Dynamic trapping near a quantum critical point
Files
Accepted manuscript
Date
2015-02-26
Authors
Kolodrubetz, Michael
Katz, Emanuel
Polkovnikov, Anatoli
Version
Accepted manuscript
OA Version
Citation
Michael Kolodrubetz, Emanuel Katz, Anatoli Polkovnikov. 2015. "Dynamic trapping near a quantum critical point." PHYSICAL REVIEW B, Volume 91, Issue 5, pp. ? - ? (11). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.91.054306
Abstract
The study of dynamics in closed quantum systems has been revitalized by the emergence of experimental systems that are well-isolated from their environment. In this paper, we consider the closed-system dynamics of an archetypal model: spins driven across a second-order quantum critical point, which are traditionally described by the Kibble-Zurek mechanism. Imbuing the driving field with Newtonian dynamics, we find that the full closed system exhibits a robust new phenomenon—dynamic critical trapping—in which the system is self-trapped near the critical point due to efficient absorption of field kinetic energy by heating the quantum spins. We quantify limits in which this phenomenon can be observed and generalize these results by developing a Kibble-Zurek scaling theory that incorporates the dynamic field. Our findings can potentially be interesting in the context of early universe physics, where the role of the driving field is played by the inflaton or a modulus field.