Fate of dynamical quantum phase transitions from sudden to slow quench limit

Ralf Schützhold

Xiang Zhang, Fuxiang Li

Previous investigations of dynamical quantum phase transition (DQPT) have predominantly focused on sudden quench protocols. In this work, we systematically explore the fate of DQPT from the sudden to the slow quench regime. We establish that DQPT remains robust under slow quenching when the protocol crosses an equilibrium quantum phase transition. Conversely, we show that accidental DQPTs,which occur when the pre and post quench Hamiltonians reside in the same equilibrium phase, can be filtered out in the slow quench limit. This demonstrates that slow quenches can reveal the intrinsic connection between DQPT and equilibrium quantum phase transitions, thereby enabling DQPT to serve as a dynamical probe for identifying equilibrium quantum critical points. We illustrate these findings with examples from the XY chain, the Aubry-André model, and the trimer Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model.

Ranjan Modak, Debraj Rakshit

Much has been learned regarding dynamical quantum phase transition (DQPT) due to sudden quenches across quantum critical points in traditional quantum systems. However, not much has been explored when a system undergoes a localization-delocalization transition. Here, we study one-dimensional fermionic systems in presence of a quasiperiodic potential, which induces delocalization-localization transition even in one dimension. We show signatures of DQPT in the many-body dynamics, when quenching is performed between phases belonging to different universality classes. We investigate how the nonanalyticity in the dynamical free energy gets affected with filling fractions in the bare system and, further, study the fate of DQPT under interaction. Strikingly, whenever quenching is performed from the low-entangled localized phase to the high-entangled delocalized phase, our studies suggest an intimate relationship between DQPT and the rate of the entanglement growth: Faster growths of entanglement entropy ensures quicker manifestation of the nonanalyticities in the many-body dynamical free energy.

Pradip Kattel, Yicheng Tang, Natan Andrei

We investigate the nonequilibrium dynamics of a one-dimensional interacting system across a transition from a charge-density-wave (CDW) phase to a symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phase. Starting from a CDW initial state, we study both sudden quenches and slow ramps into the SPT regime. While the CDW order melts under both protocols, the fate of topological order is sharply different. Following a sudden quench, long-range SPT order does not emerge because the post-quench state contains a finite density of excitations above the topological ground state. In contrast, slow ramps allow the system to follow the instantaneous ground state away from the critical region, enabling the buildup of SPT order with deviations governed by Kibble-Zurek defect production. The dynamics is solvable via a unitary mapping to a quadratic fermionic Hamiltonian, allowing us to compute the Loschmidt echo, correlation functions, and string correlator. The Loschmidt rate function exhibits cusps signaling dynamical quantum phase transitions, while the correlation dynamics reveal the contrasting mechanisms governing quenches and ramps across the transition. These results demonstrate that entering the topological regime is not sufficient for the emergence of topological order; the decisive factor is the suppression of excitation production during the evolution.

Amit Dutta, G. Aeppli, Bikas K. Chakrabarti +3 more

Adolfo del Campo, Luis Pedro García-Pintos, Diego Tielas +1 more