arXiv subjects

P. I. Hurtado

Publications and source records attributed to P. I. Hurtado.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Taming nonlinear energy diffusion: The case of time-crystal energy condensates

We study a bulk-driven nonlinear variant of the Kipnis-Marchioro-Presutti model of stochastic energy diffusion in which local collisions are biased to induce a net energy flow, resembling the effect of an external field. Starting from the microscopic master equation, we derive the hydrodynamic description of the driven system via a local equilibrium approximation, obtaining explicit expressions for the energy current and the associated diffusivity and mobility transport coefficients, which are nonlinear functions of the local energy density. We test our findings in kinetic Monte Carlo simulations of the model and, as a proof of concept, we demonstrate the versatility of this driving mechanism to control nonlinear energy transport by inducing time-crystalline phases. In particular, we show that appropriately designed packing fields induce the spontaneous formation of traveling energy condensates, exhibiting robust long-range temporal order reminiscent of continuous time crystals. Our results provide a simple yet powerful framework to study bulk-driven nonlinear energy diffusion in stochastic many-body systems, offering a bridge between microscopic dynamics, macroscopic transport, and controlled spatiotemporal order.

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arXiv2026

Squeezing light to get nonclassical work in quantum engines

Light can be squeezed by reducing the quantum uncertainty of the electric field for some phases. We show how to use this purely quantum effect to extract net mechanical work from radiation pressure in a simple quantum photon engine. Along the way, we demonstrate that the standard definition of work in quantum systems does not capture the extractable mechanical work, as it does not reflect the energy leaked to these quantum degrees of freedom. We use these results to design an Otto engine able to produce mechanical work from squeezing baths, in the absence of a thermal gradient. Interestingly, while work extraction from squeezing generally improves for low temperatures, there exists a nontrivial squeezing-dependent temperature for which work production is maximal, demonstrating the complex interplay between thermal and squeezing effects.

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arXiv2025

Scaling laws for stationary Navier-Stokes-Fourier flows and the unreasonable effectiveness of hydrodynamics at the molecular level

Hydrodynamics provides a universal description of the emergent collective dynamics of vastly different many-body systems, based solely on their symmetries and conservation laws. Here we harness this universality, encoded in the Navier-Stokes-Fourier (NSF) equations, to find general scaling laws for the stationary uniaxial solutions of the compressible NSF problem far from equilibrium. We show for general transport coefficients that the steady density and temperature fields are functions of the pressure and a kinetic field that quantifies the quadratic excess velocity relative to the ratio of heat flux and shear stress. This kinetic field obeys in turn a spatial scaling law controlled by pressure and stress, which is inherited by the stationary density and temperature fields. We develop a scaling approach to measure the associated master curves, and confirm our predictions through compelling data collapses in large-scale molecular dynamics simulations of paradigmatic model fluids. Interestingly, the robustness of the scaling laws in the face of significant finite-size effects reveals the surprising accuracy of NSF equations in describing molecular-scale stationary flows. Overall, these scaling laws provide a novel characterization of stationary states in driven fluids.

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arXiv2025

Critical behavior of a programmable time-crystal lattice gas

Time crystals are many-body systems whose ground state spontaneously breaks time-translation symmetry and thus exhibits long-range spatiotemporal order and robust periodic motion. Using hydrodynamics, we have recently shown how an $m$th-order external packing field coupled to density fluctuations in driven diffusive fluids can induce the spontaneous emergence of time-crystalline order in the form of $m$ rotating condensates, which can be further controlled and modulated. Here we analyze this phenomenon at the microscopic level in a paradigmatic model of particle diffusion under exclusion interactions, a generalization of the weakly asymmetric simple exclusion process with a configuration-dependent field called the time-crystal lattice gas. Using extensive Monte Carlo simulations, we characterize the nonequilibrium phase transition to these complex time-crystal phases for different values of $m$, including the order parameter, the susceptibility and the Binder cumulant, from which we measure the critical exponents, which turn out to be within the Kuramoto universality class for oscillator synchronization. We also elucidate the condensates density profiles and velocities, confirming along the way a scaling property predicted for the higher-order condensate shapes in terms of first-order ones, discussing also novel possibilities for this promising route to time crystals.

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arXiv2025

Programmable time crystals from higher-order packing fields

Time crystals are many-body systems that spontaneously break time-translation symmetry, and thus exhibit long-range spatiotemporal order and robust periodic motion. Recent results have demonstrated how to build time-crystal phases in driven diffusive fluids using an external packing field coupled to density fluctuations. Here we exploit this mechanism to engineer and control on-demand custom continuous time crystals characterized by an arbitrary number of rotating condensates, which can be further enhanced with higher-order modes. We elucidate the underlying critical point, as well as general properties of the condensates density profiles and velocities, demonstrating a scaling property of higher-order traveling condensates in terms of first-order ones. We illustrate our findings by solving the hydrodynamic equations for various paradigmatic driven diffusive systems, obtaining along the way a number of remarkable results, e.g. the possibility of explosive time crystal phases characterized by an abrupt, first-order-type transition. Overall, these results demonstrate the versatility and broad possibilities of this promising route to time crystals.

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arXiv2023

Spectral signatures of symmetry-breaking dynamical phase transitions

Large deviation theory provides the framework to study the probability of rare fluctuations of time-averaged observables, opening new avenues of research in nonequilibrium physics. One of the most appealing results within this context are dynamical phase transitions (DPTs), which might occur at the level of trajectories in order to maximize the probability of sustaining a rare event. While the Macroscopic Fluctuation Theory has underpinned much recent progress on the understanding of symmetry-breaking DPTs in driven diffusive systems, their microscopic characterization is still challenging. In this work we shed light on the general spectral mechanism giving rise to continuous DPTs not only for driven diffusive systems, but for any jump process in which a discrete $\mathbb{Z}_n$ symmetry is broken. By means of a symmetry-aided spectral analysis of the Doob-transformed dynamics, we provide the conditions whereby symmetry-breaking DPTs might emerge and how the different dynamical phases arise from the specific structure of the degenerate eigenvectors. We show explicitly how all symmetry-breaking features are encoded in the subleading eigenvectors of the degenerate manifold. Moreover, by partitioning configuration space into equivalence classes according to a proper order parameter, we achieve a substantial dimensional reduction which allows for the quantitative characterization of the spectral fingerprints of DPTs. We illustrate our predictions in three paradigmatic many-body systems: (i) the 1D boundary-driven weakly asymmetric exclusion process (WASEP), which exhibits a particle-hole symmetry-breaking DPT for current fluctuations, (ii) the $3$ and $4$-state Potts model, which displays discrete rotational symmetry-breaking DPT for energy fluctuations, and (iii) the closed WASEP which presents a continuous symmetry-breaking DPT to a time-crystal phase characterized by a rotating condensate.

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arXiv2022

Molecular hints of two-step transition to convective flow via streamline percolation

Convection is a key transport phenomenon important in many different areas, from hydrodynamics and ocean circulation to planetary atmospheres or stellar physics. However its microscopic understanding still remains challenging. Here we numerically investigate the onset of convective flow in a compressible (non-Oberbeck-Boussinesq) hard disk fluid under a temperature gradient in a gravitational field. We uncover a surprising two-step transition scenario with two different critical temperatures. When the bottom plate temperature reaches a first threshold, convection kicks in (as shown by a structured velocity field) but gravity results in hindered heat transport as compared to the gravity-free case. It is at a second (higher) temperature that a percolation transition of advection zones connecting the hot and cold plates triggers efficient convective heat transport. Interestingly, this novel picture for the convection instability opens the door to unknown piecewise-continuous solutions to the Navier-Stokes equations.

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arXiv2021

Coupled activity-current fluctuations in open quantum systems under strong symmetries

Strong symmetries in open quantum systems lead to broken ergodicity and the emergence of multiple degenerate steady states. From a quantum jump (trajectory) perspective, the appearance of multiple steady states is related to underlying dynamical phase transitions (DPTs) at the fluctuating level, leading to a dynamical coexistence of different transport channels classified by symmetry. In this paper, we investigate how strong symmetries affect both the transport properties and the activity patterns of a particular class of Markovian open quantum system, a three-qubit model under the action of a magnetic field and in contact with a thermal bath. We find a pair of twin DPTs in exciton current statistics, induced by the strong symmetry and related by time reversibility, where a zero-current exchange-antisymmetric phase coexists with a symmetric phase of negative exciton current. On the other hand, the activity statistics exhibits a single DPT where the symmetric and antisymmetric phases of different but nonzero activities dynamically coexists. The presence of a strong symmetry under non-equilibrium conditions implies non-analyticities in the dynamical free energy in the dual activity-current plane, including an activity-driven current lockdown phase for activities below some critical threshold. Finally, we also study the effect of a symmetry-breaking, ergodicity-restoring dephasing channel on the coupled activity-current statistics for this model. Interestingly, we observe that while this dephasing noise destroys the symmetry-induced DPTs, the underlying topological symmetry leaves a dynamical fingerprint in the form of intermittent, bursty on/off dynamics between the different symmetry sectors.

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arXiv2020

Building continuous time crystals from rare events

Symmetry-breaking dynamical phase transitions (DPTs) abound in the fluctuations of nonequilibrium systems. Here we show that the spectral features of a particular class of DPTs exhibit the fingerprints of the recently discovered time-crystal phase of matter. Using Doob's transform as a tool, we provide a mechanism to build time-crystal generators from the rare event statistics of some driven diffusive systems. An analysis of the Doob's smart field in terms of the order parameter of the transition then leads to the time-crystal exclusion process (tcEP), a stochastic lattice gas subject to an external packing field which presents a clear-cut steady-state phase transition to a time-crystalline phase which breaks continuous time-translation symmetry and displays rigidity and long-range spatio-temporal order. A hydrodynamic analysis of the tcEP transition uncovers striking similarities, but also key differences, with the Kuramoto synchronization transition. Possible experimental realizations of the tcEP are also discussed.

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arXiv2019

The kinetic exclusion process: a tale of two fields

We introduce a general class of stochastic lattice gas models, and derive their fluctuating hydrodynamics description in the large size limit under a local equilibrium hypothesis. The model consists in energetic particles on a lattice subject to exclusion interactions, which move and collide stochastically with energy-dependent rates. The resulting fluctuating hydrodynamics equations exhibit nonlinear coupled particle and energy transport, including particle currents due to temperature gradients (Soret effect) and energy flow due to concentration gradients (Dufour effect). The microscopic dynamical complexity is condensed in just two matrices of transport coefficients: the diffusivity matrix (or equivalently the Onsager matrix) generalizing Fick-Fourier's law, and the mobility matrix controlling current fluctuations. Both transport coefficients are coupled via a fluctuation-dissipation theorem, suggesting that the noise terms affecting the local currents have Gaussian properties. We further prove the positivity of entropy production in terms of the microscopic dynamics. The so-called kinetic exclusion process has as limiting cases two of the most paradigmatic models of nonequilibrium physics, namely the symmetric simple exclusion process of particle diffusion and the Kipnis-Marchioro-Presutti model of heat flow, making it the ideal testbed where to further develop modern theories of nonequilibrium behavior.

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arXiv2019

Infinite family of universal profiles for heat current statistics in Fourier's law

Using tools from large deviation theory, we study fluctuations of the heat current in a model of $d$-dimensional incompressible fluid driven out of equilibrium by a temperature gradient. We find that the most probable temperature fields sustaining atypical values of the global current can be naturally classified in an infinite set of curves, allowing us to exhaustively analyze their topological properties and to define universal profiles onto which all optimal fields collapse. We also compute the statistics of empirical heat current, where we find remarkable logarithmic tails for large current fluctuations orthogonal to the thermal gradient. Finally, we determine explicitly a number of cumulants of the current distribution, finding remarkable relations between them.

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arXiv2018

Harnessing symmetry to control quantum transport

Controlling transport in quantum systems holds the key to many promising quantum technologies. Here we review the power of symmetry as a resource to manipulate quantum transport, and apply these ideas to engineer novel quantum devices. Using tools from open quantum systems and large deviation theory, we show that symmetry-mediated control of transport is enabled by a pair of twin dynamic phase transitions in current statistics, accompanied by a coexistence of different transport channels. By playing with the symmetry decomposition of the initial state, one can modulate the importance of the different transport channels and hence control the flowing current. Motivated by the problem of energy harvesting we illustrate these ideas in open quantum networks, an analysis which leads to the design of a symmetry-controlled quantum thermal switch. We review an experimental setup recently proposed for symmetry-mediated quantum control in the lab based on a linear array of atom-doped optical cavities, and the possibility of using transport as a probe to uncover hidden symmetries, as recently demonstrated in molecular junctions, is also discussed. Other symmetry-mediated control mechanisms are also described. Overall, these results demonstrate the importance of symmetry not only as an organizing principle in physics but also as a tool to control quantum systems.

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arXiv2017

Order and symmetry-breaking in the fluctuations of driven systems

Dynamical phase transitions (DPTs) in the space of trajectories are one of the most intriguing phenomena of nonequilibrium physics, but their nature in realistic high-dimensional systems remains puzzling. Here we observe for the first time a DPT in the current vector statistics of an archetypal two-dimensional (2d) driven diffusive system, and characterize its properties using macroscopic fluctuation theory. The complex interplay among the external field, anisotropy and vector currents in 2d leads to a rich phase diagram, with different symmetry-broken fluctuation phases separated by lines of first- and second-order DPTs. Remarkably, different types of 1d order in the form of jammed density waves emerge to hinder transport for low-current fluctuations, revealing a connection between rare events and self-organized structures which enhance their probability.

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arXiv2017

Structure of the optimal path to a fluctuation

Macroscopic fluctuations have become an essential tool to understand physics far from equilibrium due to the link between their statistics and nonequilibrium ensembles. The optimal path leading to a fluctuation encodes key information on this problem, shedding light on e.g. the physics behind the enhanced probability of rare events out of equilibrium, the possibility of dynamic phase transitions and new symmetries. This makes the understanding of the properties of these optimal paths a central issue. Here we derive a fundamental relation which strongly constraints the architecture of these optimal paths for general $d$-dimensional nonequilibrium diffusive systems, and implies a non-trivial structure for the dominant current vector fields. Interestingly, this general relation (which encompasses and explains previous results) makes manifest the spatio-temporal non-locality of the current statistics and the associated optimal trajectories.

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arXiv2015

Probing local equilibrium in nonequilibrium fluids

We use extensive computer simulations to probe local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) in a quintessential model fluid, the two-dimensional hard-disks system. We show that macroscopic LTE is a property much stronger than previously anticipated, even in the presence of important finite size effects, revealing a remarkable bulk-boundary decoupling phenomenon in fluids out of equilibrium. This allows us to measure the fluid's equation of state in simulations far from equilibrium, with an excellent accuracy comparable to the best equilibrium simulations. Subtle corrections to LTE are found in the fluctuations of the total energy which strongly point out to the nonlocality of the nonequilibrium potential governing the fluid's macroscopic behavior out of equilibrium.

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arXiv2015

Scaling laws and bulk-boundary decoupling in heat flow

When driven out of equilibrium by a temperature gradient, fluids respond by developing a nontrivial, inhomogeneous structure according to the governing macroscopic laws. Here we show that such structure obeys strikingly simple scaling laws arbitrarily far from equilibrium, provided that both macroscopic local equilibrium and Fourier's law hold. Extensive simulations of hard disk fluids confirm the scaling laws even under strong temperature gradients, implying that Fourier's law remains valid in this highly nonlinear regime, with putative corrections absorbed into a nonlinear conductivity functional. In addition, our results show that the scaling laws are robust in the presence of strong finite-size effects, hinting at a subtle bulk-boundary decoupling mechanism which enforces the macroscopic laws on the bulk of the finite-sized fluid. This allows to measure for the first time the marginal anomaly of the heat conductivity predicted for hard disks.

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arXiv2013

Typical and rare fluctuations in nonlinear driven diffusive systems with dissipation

We consider fluctuations of the dissipated energy in nonlinear driven diffusive systems subject to bulk dissipation and boundary driving. With this aim, we extend the recently-introduced macroscopic fluctuation theory to nonlinear driven dissipative media, starting from the fluctuating hydrodynamic equations describing the system mesoscopic evolution. Interestingly, the action associated to a path in mesoscopic phase-space, from which large-deviation functions for macroscopic observables can be derived, has the same simple form as in non-dissipative systems. This is a consequence of the quasi-elasticity of microscopic dynamics, required in order to have a nontrivial competition between diffusion and dissipation at the mesoscale. Euler-Lagrange equations for the optimal density and current fields that sustain an arbitrary dissipation fluctuation are also derived. A perturbative solution thereof shows that the probability distribution of small fluctuations is always gaussian, as expected from the central limit theorem. On the other hand, strong separation from the gaussian behavior is observed for large fluctuations, with a distribution which shows no negative branch, thus violating the Gallavotti-Cohen fluctuation theorem as expected from the irreversibility of the dynamics. The dissipation large-deviation function exhibits simple and general scaling forms for weakly and strongly dissipative systems, with large fluctuations favored in the former case but heavily supressed in the latter. (...) [see complete abstract by downloading the paper]

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arXiv2012

Compact Waves in Microscopic Nonlinear Diffusion

We analyze the spread of a localized peak of energy into vacuum for nonlinear diffusive processes. In contrast with standard diffusion, the nonlinearity results in a compact wave with a sharp front separating the perturbed region from vacuum. In $d$ spatial dimensions, the front advances as $t^{1/(2+da)}$ according to hydrodynamics, with $a$ the nonlinearity exponent. We show that fluctuations in the front position grow as $\sim t^μ η$, where $μ<1/(2+da)$ is a new exponent that we measure and $η$ is a random variable whose distribution we characterize. Fluctuating corrections to hydrodynamic profiles give rise to an excess penetration into vacuum, revealing scaling behaviors and robust features. We also examine the discharge of a nonlinear rarefaction wave into vacuum. Our results suggest the existence of universal scaling behaviors at the fluctuating level in nonlinear diffusion.

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