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Reaction-Limited Quantum Reaction-Diffusion Dynamics

Gabriele Perfetto, Federico Carollo, Juan P. Garrahan, and Igor Lesanovsky
Phys. Rev. Lett. 130, 210402 – Published 25 May 2023
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Abstract

We consider the quantum nonequilibrium dynamics of systems where fermionic particles coherently hop on a one-dimensional lattice and are subject to dissipative processes analogous to those of classical reaction-diffusion models. Particles can either annihilate in pairs, A+A0, or coagulate upon contact, A+AA, and possibly also branch, AA+A. In classical settings, the interplay between these processes and particle diffusion leads to critical dynamics as well as to absorbing-state phase transitions. Here, we analyze the impact of coherent hopping and of quantum superposition, focusing on the so-called reaction-limited regime. Here, spatial density fluctuations are quickly smoothed out due to fast hopping, which for classical systems is described by a mean-field approach. By exploiting the time-dependent generalized Gibbs ensemble method, we demonstrate that quantum coherence and destructive interference play a crucial role in these systems and are responsible for the emergence of locally protected dark states and collective behavior beyond mean field. This can manifest both at stationarity and during the relaxation dynamics. Our analytical results highlight fundamental differences between classical nonequilibrium dynamics and their quantum counterpart and show that quantum effects indeed change collective universal behavior.

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  • Received 4 October 2022
  • Revised 3 February 2023
  • Accepted 10 April 2023

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.130.210402

© 2023 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Statistical Physics & Thermodynamics

Authors & Affiliations

Gabriele Perfetto1,*, Federico Carollo1, Juan P. Garrahan2,3, and Igor Lesanovsky1,2,3

  • 1Institut für Theoretische Physik, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 14, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
  • 2School of Physics, Astronomy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, United Kingdom
  • 3Centre for the Mathematics, Theoretical Physics of Quantum Non-Equilibrium Systems, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, United Kingdom

  • *Corresponding author. gabriele.perfetto@uni-tuebingen.de

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Issue

Vol. 130, Iss. 21 — 26 May 2023

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