We present a theory of nonequilibrium quantum criticality in a coupled bilayer system of itinerant electron magnets. The model studied consists of the first layer subjected to an in-plane current and open to an external substrate. The second layer is subject to no direct external drive, but couples to the first layer via short-ranged spin-exchange interaction. No particle exchange is assumed between the layers. Starting from a microscopic fermionic model, we derive an effective action in terms of two coupled bosonic fields which are related to the magnetization fluctuations of the two layers. When there is no interlayer coupling, the two bosonic modes possess different dynamical critical exponents
z with
z=2 (z=3) for the first (second) layer. This results in multiscale quantum criticality in the coupled system. It is shown that the linear coupling between the two fields leads to a low-energy fixed point characterized by the larger dynamical critical exponent
z=3. We compute the correlation length in the quantum disordered and quantum critical regimes for both the nonequilibrium case and in thermal equilibrium where the whole system is held at a common temperature
T. We identify an effective temperature scale
Teff with which we define a quantum-to-classical crossover that is in exact analogy with the thermal equilibrium case but with
T replaced by
Teff. However, we find that the leading correction to the correlation length in the quantum critical regime scales differently with respect to
T and
Teff. We also note that the current in the lower layer generates a drift of the magnetization fluctuations, manifesting itself as a parity-breaking contribution to the effective action of the bosonic modes. In this sense, the nonequilibrium drive in this system plays a role which is distinct from
T in the thermal equilibrium case. We also derive the stochastic dynamics obeyed by the critical fluctuations in the quantum critical regime and find that they do not fall into the previously identified dynamical universality classes.
We obtain the steady-state phase diagram of a transverse-field XY spin chain coupled at its ends to magnetic reservoirs held at different magnetic potentials. In the long-time limit, the magnetization bias across the system generates a current-carrying nonequilibrium steady state. We characterize the different nonequilibrium phases as functions of the chain's parameters and magnetic potentials, in terms of their correlation functions and entanglement content. The mixed-order transition, previously observed for the case of a transverse-field Ising chain, is established to emerge as a generic feature of a wider class of out-of-equilibrium problems. The critical exponents associated with this universality class are determined analytically. Results are also contrasted with those obtained in the limit of Markovian reservoirs. Our findings should prove helpful in establishing the properties of nonequilibrium phases and phase transitions of extended open quantum systems.
Quantum theory provides an extensive framework for the description of the equilibrium properties of quantum matter. Yet experiments in quantum simulators have now opened up a route towards the generation of quantum states beyond this equilibrium paradigm. While these states promise to show properties not constrained by equilibrium principles, such as the equal a priori probability of the microcanonical ensemble, identifying the general properties of nonequilibrium quantum dynamics remains a major challenge, especially in view of the lack of conventional concepts such as free energies. The theory of dynamical quantum phase transitions attempts to identify such general principles by lifting the concept of phase transitions to coherent quantum real-time evolution. This review provides a pedagogical introduction to this field. Starting from the general setting of nonequilibrium dynamics in closed quantum many-body systems, we give the definition of dynamical quantum phase transitions as phase transitions in time with physical quantities becoming nonanalytic at critical times. We summarize the achieved theoretical advances as well as the first experimental observations, and furthermore provide an outlook to major open questions as well as future directions of research.
We theoretically study steady-state nonequilibrium properties of various open electronic systems subject to time-independent external bias. A charge current is established across each system by\nits coupling to two external particle reservoirs maintained at different chemical potentials. We discuss the impact of intra-reservoir electron correlations on transport, and examine how reservoir-generated dissipation and nonequilibrium-induced decoherence influence these systems.\n\n\nThe effect of intra-lead electron interactions on transport is investigated in the context of a phonon-coupled single molecule transistor driven by Luttinger-liquid source and drain leads. The semi-classical master equation approach is used to compute current and noise characteristics of the device for various interaction strengths in the leads. The results suggest the possibility of tuning the Fano factor of the device using intra-lead electron interactions.\n\n\nThe Keldysh path integral formalism is used to theoretically formulate models that describe the remaining open nonequilibrium systems. We consider voltage-induced electron-phonon scattering and electron mass enhancement due to phonons in a model metallic system. The possibility of adjusting the acoustic phonon velocity\nand the Thomas-Fermi screening length with external voltage is discussed. The effects of dissipation is investigated in an open BCS superconducting graphene, where the dissipation-induced rearrangement of its ground state from the BCS superconductor to the Fermi liquid is examined. The results theoretically infer prospects for a voltage-tuned metal-to-BCS quantum phase transition in graphene. Lastly, we develop a theory of nonequilibrium quantum criticality in open itinerant Ising and Heisenberg magnets. Both departures from equilibrium at conventional quantum critical points and the physics of phase transitions induced by the nonequilibrium drive are analyzed.