arXiv subjects

Sascha Wald

Publications and source records attributed to Sascha Wald.

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2018

Dynamical off-equilibrium scaling across magnetic first-order phase transitions

We investigate the off-equilibrium dynamics of a classical spin system with $O(n)$ symmetry in $2< D <4$ spatial dimensions and in the limit $n\to \infty$. The system is set up in an ordered equilibrium state is and subsequently driven out of equilibrium by slowly varying the external magnetic field $h$ across the transition line $h_c=0$ at fixed temperature $T\leq T_c$. We distinguish the cases $T = T_c$ where the magnetic transition is continuous and $T<T_c$ where the transition is discontinuous. In the former case, we apply a standard Kibble-Zurek approach to describe the non-equilibrium scaling and formally compute the correlation functions and scaling relations. For the discontinuous transition we develop a scaling theory which builds on the coherence length rather than the correlation length since the latter remains finite for all times. Finally, we derive the off-equilibrium scaling relations for the hysteresis loop area during a round-trip protocol that takes the system across its phase transition and back. Remarkably, our results are valid beyond the large-$n$ limit.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2018

Energy barriers between metastable states in first order quantum phase transitions

A system of neutral atoms trapped in an optical lattice and dispersively coupled to the field of an optical cavity can realize a variation of the Bose-Hubbard model with infinite-range interactions. This model exhibits a first order quantum phase transition between a Mott insulator and a charge density wave, with spontaneous symmetry breaking between even and odd sites, as was recently observed experimentally [Landig \emph{et. al.}, Nature {\bf 532} (2016)]. In the present paper we approach the analysis of this transition using a variational model which allows us to establish the notion of an energy barrier separating the two phases. Using a discrete WKB method we then show that the local tunneling of atoms between adjacent sites lowers this energy barrier and hence facilitates the transition. Within our simplified description, we are thus able to increment the phase diagram of the model with information concerning the height of the barrier separating the metastable minima from the global minimum in each phase, which is an essential aspect for the understanding of the reconfiguration dynamics induced by a quench across a quantum critical point.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

Lindblad dynamics of the quantum spherical model

The purely relaxational non-equilibrium dynamics of the quantum spherical model as described through a Lindblad equation is analysed. It is shown that the phenomenological requirements of reproducing the exact quantum equilibrium state as stationary solution and the associated classical Langevin equation in the classical limit $g\to 0$ fix the form of the Lindblad dissipators, up to an overall time-scale. In the semi-classical limit, the models' behaviour become effectively the one of the classical analogue, with a dynamical exponent $z=2$, and an effective temperature $T_{\rm eff}$, renormalised by the quantum coupling $g$. A distinctive behaviour is found for a quantum quench, at zero temperature, deep into the ordered phase $g\ll g_c(d)$, for $d>1$ dimensions. Only for $d=2$ dimensions, a simple scaling behaviour holds true, with a dynamical exponent $z=1$, while for dimensions $d\ne 2$, logarithmic corrections to scaling arise. The spin-spin correlator, the growing length scale and the time-dependent susceptibility show the existence of several logarithmically different length scales.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

On integral representations and asymptotics of some hypergeometric functions in two variables

The leading asymptotic behaviour of the Humbert functions $Φ_2$, $Φ_3$, $Ξ_2$ of two variables is found, when the absolute values of the two independent variables become simultaneosly large. New integral representations of these functions are given. These are re-expressed as inverse Laplace transformations and the asymptotics is then found from a Tauberian theorem. Some integrals of the Humbert functions are also analysed.

math-ph↗

arXiv2016

Lindblad dynamics of a quantum spherical spin

The coherent quantum dynamics of a single bosonic spin variable, subject to a constraint derived from the quantum spherical model of a ferromagnet, and coupled to an external heat bath, is studied through the Lindblad equation for the reduced density matrix. Closed systems of equations of motion for several quantum observables are derived and solved exactly. The relationship to the single-mode Dicke model from quantum optics is discussed. The analysis of the interplay of the quantum fluctuation and the dissipation and their influence on the relaxation of the time-dependent magnetisation leads to the distinction of qualitatively different regimes of weak and strong quantum couplings. Considering the model's behaviour in an external field as a simple mean-field approximation of the dynamics of a quantum spherical ferromagnet, the magnetic phase diagramme appears to be re-entrant and presents a quantum analogue of well-established classical examples of fluctuation-induced order.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2015

Quantum phase transition in the spin-anisotropic quantum spherical model

Motivated by an analogy with the spin anisotropies in the quantum XY chain and its reformulation in terms of spin-less Majorana fermions, its bosonic analogue, the spin-anisotropic quantum spherical model, is introduced. The exact solution of the model permits to analyse the influence of the spin-anisotropy on the phase diagram and the universality of the critical behaviour in a new way, since the interactions of the quantum spins and their conjugate momenta create new effects. At zero temperature, a quantum critical line is found, which is in the same universality class as the thermal phase transition in the classical spherical model in $d+1$ dimensions. The location of this quantum critical line shows a re-entrant quantum phase transition for dimensions $1<d\lesssim 2.065$.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗