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arXiv:2110.01696 · Nuclear Physics B

Critical dynamics of relativistic diffusion

Dominik Schweitzer, Sören Schlichting, Lorenz von Smekal

Published Sep 13, 2022• 18 citations
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Abstract

We study the dynamics of self-interacting scalar fields with Z2 symmetry governed by a relativistic Israel-Stuart type diffusion equation in the vicinity of a critical point. We calculate spectral functions of the order parameter in mean-field approximation as well as using first-principles classical-statistical lattice simulations in real-time. We observe that the spectral functions are well-described by single Breit-Wigner shapes. Away from criticality, the dispersion matches the expectations from the mean-field approach. At the critical point, the spectral functions largely keep their Breit-Wigner shape, albeit with non-trivial power-law dispersion relations. We extract the characteristic time-scales as well as the dynamic critical exponent z, verifying the existence of a dynamic scaling regime. In addition, we derive the universal scaling functions implied by the Breit-Wigner shape with critical power-law dispersion and show that they match the data. Considering equations of motion for a system coupled to a heat bath as well as an isolated system, we perform this study for two different dynamic universality classes, both in two and three spatial dimensions.

DOI
10.1016/j.nuclphysb.2022.115944

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We study the dynamics of self-interacting scalar fields with Z2 symmetry governed by a relativistic Israel-Stuart type diffusion equation in the vicinity of a critical point. We calculate spectral functions of the order parameter in mean-field approximation as well as using first-principles classical-statistical lattice simulations in real-time. We observe that the spectral functions are well-described by single Breit-Wigner shapes. Away from criticality, the dispersion matches the expectations from the mean-field approach. At the critical point, the spectral functions largely keep their Breit-Wigner shape, albeit with non-trivial power-law dispersion relations. We extract the characteristic time-scales as well as the dynamic critical exponent z, verifying the existence of a dynamic scaling regime. In addition, we derive the universal scaling functions implied by the Breit-Wigner shape with critical power-law dispersion and show that they match the data. Considering equations of motion for a system coupled to a heat bath as well as an isolated system, we perform this study for two different dynamic universality classes, both in two and three spatial dimensions.
The critical behaviour of a relativistic scalar field theory with Z2 symmetry is investigated near a second-order phase transition. Two sets of dynamic equations are employed, allowing to control conservation laws of both order parameter and energy density. We calculate spectral functions of the order parameter as well as unequal-time correlation functions of the energy momentum tensor at zero and non-vanishing spatial momenta from first-principles classical-statistical lattice simulations in real-time. For both, we investigate general properties and relevant degrees of freedom in distinct regions of the phase diagram. Close to the critical point, we find signatures of dynamic scaling behaviour and calculate the dynamic critical exponent z controlling the divergence of the critical time scale. For both the order parameter spectral function as well as the energy density autocorrelation, we extract universal dynamic scaling functions. Modifying the simulation framework to include dynamically changing temperature and external field allows us to study non-equilibrium phenomena. For the special case of instant quenches to the critical point, we identify universal scaling behaviour controlled by the initial magnetization, and calculate the related additional dynamic critical exponent. We extract the universal non-equilibrium scaling functions for the evolution of both the order parameter as well as the correlation length.
We describe numerical simulations of the stochastic diffusion equation with a conserved charge. We focus on the dynamics in the vicinity of a critical point in the Ising universality class. The model we consider is expected to describe the critical dynamics near a possible QCD critical point if the coupling of the order parameter to the momentum density of the fluid can be neglected. The simulations are performed on a spatial lattice, and the time evolution is performed using a Metropolis algorithm. We determine the dynamical critical exponent $z\ensuremath{\simeq}3.972(2)$, which agrees with predictions of the epsilon expansion. We also study nonequilibrium sweeps of the reduced temperature and observe approximate Kibble-Zurek scaling.
We investigate the out-of-equilibrium dynamics of a relativistic Z2Z_2Z2​-symmetric scalar field theory with Langevin dynamics in two and three spatial dimensions under linear driving across magnetic first-order phase transitions, close to and far below the critical temperature TcT_cTc​. Using classical-statistical lattice simulations, we find that if the driving timescale is sufficiently fast, the system exhibits finite-time scaling behavior independent of temperature and dimensionality, identical to that observed in mean-field simulations. In slow quenches near TcT_cTc​ this mean-field behavior crosses over to critical Kibble-Zurek scaling behavior, while for temperatures T≪TcT \ll T_cT≪Tc​ nucleation and growth dominate the transition dynamics, resulting in corrections to scaling. Near the transition point where the order parameter changes sign, the crossover between mean-field and critical out-of-equilibrium dynamics is found to be well described by the leading algebraic correction to Kibble-Zurek scaling. We find that universal non-equilibrium scaling behavior can be observed for T≲TcT \lesssim T_cT≲Tc​, provided the driving is fast enough to avoid nucleation but slow enough for correlations to form, and compute the associated universal scaling functions for the order parameter.
In context of the search for the QCD critical endpoint in heavy-ion collisions, a deep understanding of the out-of-equilibrium dynamics of the system is necessary to make well-grounded predictions for signatures in final states. To this end, we investigate the dynamic critical behavior of a classical scalar field theory with Z2\mathbb{Z}_2Z2​ symmetry in the dynamic universality class of Model A in two spatial dimensions. The critical dynamics of the system is studied under a linear quench protocol, in which the external symmetry breaking field is changed at a constant rate through the critical point. We discuss the connection to the Kibble-Zurek mechanism and determine universal scaling functions, which fully describe the non-equilibrium evolution of the system near the critical point for all quench rates under consideration. We find that, while the scaling functions are non-trivial, the corresponding scaling exponents are fully determined by static critical exponents and the dynamic critical exponent.
We study the critical dynamics of a scalar field theory with Z 2 symmetry in the dynamic universality class of Model A in two and three spatial dimensions with classical-statistical lattice simulations. In particular, we measure the non-equilibrium behavior of the system under a quench protocol in which the symmetry-breaking external field is changed at a constant rate through the critical point. Using the well-established Kibble-Zurek scaling theory we compute non-equilibrium scaling functions of cumulants of the order parameter up to fourth order. Together with the static critical exponents and the dynamic critical exponent, these fully describe the universal non-equilibrium evolution of the system near the critical point. We further extend the analysis to include finite-size effects and observe good collapse of our data onto two-dimensional universal non-equilibrium and finite-size scaling functions.
We investigate the short-time quantum critical dynamics in the imaginary-time relaxation processes of finite-size systems. Universal scaling behaviors exist in the imaginary-time evolution. In particular, the system undergoes a critical initial slip stage characterized by an exponent $\ensuremath{\theta}$, in which an initial power-law increase emerges in the imaginary-time correlation function when the initial state has a zero order parameter and a vanishing correlation length. Under different initial conditions, the quantum critical point and critical exponents can be determined from the universal scaling behaviors. We apply the method to the one- and two-dimensional transverse field Ising models using quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) simulations. In the one-dimensional case, we locate the quantum critical point at (h/J)c=1.00003(8){(h/J)}_{c}=1.000\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}03(8)(h/J)c​=1.00003(8) in the thermodynamic limit, and we estimate the critical initial slip exponent $\ensuremath{\theta}=0.3734(2)$ and the static exponent $\ensuremath{\beta}/\ensuremath{\nu}=0.1251(2)$ by analyzing data on chains of length L=32−−256L=32--256L=32−−256 and 48--256, respectively. For the two-dimensional square-lattice system, the critical coupling ratio is given by 3.04451(7)3.044\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}51(7)3.04451(7) in the thermodynamic limit, while the critical exponents are $\ensuremath{\theta}=0.209(4)$ and $\ensuremath{\beta}/\ensuremath{\nu}=0.518(1)$ estimated by data on systems of size L=24L=24L=24--64 and 32--64, respectively. Remarkably, the critical initial slip exponents obtained in both models are notably distinct from their classical counterparts due to the essential differences between classical and quantum dynamics. The short-time critical dynamics and the imaginary-time relaxation QMC approach can be readily adapted to various models.