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arXiv:2504.00483 · Physical review. B./Physical review. B

Loschmidt echo zeros in finite-size quantum systems with linear quench

Zhen-Yu Zheng, Xudong Liu, Siyan Lin, Yu Zhang, Shu Chen

Published Dec 8, 2025• 4 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Dynamical quantum phase transitions reveal singularities in quench dynamics, characterized by the emergence of Loschmidt echo zeros at critical times, which usually exist only in the thermodynamic limit but are absent in finite-size quantum systems. In this Letter, we propose a theoretical scheme to probe Loschmidt echo zeros in finite-size systems by applying a two-step quenching protocol, which offers an experimentally feasible approach to study Loschmidt echo zeros. Using the transverse Ising model as a test bed, we identify that the exact Loschmidt echo zeros can be always accessed by tuning the quench rate, when the quench is across the phase transition point. The associated rate function displays divergence at critical times, accompanying with the change of the dynamical topological order parameter. The critical times are influenced by the quench rate, system size, and momentum modes, embodying the interplay between finite-size effects and critical dynamics. Moreover, the generality of these observations is further confirmed in the XY and Haldane models.

DOI
10.1103/qc3w-s38g

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Dynamical quantum phase transitions reveal singularities in quench dynamics, characterized by the emergence of Loschmidt echo zeros at critical times, which usually exist only in the thermodynamic limit but are absent in finite-size quantum systems. In this Letter, we propose a theoretical scheme to probe Loschmidt echo zeros in finite-size systems by applying a two-step quenching protocol, which offers an experimentally feasible approach to study Loschmidt echo zeros. Using the transverse Ising model as a test bed, we identify that the exact Loschmidt echo zeros can be always accessed by tuning the quench rate, when the quench is across the phase transition point. The associated rate function displays divergence at critical times, accompanying with the change of the dynamical topological order parameter. The critical times are influenced by the quench rate, system size, and momentum modes, embodying the interplay between finite-size effects and critical dynamics. Moreover, the generality of these observations is further confirmed in the XY and Haldane models.
The dynamical quantum phase transition is characterized by the emergence of nonanalytic behaviors in the rate function, corresponding to the occurrence of exact zero points of the Loschmidt echo in the thermodynamical limit. In general, exact zeros of the Loschmidt echo are not accessible in a finite-size quantum system except for some fine-tuned quench parameters. In this work, we study the realization of the dynamical singularity of the rate function for finite-size systems under the twist boundary condition, which can be introduced by applying a magnetic flux. By tuning the magnetic flux, we illustrate that exact zeros of the Loschmidt echo can be always achieved when the postquench parameter is across the underlying equilibrium phase transition point, and thus the rate function of a finite-size system is divergent at a series of critical times. We demonstrate our theoretical scheme by calculating the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model and the Creutz model in detail and exhibit its applicability to more general cases. Our result unveils that the emergence of dynamical singularity in the rate function can be viewed as a signature for detecting dynamical quantum phase transition in finite-size systems. We also unveil that the critical times in our theoretical scheme are independent on the systems size, and thus it provides a convenient way to determine the critical times by tuning the magnetic flux to achieve the dynamical singularity of the rate function.
We study exact zeros of Loschmidt echo and quantum speed limit time for dynamical quantum phase transition in finite size systems. Our results illustrate that exact zeros of Loschmidt echo exist even in finite size quantum systems when the postquench parameter takes some discrete values in regions with the corresponding equilibrium phase different from the initial phase. As the system size increases and tends to infinity, the discrete parameters distribute continuously in the parameter regions. We further analyze the time for the appearance of the first exact zero of Loschmidt echo which is known as the quantum speed limit time ${\ensuremath{\tau}}_{\text{QSL}}$. We demonstrate that the maximal value of ${\ensuremath{\tau}}_{\text{QSL}}$ is proportional to LLL and approaches infinity in the thermodynamical limit, when we quench the initial noncritical state to the critical phase. We also calculate the minimal value of ${\ensuremath{\tau}}_{\text{QSL}}$ and find that its behavior is dependent on the phase of initial state.
We show that phase transitions in the quantum qqq-state clock model for $q\ensuremath{\le}4$ can be characterized by an enhanced decay behavior of the Loschmidt echo via a small quench. The quantum criticality of the quantum qqq-state clock model is numerically investigated by the finite-size scaling of the first minimum of the Loschmidt echo and the short-time average of the rate function. The equilibrium correlation-length critical exponents are obtained from the scaling laws which are consistent with previous results. Furthermore, we study dynamical quantum phase transitions by analyzing the Loschmidt echo and the order parameter for any qqq upon a big quench. For $q\ensuremath{\le}4$, we show that dynamical quantum phase transitions can be described by the Loschmidt echo and the zeros of the order parameter. In particular, we find the rate function increases logarithmically with qqq at the first critical time. However, for q>4q>4q>4, we find that the correspondence between the singularities of the Loschmidt echo and the zeros of the order parameter no longer exists. Instead, we find that the Loschmidt echo near its first minimum converges, while the order parameter at its first zero increases linearly with qqq.
We unveil the role of the long-time average of the Loschmidt echo in the characterization of nonequilibrium quantum phase transitions by studying sudden quench processes across quantum phase transitions in various quantum systems. While the dynamical quantum phase transitions are characterized by the emergence of a series of zero points at critical times during time evolution, we demonstrate that nonequilibrium quantum phase transitions can be identified by nonanalyticities in the long-time average of the Loschmidt echo. The nonanalytic behaviors are illustrated by a sharp change in the long-time average of the Loschmidt echo or the corresponding rate function or the emergence of divergence in the second derivative of the rate function when the driving quench parameter crosses the phase transition points. The connection between the second derivative of the rate function and fidelity susceptibility is also discussed.
In this work we develop the theory of the Loschmidt echo and dynamical phase transitions in noninteracting strongly disordered Fermi systems after a quench. In finite systems the Loschmidt echo displays zeros in the complex time plane that depend on the random potential realization. Remarkably, the zeros coalesce to form a 2D manifold in the thermodynamic limit, atypical for 1D systems, crossing the real axis at a sharply defined critical time. We show that this dynamical phase transition can be understood as a transition in the distribution function of the smallest absolute value of the eigenvalues of the Loschmidt matrix and develop a finite-size scaling theory. Contrary to expectations, the notion of dynamical phase transitions in disordered systems becomes decoupled from the equilibrium Anderson localization transition. Our results highlight the striking qualitative differences of quench dynamics in disordered and nondisordered many-fermion systems.
A critically enhanced decay of the Loschmidt echo is characteristic of sudden quench dynamics near a quantum phase transition. Here, we demonstrate that the decay and revival of the Loschmidt echo follows power-law scaling in the system size and the distance from a critical point with equilibrium critical exponents. We reveal such dynamical scaling laws by analyzing relevant perturbations to the Loschmidt echo cast in a scaling invariant form. We confirm the validity and the generality of the predicted dynamical scaling laws with a diverse range of critical models such as Ising spin models with a short and long range interaction, a finite-component system phase transition, and a topological phase transition. Moreover, using the integrability of systems in the thermodynamic limit, we derive such scaling laws analytically from a microscopic analysis. Our finding promotes the Loschmidt echo to a quantitative non-equilibrium probe of criticality and allows for quantitative predictions on the role of criticality on various physical scenarios where the Loschmidt echo is central to describing non-equilibrium dynamics.