Spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB) in statistical physics is a macroscopic collective phenomenon. For the paradigmatic Q-state Potts model it means a transition from the disordered color-symmetric phase to an ordered phase in which one color dominates. Existing mean field theories imply that SSB in the microcanonical statistical ensemble (with energy being the control parameter) should be a continuous process. Here we study microcanonical SSB on the random-graph Potts model, and discover that the entropy is a kinked function of energy. This kink leads to a discontinuous phase transition at certain energy density value, characterized by a jump in the density of the dominant color and a jump in the microcanonical temperature. This discontinuous SSB in random graphs is confirmed by microcanonical Monte Carlo simulations, and it is also observed in bond-diluted finite-size lattice systems.Spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB) in statistical physics is a macroscopic collective phenomenon. For the paradigmatic Q-state Potts model it means a transition from the disordered color-symmetric phase to an ordered phase in which one color dominates. Existing mean field theories imply that SSB in the microcanonical statistical ensemble (with energy being the control parameter) should be a continuous process. Here we study microcanonical SSB on the random-graph Potts model, and discover that the entropy is a kinked function of energy. This kink leads to a discontinuous phase transition at certain energy density value, characterized by a jump in the density of the dominant color and a jump in the microcanonical temperature. This discontinuous SSB in random graphs is confirmed by microcanonical Monte Carlo simulations, and it is also observed in bond-diluted finite-size lattice systems.

arXiv:1901.00125Jan 1, 20190 citations

Spontaneous symmetry breaking and critical phenomena

A.S. Shumovskij, Vyacheslav I. Yukalov

Jan 1, 19831 citation

Spontaneous symmetry breaking, spectral statistics, and the ramp

Michael Winer, Brian G. Swingle

Ensembles of quantum chaotic systems are expected to exhibit energy eigenvalues with random-matrix-like level repulsion between pairs of energies separated by less than the inverse Thouless time. Recent research has shown that exact and approximate global symmetries of a system have clear signatures in these spectral statistics, enhancing the spectral form factor or correspondingly weakening level repulsion. This paper extends those results to the case of spontaneous symmetry breaking and shows that, surprisingly, spontaneously breaking a symmetry further enhances the spectral form factor. For both random-matrix-theory--inspired toy models and models where the symmetry breaking has a description in terms of fluctuating hydrodynamics, we obtain formulas for this enhancement for arbitrary symmetry breaking patterns, including broken Abelian symmetries ${Z}_{n}$ and $U(1)$ and partially or fully broken non-Abelian symmetries.Ensembles of quantum chaotic systems are expected to exhibit energy eigenvalues with random-matrix-like level repulsion between pairs of energies separated by less than the inverse Thouless time. Recent research has shown that exact and approximate global symmetries of a system have clear signatures in these spectral statistics, enhancing the spectral form factor or correspondingly weakening level repulsion. This paper extends those results to the case of spontaneous symmetry breaking and shows that, surprisingly, spontaneously breaking a symmetry further enhances the spectral form factor. For both random-matrix-theory--inspired toy models and models where the symmetry breaking has a description in terms of fluctuating hydrodynamics, we obtain formulas for this enhancement for arbitrary symmetry breaking patterns, including broken Abelian symmetries ${Z}_{n}$ and $U(1)$ and partially or fully broken non-Abelian symmetries.

arXiv:2106.07674Physical review. B./Physical review. BMar 24, 20227 citations

Spontaneously broken symmetries

Heide Narnhofer, Walter E Thirring

Springer eBooksApr 6, 20082 citations

Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking in a Coherently Driven Nanophotonic Bose-Hubbard Dimer

Bruno Garbin, Andrus Giraldo, K. J. H. Peters +7 more

We report on the first experimental observation of spontaneous mirror symmetry breaking (SSB) in coherently driven-dissipative coupled optical cavities. SSB is observed as the breaking of the spatial or mirror Z_{2} symmetry between two symmetrically pumped and evanescently coupled photonic crystal nanocavities, and manifests itself as random intensity localization in one of the two cavities. We show that, in a system featuring repulsive boson interactions (U>0), the observation of a pure pitchfork bifurcation requires negative photon hopping energies (J<0), which we have realized in our photonic crystal molecule. SSB is observed over a wide range of the two-dimensional parameter space of driving intensity and detuning, where we also find a region that exhibits bistable symmetric behavior. Our results pave the way for the experimental study of limit cycles and deterministic chaos arising from SSB, as well as the study of nonclassical photon correlations close to SSB transitions.We report on the first experimental observation of spontaneous mirror symmetry breaking (SSB) in coherently driven-dissipative coupled optical cavities. SSB is observed as the breaking of the spatial or mirror Z_{2} symmetry between two symmetrically pumped and evanescently coupled photonic crystal nanocavities, and manifests itself as random intensity localization in one of the two cavities. We show that, in a system featuring repulsive boson interactions (U>0), the observation of a pure pitchfork bifurcation requires negative photon hopping energies (J<0), which we have realized in our photonic crystal molecule. SSB is observed over a wide range of the two-dimensional parameter space of driving intensity and detuning, where we also find a region that exhibits bistable symmetric behavior. Our results pave the way for the experimental study of limit cycles and deterministic chaos arising from SSB, as well as the study of nonclassical photon correlations close to SSB transitions.

arXiv:2108.01655Physical Review LettersFeb 4, 202234 citations

{Z}_{n}

and

U(1)

and partially or fully broken non-Abelian symmetries.