Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

New Journal of Physics

Nonequilibrium dimension-raising phase transitions

Zhizhen Chen, Zi Cai

Published May 29, 2026• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract We propose a periodically driven system whose dimensionality is an emergent property that can be tunable, thus enables us to realize not only many-body phases with arbitrary dimensions, but also phase transitions, instead of crossovers, between phases with various dimensions. We study an interacting rotor model whose instantaneous Hamiltonian keeps the one-dimensional feature at any given time. Despite this, an emergent two-dimensional (2D) phase appears when the driving frequency exceeds a critical value, at which a dimension-raising phase transition takes place. We find that the nonequilibrium feature of the system could qualitatively change the finite temperature critical behavior of the emergent 2D phase and make it different from its equilibrium counterpart. A four-dimensional generalization and experimental realizations of the proposed model based on a programmable reconfiguration technique in optical tweezers setups have also been discussed.

DOI
10.1088/1367-2630/ae753b

Related papers

Dimension-raising phase transitions in driven magnets and condensates

Zhizhen Chen, Zi Cai

We propose a periodically driven system whose dimensionality is an emergent property that can be tunable, thus enables us to realize not only many-body phases with arbitrary dimensions, but also phase transitions, instead of crossovers, between phases with various dimensions. We study an interacting rotor model whose instantaneous Hamiltonian keeps the one-dimensional (1D) feature at any given time. Despite this, an emergent two-dimensional (2D) phase appears when the driving frequency exceeds a critical value, at which a dimension-raising phase transition takes place. We find that the nonequilibrium feature of the system could qualitatively change the finite temperature critical behavior of the emergent 2D phase and make it different from its equilibrium counterpart. A four-dimensional (4D) generalization and experimental realizations of the proposed model based on a programmable reconfiguration technique in optical tweezers setups have also been discussed.

arXiv:2503.09437•Mar 12, 2025•0 citations

Tunable topological phases in 2D materials via nonlocal three-body interactions

Farshad Azizi

We present a comprehensive theoretical framework to explore emergent quantum phases in two-dimensional (2D) materials driven by nonlocal three-body interactions. By formulating a generalized Hamiltonian with nonlocal exchange terms, we derive analytical expressions for the energy gap, wave functions, and critical phase transitions. Our model predicts a topological phase transition at critical interaction strengths, validated through extensive numerical simulations. We analyze the robustness of these phases against temperature, disorder, and external fields, offering insights into their stability and tunability. These findings advance our understanding of quantum phases in 2D systems, with potential applications in quantum computing and spintronics.

Journal of Physics Condensed Matter•Jul 25, 2025•3 citations

Thermal melting of discrete time crystals: A dynamical phase transition induced by thermal fluctuations

Mingxi Yue, Xiaoqin Yang, Zi Cai

The stability of a discrete time crystal against thermal fluctuations has been studied numerically by solving a stochastic Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation of a periodically driven classical system composed of interacting spins, each of which couples to a thermal bath. It is shown that in the thermodynamic limit, even though the long-range temporal crystalline order is stable at low temperature, it is melting above a critical temperature, at which the system experiences a nonequilibrium phase transition. The critical behaviors of the continuous phase transition have been systematically investigated, and it is shown that despite the genuine nonequilibrium feature of such a periodically driven system, its critical properties fall into the three-dimensional Ising universality class with a dynamical exponent ($z=2$) identical to that in the critical dynamics of a kinetic Ising model without driving.

arXiv:2110.15506•Physical review. B./Physical review. B•Mar 22, 2022•11 citations

Emergent equilibrium in many-body optical bistability

Michael Foss‐Feig, Pradeep Niroula, Jeremy T. Young +4 more

Many-body systems constructed of quantum-optical building blocks can now be realized in experimental platforms ranging from exciton-polariton fluids to ultracold Rydberg gases, establishing a fascinating interface between traditional many-body physics and the driven-dissipative, nonequilibrium setting of cavity QED. At this interface, the standard techniques and intuitions of both fields are called into question, obscuring issues as fundamental as the role of fluctuations, dimensionality, and symmetry on the nature of collective behavior and phase transitions. Here, we study the driven-dissipative Bose-Hubbard model, a minimal description of numerous atomic, optical, and solid-state systems in which particle loss is countered by coherent driving. Despite being a lattice version of optical bistability, a foundational and patently nonequilibrium model of cavity QED, the steady state possesses an emergent equilibrium description in terms of a classical Ising model. We establish this picture by making new connections between traditional techniques from many-body physics (functional integrals) and quantum optics (the system-size expansion). To lowest order in a controlled expansion---organized around the experimentally relevant limit of weak interactions---the full quantum dynamics reduces to nonequilibrium Langevin equations, which support a phase transition described by model A of the Hohenberg-Halperin classification. Numerical simulations of the Langevin equations corroborate this picture, revealing that canonical behavior associated with the Ising model manifests readily in simple experimental observables.

arXiv:1611.02284•Physical Review A•Apr 17, 2017•139 citations

Stability of Periodically Driven Topological Phases against Disorder

Oles Shtanko, Ramis Movassagh

In recent experiments, time-dependent periodic fields are used to create exotic topological phases of matter with potential applications ranging from quantum transport to quantum computing. These nonequilibrium states, at high driving frequencies, exhibit the quintessential robustness against local disorder similar to equilibrium topological phases. However, proving the existence of such topological phases in a general setting is an open problem. We propose a universal effective theory that leverages on modern free probability theory and ideas in random matrices to analytically predict the existence of the topological phase for finite driving frequencies and across a range of disorder. We find that, depending on the strength of disorder, such systems may be topological or trivial and that there is a transition between the two. In particular, the theory predicts the critical point for the transition between the two phases and provides the critical exponents. We corroborate our results by comparing them to exact diagonalizations for driven-disordered 1D Kitaev chain and 2D Bernevig-Hughes-Zhang models and find excellent agreement. This Letter may guide the experimental efforts for exploring topological phases.

arXiv:1803.08519•Physical Review Letters•Sep 20, 2018•19 citations

Controlled preparation of phases in two-dimensional time crystals

Arkadiusz Kuroś, Rick Mukherjee, Florian Mintert +1 more

The study of phases is useful for understanding novel states of matter. One such state of matter is time crystals which constitute periodically driven interacting many-body systems that spontaneously break time translation symmetry. Time crystals with arbitrary periods (and dimensions) can be realized using the model of Bose-Einstein condensates bouncing on periodically driven mirror(s). In this work, we identify the different phases that characterize the two-dimensional time crystal. By determining the optimal initial conditions and value of system parameters, we provide a practical route to realize a specific phase of the time crystal. These different phases can be mapped to the many-body states existing on a two-dimensional Hubbard lattice model, thereby opening up interesting opportunities for quantum simulation of many-body physics in time lattices.

arXiv:2107.13770•Physical Review Research•Dec 21, 2021•10 citations
Abstract We propose a periodically driven system whose dimensionality is an emergent property that can be tunable, thus enables us to realize not only many-body phases with arbitrary dimensions, but also phase transitions, instead of crossovers, between phases with various dimensions. We study an interacting rotor model whose instantaneous Hamiltonian keeps the one-dimensional feature at any given time. Despite this, an emergent two-dimensional (2D) phase appears when the driving frequency exceeds a critical value, at which a dimension-raising phase transition takes place. We find that the nonequilibrium feature of the system could qualitatively change the finite temperature critical behavior of the emergent 2D phase and make it different from its equilibrium counterpart. A four-dimensional generalization and experimental realizations of the proposed model based on a programmable reconfiguration technique in optical tweezers setups have also been discussed.
We propose a periodically driven system whose dimensionality is an emergent property that can be tunable, thus enables us to realize not only many-body phases with arbitrary dimensions, but also phase transitions, instead of crossovers, between phases with various dimensions. We study an interacting rotor model whose instantaneous Hamiltonian keeps the one-dimensional (1D) feature at any given time. Despite this, an emergent two-dimensional (2D) phase appears when the driving frequency exceeds a critical value, at which a dimension-raising phase transition takes place. We find that the nonequilibrium feature of the system could qualitatively change the finite temperature critical behavior of the emergent 2D phase and make it different from its equilibrium counterpart. A four-dimensional (4D) generalization and experimental realizations of the proposed model based on a programmable reconfiguration technique in optical tweezers setups have also been discussed.
We present a comprehensive theoretical framework to explore emergent quantum phases in two-dimensional (2D) materials driven by nonlocal three-body interactions. By formulating a generalized Hamiltonian with nonlocal exchange terms, we derive analytical expressions for the energy gap, wave functions, and critical phase transitions. Our model predicts a topological phase transition at critical interaction strengths, validated through extensive numerical simulations. We analyze the robustness of these phases against temperature, disorder, and external fields, offering insights into their stability and tunability. These findings advance our understanding of quantum phases in 2D systems, with potential applications in quantum computing and spintronics.
The stability of a discrete time crystal against thermal fluctuations has been studied numerically by solving a stochastic Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation of a periodically driven classical system composed of interacting spins, each of which couples to a thermal bath. It is shown that in the thermodynamic limit, even though the long-range temporal crystalline order is stable at low temperature, it is melting above a critical temperature, at which the system experiences a nonequilibrium phase transition. The critical behaviors of the continuous phase transition have been systematically investigated, and it is shown that despite the genuine nonequilibrium feature of such a periodically driven system, its critical properties fall into the three-dimensional Ising universality class with a dynamical exponent (z=2z=2z=2) identical to that in the critical dynamics of a kinetic Ising model without driving.
Many-body systems constructed of quantum-optical building blocks can now be realized in experimental platforms ranging from exciton-polariton fluids to ultracold Rydberg gases, establishing a fascinating interface between traditional many-body physics and the driven-dissipative, nonequilibrium setting of cavity QED. At this interface, the standard techniques and intuitions of both fields are called into question, obscuring issues as fundamental as the role of fluctuations, dimensionality, and symmetry on the nature of collective behavior and phase transitions. Here, we study the driven-dissipative Bose-Hubbard model, a minimal description of numerous atomic, optical, and solid-state systems in which particle loss is countered by coherent driving. Despite being a lattice version of optical bistability, a foundational and patently nonequilibrium model of cavity QED, the steady state possesses an emergent equilibrium description in terms of a classical Ising model. We establish this picture by making new connections between traditional techniques from many-body physics (functional integrals) and quantum optics (the system-size expansion). To lowest order in a controlled expansion---organized around the experimentally relevant limit of weak interactions---the full quantum dynamics reduces to nonequilibrium Langevin equations, which support a phase transition described by model A of the Hohenberg-Halperin classification. Numerical simulations of the Langevin equations corroborate this picture, revealing that canonical behavior associated with the Ising model manifests readily in simple experimental observables.
In recent experiments, time-dependent periodic fields are used to create exotic topological phases of matter with potential applications ranging from quantum transport to quantum computing. These nonequilibrium states, at high driving frequencies, exhibit the quintessential robustness against local disorder similar to equilibrium topological phases. However, proving the existence of such topological phases in a general setting is an open problem. We propose a universal effective theory that leverages on modern free probability theory and ideas in random matrices to analytically predict the existence of the topological phase for finite driving frequencies and across a range of disorder. We find that, depending on the strength of disorder, such systems may be topological or trivial and that there is a transition between the two. In particular, the theory predicts the critical point for the transition between the two phases and provides the critical exponents. We corroborate our results by comparing them to exact diagonalizations for driven-disordered 1D Kitaev chain and 2D Bernevig-Hughes-Zhang models and find excellent agreement. This Letter may guide the experimental efforts for exploring topological phases.
The study of phases is useful for understanding novel states of matter. One such state of matter is time crystals which constitute periodically driven interacting many-body systems that spontaneously break time translation symmetry. Time crystals with arbitrary periods (and dimensions) can be realized using the model of Bose-Einstein condensates bouncing on periodically driven mirror(s). In this work, we identify the different phases that characterize the two-dimensional time crystal. By determining the optimal initial conditions and value of system parameters, we provide a practical route to realize a specific phase of the time crystal. These different phases can be mapped to the many-body states existing on a two-dimensional Hubbard lattice model, thereby opening up interesting opportunities for quantum simulation of many-body physics in time lattices.