The concept of universality class lies at the core of phase transition physics, with each class uniquely characterized by a dedicated set of critical exponents. Here, we introduce the concept of initial-state-dictated dynamical universality classes in nonequilibrium quantum critical dynamics. By studying the imaginary-time relaxation dynamics of the dimerized Heisenberg model, we demonstrate that distinct kinds of initial states can give rise to different dynamical universality classes within the same equilibrium universality class. Specifically, we find that "classical'' paramagnetic (random-spin) and "quantum'' paramagnetic (dimerized and antidimerized) initial states yield drastically different critical initial slip exponents in the bulk. This initial-state dependence also extends to boundary critical dynamics, where different initial states yield different surface critical initial slip exponents even within the same boundary universality class. Remarkably, for the antidimerized initial state, we uncover an anomalous scaling law violating the conventional relation between the bulk and surface critical initial slip exponents. Our results establish an initial-state-controlled dynamical classification of quantum criticality that extends beyond the conventional equilibrium universality paradigm.
The concept of universality class lies at the core of phase transition physics, with each class uniquely characterized by a dedicated set of critical exponents. Here, we introduce the concept of initial-state-dictated dynamical universality classes in nonequilibrium quantum critical dynamics. By studying the imaginary-time relaxation dynamics of the dimerized Heisenberg model, we demonstrate that distinct kinds of initial states can give rise to different dynamical universality classes within the same equilibrium universality class. Specifically, we find that "classical'' paramagnetic (random-spin) and "quantum'' paramagnetic (dimerized and antidimerized) initial states yield drastically different critical initial slip exponents in the bulk. This initial-state dependence also extends to boundary critical dynamics, where different initial states yield different surface critical initial slip exponents even within the same boundary universality class. Remarkably, for the antidimerized initial state, we uncover an anomalous scaling law violating the conventional relation between the bulk and surface critical initial slip exponents. Our results establish an initial-state-controlled dynamical classification of quantum criticality that extends beyond the conventional equilibrium universality paradigm.
While imaginary-time evolution has long served as a standard paradigm for ground-state preparation in numerical simulations and quantum devices, its intrinsic dynamical properties has been largely overlooked. Here, we investigate the short-imaginary-time critical dynamics in quantum systems with boundaries. A universal scaling theory is developed and verified in the two-dimensional quantum Ising model, uncovering rich dynamic critical behaviors dictated by boundary universality classes. For ordered initial states, the boundary order parameter Ms decays with imaginary time τ as Ms∝τ−β1/νz, where β1 denotes the boundary order parameter exponent, and ν and z correspond to the correlation length exponent and the dynamic exponent, respectively. For disordered initial states, the autocorrelation of the boundary order parameter is governed by a novel critical exponent θ1, which is closely related to the critical initial slip behavior of Ms characterized by the corresponding exponent θ1′. In contrast to its positive bulk counterpart, the boundary initial-slip exponent θ1′ is negative for the ordinary transition while remaining positive for the special transition. Although the static universality classes of d-dimensional quantum phase transitions generally coincide with those of (d+1)-dimensional classical phase transitions, we show that θ1 does not follow this conventional quantum-classical mapping. We further discuss the implications of our results for more exotic forms of boundary criticality. Our findings provide new physical insights into boundary critical dynamics and offer a novel route for probing exotic boundary critical behaviors in quantum many-body systems.
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) 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−−256 and 48--256, respectively. For the two-dimensional square-lattice system, the critical coupling ratio is given by 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=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.
We propose a scaling theory for the universal imaginary-time quantum critical dynamics for both short and long times. We discover that there exists a universal critical initial slip related to a small initial order parameter M0. In this stage, the order parameter M increases with the imaginary time $\ensuremath{\tau}$ as $M\ensuremath{\propto}{M}_{0}{\ensuremath{\tau}}^{\ensuremath{\theta}}$ with a universal initial-slip exponent $\ensuremath{\theta}$. For the one-dimensional transverse-field Ising model, we estimate $\ensuremath{\theta}$ to be 0.373, which is markedly distinct from its classical counterpart. Apart from the local order parameter, we also show that the entanglement entropy exhibits universal behavior in the short-time region. As the critical exponents in the early stage and in equilibrium are identical, we apply the short-time dynamics method to determine quantum critical properties. The method is generally applicable in both the Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson paradigm and topological phase transitions.
Quantum criticality within Dirac fermions harbors a plethora of exotic phenomena, attracting sustained attention in the past decades. Here, we explore the imaginary-time relaxation dynamics in a typical Dirac quantum criticality belonging to chiral Heisenberg universality class. Performing large-scale quantum Monte Carlo simulation, we unveil rich nonequilibrium critical phenomena from different initial states. In particular, we identify a nonstationary initial slip evolution characterized by an unconventional negative critical exponent θ=-0.84(4), corroborating the significant impact of fermionic critical fluctuations. Furthermore, we generalize the nonequilibrium scaling theory to incorporate both fermionic and bosonic critical modes, capturing their distinct relaxation behaviors. Armed with the scaling theory, we establish a new framework to investigate fermionic quantum criticality based on short-time dynamics, paving a promising avenue to fathoming quantum criticality in diverse fermionic systems with high efficiency.
Universality and scaling laws are hallmarks of equilibrium phase transitions and critical phenomena. However, extending these concepts to non-equilibrium systems is an outstanding challenge. Despite recent progress in the study of dynamical phases, the universality classes and scaling laws for non-equilibrium phenomena are far less understood than those in equilibrium. In this work, using a trapped-ion quantum simulator with single-spin resolution, we investigate the non-equilibrium nature of critical fluctuations following a quantum quench to the critical point. We probe the scaling of spin fluctuations after a series of quenches to the critical Hamiltonian of a long-range Ising model. With systems of up to 50 spins, we show that the amplitude and timescale of the post-quench fluctuations scale with system size with distinct universal critical exponents, depending on the quench protocol. While a generic quench can lead to thermal critical behavior, we find that a second quench from one critical state to another (i.e. a double quench) results in a new universal non-equilibrium behavior, identified by a set of critical exponents distinct from their equilibrium counterparts. Our results demonstrate the ability of quantum simulators to explore universal scaling beyond equilibrium.
We now begin our exposition of universal dynamic scaling behavior that emerges under non-equilibrium conditions. We are mainly concerned with the relaxational models A and B here, but also touch on other dynamic universality classes. First, we consider non-equilibrium critical relaxation from a disordered initial state, and compute the associated universal scaling exponents within the dynamic renormalization group framework. Related phenomena in the early-time regime, prior to reaching temporally translationally invariant asymptotics, are ‘aging’ and a non-equilibrium fluctuation-dissipation ratio, both of which have enjoyed prominence in the literature on ‘glassy’ kinetics. In this context, we derive the critical initial slip exponent for the order parameter, and briefly discuss interesting persistence properties. Second, we explore the long-time scaling laws in phase ordering kinetics and coarsening for the relaxational models, following a fast temperature ‘quench’ into the ordered phase, in systems with either non-conserved or conserved order parameters. Aside from a few explicit computations in the spherical model limit (wherein the number of order parameter components n → ∞), we largely employ phenomenological considerations and scaling theory, stressing the importance of topological defects for energy dissipation during coarsening. Next we address the question how violations of Einstein's relation that links relaxation coefficients and noise correlations might affect the asymptotic dynamic critical scaling behavior. Whereas in systems with non-conserved order parameter typically the equilibrium scaling laws are recovered in the vicinity of the critical point, in contrast genuinely novel universality classes may emerge in the case of a conserved parameter, provided it is driven out of equilibrium in a spatially anisotropic fashion.