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arXiv:2308.14827 · Physical review. B./Physical review. B

Complex dynamics approach to dynamical quantum phase transitions: The Potts model

Somendra M. Bhattacharjee

Published Jan 16, 2024• 13 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

This paper introduces complex dynamics methods to study dynamical quantum phase transitions in the one- and two-dimensional quantum three-state Potts model. The quench involves switching off an infinite transverse field. The time-dependent Loschmidt echo is evaluated by an exact renormalization group (RG) transformation in the complex plane where the thermal Boltzmann factor is along the positive real axis, and the quantum time evolution is along the unit circle. One of the characteristics of the complex dynamics constituted by repeated applications of RG is the Julia set, which determines the phase transitions. We show that special boundary conditions can alter the nature of the transitions, and verify the claim for the one-dimensional system by transfer matrix calculations. In two dimensions, there are alternating symmetry-breaking and restoring transitions, both of which are first order, despite the criticality of the Curie point. In addition, there are finer structures because of the fractal nature of the Julia set. Our approach can be extended to multi-variable problems, higher dimensions, and approximate RG transformations expressed as rational functions.

DOI
10.1103/physrevb.109.035130

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This paper introduces complex dynamics methods to study dynamical quantum phase transitions in the one- and two-dimensional quantum three-state Potts model. The quench involves switching off an infinite transverse field. The time-dependent Loschmidt echo is evaluated by an exact renormalization group (RG) transformation in the complex plane where the thermal Boltzmann factor is along the positive real axis, and the quantum time evolution is along the unit circle. One of the characteristics of the complex dynamics constituted by repeated applications of RG is the Julia set, which determines the phase transitions. We show that special boundary conditions can alter the nature of the transitions, and verify the claim for the one-dimensional system by transfer matrix calculations. In two dimensions, there are alternating symmetry-breaking and restoring transitions, both of which are first order, despite the criticality of the Curie point. In addition, there are finer structures because of the fractal nature of the Julia set. Our approach can be extended to multi-variable problems, higher dimensions, and approximate RG transformations expressed as rational functions.
Dynamical quantum phase transitions (DQPTs) are a class of non-equilibrium phase transitions that occur in many-body quantum systems during real-time evolution, rather than through parameter tuning as in conventional phase transitions. This paper presents an exact analytical approach to studying DQPTs by combining complex dynamics with the real-space renormalization group (RG). RG transformations are interpreted as iterated maps on the complex plane, establishing a connection between DQPTs and the Julia set, the boundary separating the basins of attraction of the stable fixed points. This framework is applied to a quantum quench in the one-dimensional transverse field Ising model, where we examine the sensitivity of DQPTs to variations in boundary conditions. We show that altering the topology of the spin chain can suppress DQPTs and provide a qualitative explanation based on quantum speed limits.
A boundary transfer matrix formulation allows to calculate the Loschmidt echo for one-dimensional quantum systems in the thermodynamic limit. We show that nonanalyticities in the Loschmidt echo and zeros for the Loschmidt amplitude in the complex plane (Fisher zeros) are caused by a crossing of eigenvalues in the spectrum of the transfer matrix. Using a density-matrix renormalization group algorithm applied to these transfer matrices, we numerically investigate the Loschmidt echo and the Fisher zeros for quantum quenches in the XXZ model with a uniform and a staggered magnetic field. We give examples---both in the integrable and the nonintegrable cases---where the Loschmidt echo does not show nonanalyticities although the quench leads across an equilibrium phase transition, and examples where nonanalyticities appear for quenches within the same phase. For a quench to the free fermion point, we analytically show that the Fisher zeros sensitively depend on the initial state and can lie exactly on the real axis already for finite system size. Furthermore, we use bosonization to analyze our numerical results for quenches within the Luttinger liquid phase.
We derive an exact renormalization group recursion relation for the Loschmidt amplitude of the quantum QQQ-state clock model and the quantum QQQ-state Potts model in one dimension. The renormalization group flow is discussed in detail. The fixed points of the renormalization group flow are found to be complex in general. These fixed points control the dynamical phases of the two models, giving rise to nonanalyticities in its Loschmidt rate function, for both the pure and the disordered system. For the quench protocols studied, dynamical quantum phase transitions are found to occur in the clock model for all QsQ\mathrm{s}Qs considered, while in the Potts model, they only occur when Q<4Q<4Q<4.
We show that dynamic quantum phase transitions (DQPT) in many situations involve renormalization group (RG) fixed points that are unphysical in the context of thermal phase transitions. In such cases, boundary conditions are shown to become relevant to the extent of even completely suppressing the bulk transitions. We establish these by performing an exact RG analysis of the quantum Ising model on scale-invariant lattices of different dimensions, and by analyzing the zeros of the Loschmidt amplitude. Further corroboration of boundaries affecting the bulk transition comes from the three-state quantum Potts chain, for which we also show that the DQPT corresponds to a pair of period-2 fixed points.
Dynamical quantum phase transitions are at the forefront of current efforts to understand quantum matter out of equilibrium. Except for a few exactly solvable models, predictions of these critical phenomena typically rely on advanced numerical methods. However, those approaches are mostly restricted to one dimension, making investigations of two-dimensional systems highly challenging. Here, we present evidence of dynamical quantum phase transitions in strongly correlated spin lattices in two dimensions. To this end, we apply our recently developed cumulant method [Phys. Rev. X 11, 041018 (2021)] to determine the zeros of the Loschmidt amplitude in the complex plane of time, and we predict the crossing points of the thermodynamic lines of zeros with the real-time axis, where dynamical quantum phase transitions occur. We find the critical times of a two-dimensional quantum Ising lattice and the XYZ model with ferromagnetic or antiferromagnetic couplings. We also show how dynamical quantum phase transitions can be predicted by measuring the initial energy fluctuations, for example in quantum simulators or other engineered quantum systems.
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.