Investigates the influence of spontaneous symmetry breaking on the dynamical cluster properties of correlation functions of a quantum statistical ensemble, that is clustering with respect to time and space-time. While the impact of phase transitions on pure space-like clustering, i.e. the static results, is well known, less seems to be known about the dynamical behaviour of response functions and susceptibilities. Precise statements are made which show that, contrary to the static case, the decay properties depend sensitively on the type of Goldstone excitation.
Investigates the influence of spontaneous symmetry breaking on the dynamical cluster properties of correlation functions of a quantum statistical ensemble, that is clustering with respect to time and space-time. While the impact of phase transitions on pure space-like clustering, i.e. the static results, is well known, less seems to be known about the dynamical behaviour of response functions and susceptibilities. Precise statements are made which show that, contrary to the static case, the decay properties depend sensitively on the type of Goldstone excitation.
Dynamical symmetries are of considerable importance in elucidating the complex behaviour of strongly interacting systems with many degrees of freedom. Paradigmatic examples are cooperative phenomena as they arise in phase transitions, where conformal invariance has led to enormous progress in equilibrium phase transitions, especially in two dimensions. Non-equilibrium phase transitions can arise in much larger portions of the parameter space than equilibrium phase transitions. The state of the art of recent attempts to generalise conformal invariance to a new generic symmetry, taking into account the different scaling behaviour of space and time, will be reviewed. Particular attention will be given to the causality properties as they follow for co-variant n-point functions. These are important for the physical identification of n-point functions as responses or correlators.
A semiphenomenological cluster theory is developed for dynamic critical properties, which is not limited to small deviations from equilibrium. Explicit numerical expressions are derived for linear and nonlinear response functions of the kinetic Ising model, which are compatible with dynamic scaling and recent calculations of dynamic critical exponents. An uniaxial magnet (or Ising system) and its critical fluctuations are approximated by a "droplet" or "cluster" model, the critical part of the free energy being the sum of the contributions of clusters each containing l spins. These clusters are assumed to grow and shrink with a phenomenological rate $\ensuremath{\propto}{l}^{r}$, $r\ensuremath{\approx}1$. These rates are compatible with direct Monte Carlo simulations in two and three dimensions. The resulting cluster reaction and diffusion equation is an approximation to the master equation of the Glauber kinetic Ising model (in which the magnetization is not conserved), and has the same structure as used in nucleation theories. In linear response to space- and time-dependent fields the relaxation times of energy and magnetization are expressed as triple integrals. All relaxation times diverge as ${|1\ensuremath{-}\frac{T}{{T}_{c}}|}^{\ensuremath{-}(2\ensuremath{-}r)\ensuremath{\beta}\ensuremath{\delta}}$. This treatment is consistent with dynamic scaling and universality, and is more general than the conventional (Van Hove) theory of critical slowing down. Also the (smaller) exponents found for the response to localized variations ("autocorrelation functions") agree with dynamic scaling. The wave-vector dependence of the relaxation times arises from the static correlation function only, and not from the cluster diffusion term. If the equilibrium cluster distribution is assumed to be that of the Fisher droplet model, and for special values of r, the (discrete) eigenvalue spectrum and eigenfunctions (generalized Laguerre polynomials) of the cluster reaction equation are found explicitly. Relaxation functions and frequency-dependent susceptibilities are expressed by hypergeometric series, even in the case of nonlinear response. At the critical point, the spectrum becomes continuous and the exponential decay for large times is replaced by power-law behavior. Similarly, it is found that dynamic scaling applies also to the nucleation rate for this model, and the scaling exponent of the nucleation rate is $2\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\alpha}+(2\ensuremath{-}r)\ensuremath{\beta}\ensuremath{\delta}$.
In many statistical models (but not all) one can introduce a local order parameter associated with a finite, discrete or continuous group of symmetries. The higher the temperature, the more important the fluctuations. One expects therefore in general to find pure phases at low temperature, with a reduced symmetry group, as a consequence of a nonvanishing expectation value of some order parameter. This situation is referred to as spontaneous symmetry breaking. A typical example is the classical Heisenberg model describing short-range interactions of an n -vector field ϕ, with an orthogonal O(n) symmetry group. For n = 1, 2, 3, this can account for a Curie transition from a ferromagnetic to a paramagnetic phase. In particle physics the σ-model of Gell-Mann and Levy involves a spontaneous symmetry breaking of chiral invariance, typical of massless spinor fields, accompanied by soft excitation modes, the so-called Goldstone modes, associated to a π-meson triplet and leading to a nonvanishing dynamical fermion mass. In a first and rather crude approximation, one can analyse the action itself or an effective one incorporating some fluctuation effects, and look for extrema as a function of field configurations, generally translationally invariant. The remaining fluctuations are then treated perturbatively. This mean field method is common to a great variety of domains, ranging from the Clausius–Mossotti formula for a polarizable medium, the Weiss molecular field in the theory of magnetism, Landau's effective action in various statistical contexts, the effective medium approximation in disordered systems, the Hartree–Fock method in atomic or many-body physics, to the semiclassical approximation in the study of quantum systems.
The static response of a canonical quantum ensemble to linear changes in its Hamiltonian is the basis for the formulation of a phase space with classical-like properties. Classical-like time-dependent correlation functions provide an exact representation of Kubo quantum correlation functions. The formulation of this phase space allows for (i) a deep understanding of dynamical approximations previously derived within the path integral formulation of statistical mechanics and (ii) improved dynamical approaches.
During recent years the interest to dynamics of quantum systems has grown considerably. Quantum many body systems out of equilibrium often manifest behavior, different from the one predicted by standard statistical mechanics and thermodynamics in equilibrium. Since the dynamics of a many body quantum system typically involve many excited eigenstates, with a non-thermal distribution, the time evolution of such a system provides an unique way for investigation of non-equilibrium quantum statistical mechanics. Last decade such new subjects like quantum quenches, thermalization, pre-thermalization, equilibration, generalized Gibbs ensemble, etc. are among the most attractive topics of investigation in modern quantum physics. One of the most interesting themes in the study of dynamics of quantum many-body systems out of equilibrium is connected with the recently proposed important concept of dynamical quantum phase transitions. During the last few years a great progress has been achieved in studying of those singularities in the time dependence of characteristics of quantum mechanical systems, in particular, in understanding how the quantum critical points of equilibrium thermodynamics affect their dynamical properties. Dynamical quantum phase transitions reveal universality, scaling, connection to the topology, and many other interesting features. Here we review the recent achievements of this quickly developing part of low temperature quantum physics. The study of dynamical quantum phase transitions is especially important in context of their connection to the problem of the modern theory of quantum information, where namely non-equilibrium dynamics of many-body quantum system plays the major role.
During recent years the interest to dynamics of quantum systems has grown considerably. Quantum many body systems out of equilibrium often manifest behavior, different from the one predicted by standard statistical mechanics and thermodynamics in equilibrium. Since the dynamics of a many-body quantum system typically involve many excited eigenstates, with a non-thermal distribution, the time evolution of such a system provides an unique way for investigation of non-equilibrium quantum statistical mechanics. Last decade such new subjects like quantum quenches, thermalization, pre-thermalization, equilibration, generalized Gibbs ensemble, etc. are among the most attractive topics of investigation in modern quantum physics. One of the most interesting themes in the study of dynamics of quantum many-body systems out of equilibrium is connected with the recently proposed important concept of dynamical quantum phase transitions. During the last few years a great progress has been achieved in studying of those singularities in the time dependence of characteristics of quantum mechanical systems, in particular, in understanding how the quantum critical points of equilibrium thermodynamics affect their dynamical properties. Dynamical quantum phase transitions reveal universality, scaling, connection to the topology, and many other interesting features. Here we review the recent achievements of this quickly developing part of low-temperature quantum physics. The study of dynamical quantum phase transitions is especially important in context of their connection to the problem of the modern theory of quantum information, where namely non-equilibrium dynamics of many-body quantum system plays the major role.