Short-time universal scaling and light-cone dynamics after a quench in an isolated quantum system in d spatial dimensions

Alessio Chiocchetta, Marco Tavora, Andrea Gambassi, and Aditi Mitra
Phys. Rev. B 94, 134311 – Published 25 October 2016

Abstract

We investigate the effects of fluctuations on the dynamics of an isolated quantum system represented by a ϕ22 field theory with O(N) symmetry after a quench in d>2 spatial dimensions. A perturbative renormalization-group approach involving a dimensional expansion in ε=4d is employed in order to study the evolution within a prethermal regime controlled by elastic dephasing. In particular, we focus on a quench from a disordered initial state to the critical point, which introduces an effective temporal boundary in the evolution. At this boundary, the relevant fields acquire an anomalous scaling dimension, while the evolution of both the order parameter and its correlation and response functions display universal aging. Since the relevant excitations propagate ballistically, a light cone in real space emerges. At longer times, the onset of inelastic scattering appears as secularly growing self-generated dissipation in the effective Keldysh field theory, with the strength of the dissipative vertices providing an estimate for the time needed to leave the prethermal regime.

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  • Received 15 April 2016
  • Revised 2 September 2016

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.94.134311

©2016 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Authors & Affiliations

Alessio Chiocchetta1, Marco Tavora2, Andrea Gambassi1, and Aditi Mitra2

  • 1SISSA—International School for Advanced Studies and INFN, via Bonomea 265, 34136 Trieste, Italy
  • 2Department of Physics, New York University, 4 Washington Place, New York, New York 10003, USA

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Issue

Vol. 94, Iss. 13 — 1 October 2016

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