Nonlinear Response of Strongly Interacting Quantum Systems in Nonequilibrium

Michael Knap, Wolfgang von der Linden, Enrico Arrigoni

A numerical approach is presented that allows to compute nonequilibrium steady-state properties of strongly correlated quantum many-body systems. The method is imbedded in the Keldysh Green's function formalism and is based upon the idea of the variational cluster approach as far as the treatment of strong correlations is concerned. It appears that the variational aspect is crucial as it allows for a suitable optimization of a ``reference'' system to the nonequilibrium target state. The approach is neither perturbative in the many-body interaction nor in the field, that drives the system out of equilibrium, and it allows to study strong perturbations and nonlinear responses of systems in which also the correlated region is spatially extended. We apply the presented approach to nonlinear transport across a strongly correlated quantum wire described by the fermionic Hubbard model. We illustrate how the method bridges to cluster dynamical mean-field theory upon coupling two baths containing an increasing number of uncorrelated sites.

P. K. Shukla, Bengt Eliasson

G. Flores-Hidalgo, Rudnei O. Ramos

Volodymyr Turkowski, James K. Freericks

The nonlinear response of noninteracting (Bloch) electrons is examined within a nonequilibrium formalism on the infinite-dimensional hypercubic lattice. We examine the effects of a spatially uniform, but time-varying electric field (ignoring magnetic-field effects). The electronic Green's functions, Wigner density of states, and time-varying current are all determined and analyzed. We study both constant and pulsed electric fields, focusing on the transient response region and on local properties. These noninteracting Green's functions are an important input into nonequilibrium dynamical mean field theory for the nonlinear response of strongly correlated electrons.

V. V. Mityugov

Giulia Del Pace, Diego Hernández-Rajkov, Vijay Pal Singh +7 more

Driven many-body systems exhibit diverse and complex dynamical behaviors. Here, we report the observation of Shapiro steps in periodically driven Josephson junctions between strongly interacting Fermi superfluids of ultracold atoms. The height and the width of the observed quantized plateaus in the current-potential characteristics mirror the external drive frequency and the junction nonlinear response. Direct measurements of the current-phase relationship showcase how Shapiro steps arise from the synchronization between the relative phase of the two reservoirs and the external drive. Such a mechanism is further supported by the detection of periodic phase-slippage processes, in the form of vortex-antivortex pairs. Our results are corroborated by a circuital model and numerical simulations. Our work may open prospects for studying emergent nonequilibrium dynamics in quantum many-body systems under external drives.