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arXiv:2302.01661 · New Journal of Physics

Dynamical quantum phase transitions following double quenches: persistence of the initial state vs dynamical phases

Hadi Cheraghi, Nicholas Sedlmayr

Published Oct 1, 2023• 16 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Abstract Dynamical quantum phase transitions (DQPTs) can occur following quenches in quantum systems when the rate function, a dynamical analogue of the free energy, becomes non-analytic at critical times. Here we exhaustively investigate in an exemplary model how the dynamically evolving state responds to a second quench. We demonstrate that for quenches where the initial and final Hamiltonian belong to different phases always result in DQPTs, irrespective of the intermediate quench and dynamics or the time of the second quench. However, if the initial and final Hamiltonian belong to the same equilibrium phase then the intermediate Hamiltonian must belong to a different phase. In this case, the second quench time in relation to the critical times of the first quench becomes crucial to the existence of DQPTs.

DOI
10.1088/1367-2630/ad016e

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Abstract Dynamical quantum phase transitions (DQPTs) can occur following quenches in quantum systems when the rate function, a dynamical analogue of the free energy, becomes non-analytic at critical times. Here we exhaustively investigate in an exemplary model how the dynamically evolving state responds to a second quench. We demonstrate that for quenches where the initial and final Hamiltonian belong to different phases always result in DQPTs, irrespective of the intermediate quench and dynamics or the time of the second quench. However, if the initial and final Hamiltonian belong to the same equilibrium phase then the intermediate Hamiltonian must belong to a different phase. In this case, the second quench time in relation to the critical times of the first quench becomes crucial to the existence of DQPTs.
By deriving a general framework and analyzing concrete examples, we demonstrate a class of dynamical quantum phase transitions (DQPTs) in one-dimensional two-band systems going through double-quench processes. When this type of DQPT occurs, the Loschmidt amplitude vanishes and the rate function remains singular after the second quench, meaning the final state continually has no overlap with the initial state. This type of DQPT is named metamorphic DQPT to differentiate it from ordinary DQPTs that only exhibit zero Loschmidt amplitude and singular rate function at discrete time points. The metamorphic DQPTs occur at zero as well as finite temperatures. Our examples of the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) model and Kitaev chain illustrate the conditions and behavior of the metamorphic DQPT. Since ordinary DQPTs have been experimentally realized in many systems, similar setups with double quenches will demonstrate the metamorphic DQPT. Our findings thus provide additional controls of dynamical evolution of quantum systems.
Dynamical phase transitions (DPTs) are signaled by the non-analytical time evolution of the dynamical free energy after quenching some global parameters in quantum systems. The dynamical free energy is calculated from the overlap between the initial and the time evolved states (Loschmidt amplitude). In a recent study it was suggested that DPTs are related to the equilibrium phase transitions (EPTs) (Heyl, M. et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 135704 (2013)). We here study an exactly solvable model, the extended XY model, the Loschmidt amplitude of which provides a counterexample. We show analytically that the connection between the DPTs and the EPTs does not hold generally. Analysing also the general compass model as a second example, assists us to propound the physical condition under which the DPT occurs without crossing the equilibrium critical point, and also no DPT by crossing the equilibrium critical point.
We study the dynamics arising from a double quantum quench where the parameters of a given Hamiltonian are abruptly changed from being in an equilibrium phase A to a different phase B and back ($\mathrm{A}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\mathrm{B}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\mathrm{A}$). As prototype models, we consider the (integrable) transverse Ising field as well as the (nonintegrable) ANNNI model. The return amplitude features nonanalyticities after the first quench through the equilibrium quantum critical point ($\mathrm{A}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\mathrm{B}$), which is routinely taken as a signature of passing through a so-called dynamical quantum phase transition. We demonstrate that nonanalyticities after the second quench ($\mathrm{B}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\mathrm{A}$) can be avoided and reestablished in a recurring manner upon increasing the time TTT spent in phase B. The system retains an infinite memory of its past state, and one has the intriguing opportunity to control at will whether or not dynamical quantum phase transitions appear after the second quench.
We demonstrate the existence of a dynamical quantum phase transition (DQPT) in a dissipative collective-spin model that exhibits the boundary time crystal (BTC) phase. We initialize the system in the ground state of the Hamiltonian in either the BTC or the non-BTC phase, and drive it across the BTC transition. The driving is done by an abrupt quench or by a finite-time linear ramp of a Hamiltonian control parameter under Markovian Lindblad dynamics. We diagnose DQPTs through zeros of the fidelity-based Loschmidt echo between the initial state and the evolving mixed state, which induce nonanalytic cusp-like features in the associated rate function. For quenches into the BTC phase, the Loschmidt echo exhibits repeated zeros due to the emergent time-periodic steady state, whereas for quenches into the non-BTC phase, the overlap vanishes and remains zero once the dynamics relaxes to a stationary state. We further show that the DQPT persists under the ramp protocol followed by unitary evolution with the final Hamiltonian. Finally, we analyze the finite-size scaling of the first critical time and find convergence to a constant in the thermodynamic limit, with distinct power-law approaches for the quench and the ramp protocols.
Dynamical quantum phase transitions (DQPTs) manifested in the nonanalyticities in the temporal evolution of a closed quantum system generated by the time-independent final Hamiltonian, following a quench (or ramping) of a parameter of the Hamiltonian, is an emerging frontier of nonequilibrium quantum dynamics. We, here, introduce the notion of a dynamical topological order parameter (DTOP) that characterizes these DQPTs occurring in quenched (or ramped) two-dimensional closed quantum systems; this is quite a nontrivial generalization of the notion of DTOP introduced in Budich and Heyl [Phys. Rev. B 93, 085416 (2016)] for one-dimensional situations. This DTOP is obtained from the ``gauge-invariant'' Pancharatnam phase extracted from the Loschmidt overlap, i.e., the modulus of the overlap between the initially prepared state and its time-evolved counterpart reached following a temporal evolution generated by the time-independent final Hamiltonian. This generic proposal is illustrated considering DQPTs occurring in the subsequent temporal evolution following a sudden quench of the staggered mass of the topological Haldane model on a hexagonal lattice where it stays fixed to zero or unity and makes a discontinuous jump between these two values at critical times at which DQPTs occur. What is remarkable is that while the topology of the equilibrium model is characterized by the Chern number, the emergent topology associated with the DQPTs is characterized by a generalized winding number.
Previous investigations of dynamical quantum phase transition (DQPT) have predominantly focused on sudden quench protocols. In this work, we systematically explore the fate of DQPT from the sudden to the slow quench regime. We establish that DQPT remains robust under slow quenching when the protocol crosses an equilibrium quantum phase transition. Conversely, we show that accidental DQPTs,which occur when the pre and post quench Hamiltonians reside in the same equilibrium phase, can be filtered out in the slow quench limit. This demonstrates that slow quenches can reveal the intrinsic connection between DQPT and equilibrium quantum phase transitions, thereby enabling DQPT to serve as a dynamical probe for identifying equilibrium quantum critical points. We illustrate these findings with examples from the XY chain, the Aubry-André model, and the trimer Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model.