Shukhrat Mardonov | Searcharxiv

arXiv2026

Kibble--Zurek Mechanism and Defect Freezing in Imbalanced-Pairing Kitaev Models

We investigate driven dynamics across critical and exceptional points in the one- and two-dimensional imbalanced-pairing Kitaev models using both the wave-function normalization approach and the biorthogonal framework. For a positive pairing imbalance parameter, the quasiparticle spectrum remains real, and a pairing imbalance neither shifts the equilibrium phase boundaries nor generates imaginary eigenenergies. In this regime, the defect density follows the conventional Kibble--Zurek scaling in one dimension and the extended Kibble--Zurek scaling, arising from a gapless manifold, in two dimensions within both frameworks. The corresponding scaling exponents are therefore governed by those of the Hermitian transition. For a negative pairing imbalance parameter, time-reversal symmetry is broken, the quasiparticle spectrum develops complex eigenvalues, and the gap closes at exceptional points. For ramps ending at an exceptional point, the defect density follows the modified Kibble--Zurek scaling in the wave-function normalization approach, whereas it obeys the conventional Kibble--Zurek scaling in the biorthogonal framework. When the ramp traverses the time-reversal-symmetry-broken region, a finite density of defects remains even in the adiabatic limit, leading to defect freezing in both frameworks. Although this frozen background indicates a breakdown of adiabaticity, the excess defects generated on top of this background continue to obey the conventional Kibble--Zurek scaling in one dimension and the extended Kibble--Zurek scaling in two dimensions.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2026

Dynamical Quantum Phase Transitions in a Pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonian: The Imbalanced-Pairing Kitaev Model

Although parity-time (PT)-symmetric Hamiltonians are often associated with real energy spectra, PT symmetry is neither a sufficient nor a necessary condition for a real spectrum. More generally, real spectra are associated with the broader class of pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonians, of which PT-symmetric Hamiltonians constitute a simple subclass. Here, we investigate the nonequilibrium dynamics of the imbalanced-pairing Kitaev model, a prototypical pseudo-Hermitian system, under a linearly time-dependent chemical potential. The dynamics are analyzed within the biorthogonal framework using the concept of dynamical quantum phase transitions (DQPTs). We show that, under a linear ramp protocol, DQPTs occur only when the post-ramp Hamiltonian possesses a real energy spectrum. For positive values of the non-Hermiticity parameter ($γ>0$), where the energy spectrum remains entirely real, a ramp crossing a single quantum critical point gives rise to a single family of critical times, analogous to the Hermitian case. Furthermore, for ramps crossing two critical or exceptional points, the critical sweep velocity above which DQPTs disappear decreases as the non-Hermiticity parameter is reduced and vanishes in the staggered-pairing limit, $γ=-1$.

quant-ph↗