Perturbative Expansion in the Non-equilibrium Formalism

R. Fauser, H.H. Wolter

Revista, Zen, PHYSICS, 10

Non-equilibrium quantum phase transitions (NEQPTs) represent a frontier in condensed matter physics and quantum statistical mechanics, characterized by abrupt changes in the steady-state properties of open quantum systems or by critical dynamics in closed systems far from thermal equilibrium. Unlike their equilibrium counterparts, NEQPTs are profoundly influenced by driving forces, dissipation, and the specific dynamics of quantum quenches. Understanding these complex phenomena requires theoretical frameworks that can accurately capture both strong correlations and real-time evolution in the presence of environmental interactions. Traditional theoretical tools, such as purely variational methods or purely perturbative expansions, often fall short when dealing with the intricate interplay of coherent and incoherent processes characteristic of NEQPTs. Variational approaches, while adept at capturing ground state properties and short-time dynamics within a chosen ansatz, struggle with long-time thermalization and the inclusion of subtle quantum and thermal fluctuations beyond the variational manifold. Conversely, perturbative methods, particularly those based on the Keldysh formalism, can systematically include interactions and environmental effects but typically rely on a small expansion parameter, limiting their applicability to weakly interacting or weakly driven regimes. This paper proposes a novel "Variational-Perturbative Unification" framework designed to overcome these limitations. The core idea is to combine the strengths of both approaches: using a variational ansatz to capture the dominant non-equilibrium many-body state or dynamics, and then systematically incorporating quantum and thermal fluctuations, as well as dissipation, through a perturbative expansion around this optimized variational state. This hybrid methodology aims to provide a robust and accurate description of NEQPTs, offering insights into critical exponents, universality classes, and the dynamic pathways to steady states. We explore the theoretical underpinnings of this unified approach, discuss its potential applications to driven-dissipative systems and quantum quenches, and highlight how it can reveal novel non-equilibrium phenomena.

R. Fauser, H.H. Wolter

Joao Braga De Goes E Vasconcellos

In the first part, we analyse the properties of an interacting, massive scalar field in an equilibrium state over Minkowski spacetime. We compare the known real- and imaginary-time formalisms of Thermal Field Theory with the recent construction by Fredenhagen and Lindner of a KMS state for perturbative interacting theories in the context of perturbative Algebraic Quantum Field Theory, in the adiabatic limit. In particular, we show that the construction of Fredenhagen and Lindner reduces to the real-time formalism only if the cocycle which intertwines between the free and interacting dynamics can be neglected. Furthermore, the Fredenhagen and Lindner construction reduces to the ordinary imaginary-time formalism if one considers the expectation value of translation invariant observables. We thus conclude that a complete description of thermal equilibrium for interacting scalar fields is generally obtained only by means of the state constructed by Fredenhagen and Lindner, which combines both formalisms of Thermal Field Theory. We also discuss the properties of the expansion of the Fredenhagen and Lindner construction in terms of Feynman diagrams in the adiabatic limit. We finally provide examples showing that the real- and the imaginary-time formalisms fail to describe thermal equilibrium already at first or second order in perturbation theory. The results presented in this part are summarized in (BDP19). In the second part, we discuss the so-called secular effects, characterized by the appearance of polynomial divergences in the large time limit of truncated perturbative expansions of expectation values in Quantum Field Theory. We show that, although such effect is an artifact of perturbation theory, and thus may not be obtained via exactly solving the dynamical equation if possible, they do not represent the breakdown of perturbation theory itself. Instead, we show that the polynomial divergences follow from a bad choice of state, and we present examples of states which produce expectation values whose perturbative expansion does not present secular effects. In particular, we point that it is possible to obtain non time-divergent perturbative expressions from thermal equilibrium states for the interacting theory. This last part is based on a research project which, by the time this thesis was written, had not been concluded yet.

Ferdinando Mancini

Omar Benhar A

I discuss the derivation of an effective interaction, obtained from a realistic nuclear Hamiltonian using the formalism of Correlated Basis Functions (CBF) and the cluster expansion technique. Unlike the bare nucleon-nucleon potential, this effective interaction is well behaved, and suitable for carrying out perturbative calculations of a variety of equilibrium and non-equilibrium properties of nuclear matter using the basis of eigenstates of the non interacting system. The robustness and accuracy of the proposed approach are thoroughly examined, comparing the results of its application to the Femi hard-sphere system to the predictions of low-density expansions. Selected properties of nuclear matter, at both zero and nonzero temperatures, are reported and discussed.