoroughly verified by means of analytical and numerical calculations in two paradigmatic many-body systems as the quantum Ising model and the Bose–Hubbard model.