Connecting dynamical quantum phase transitions and topological steady-state transitions by tuning the energy gap

Abstract

Considerable theoretical and experimental efforts have been devoted to the quench dynamics, in particular, the dynamical quantum phase transition (DQPT) and the steady-state transition. These developments have motivated us to study the quench dynamics of the topological systems, from which we find the connection between these two transitions, that is, the DQPT, accompanied by a nonanalytic behavior as a function of time, always merges into a steady-state transition signaled by the nonanalyticity of observables in the steady limit. As the characteristic time of the DQPT diverges, it exhibits universal scaling behavior, which is related to the scaling behavior at the corresponding steady-state transition.