No Arabic abstract
Boundary time crystals (BTCs) are non-equilibrium phases of matter occurring in quantum systems in contact to an environment, for which a macroscopic fraction of the many body system breaks time translation symmetry. We study BTCs in collective $d$-level systems, focusing in the cases with $d=2$, $3$ and $4$. We find that BTCs appear in different forms for the different cases. We first consider the model with collective $d=2$-level systems [presented in Phys. Rev. Lett. $121$, $035301$ ($2018$)], whose dynamics is described by a Lindblad master equation, and perform a throughout analysis of its phase diagram and Jacobian stability for different interacting terms in the coherent Hamiltonian. In particular, using perturbation theory for general (non Hermitian) matrices we obtain analytically how a specific $mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry breaking Hamiltonian term destroys the BTC phase in the model. Based on these results we define a $d=4$ model composed of a pair of collective $2$-level systems interacting with each other. We show that this model support richer dynamical phases, ranging from limit-cycles, period-doubling bifurcations and a route to chaotic dynamics. The BTC phase is more robust in this case, not annihilated by the former symmetry breaking Hamiltonian terms. The model with collective $d=3$-level systems is defined similarly, as competing pairs of levels, but sharing a common collective level. The dynamics can deviate significantly from the previous cases, supporting phases with the coexistence of multiple limit-cycles, closed orbits and a full degeneracy of zero Lyapunov exponents.
We investigate an unconventional symmetry in time-periodically driven systems, the Floquet dynamical symmetry (FDS). Unlike the usual symmetries, the FDS gives symmetry sectors that are equidistant in the Floquet spectrum and protects quantum coherence between them from dissipation and dephasing, leading to two kinds of time crystals: the discrete time crystal and discrete time quasicrystal that have different periodicity in time. We show that these time crystals appear in the Bose- and Fermi-Hubbard models under ac fields and their periodicity can be tuned only by adjusting the strength of the field. These time crystals arise only from the FDS and thus appear in both dissipative and isolated systems and in the presence of disorder as long as the FDS is respected. We discuss their experimental realizations in cold atom experiments and generalization to the SU($N$)-symmetric Hubbard models.
In this work we discuss the existence of time-translation symmetry breaking in a kicked infinite-range-interacting clean spin system described by the Lipkin-Meshkov-Glick model. This Floquet time crystal is robust under perturbations of the kicking protocol, its existence being intimately linked to the underlying $mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry breaking of the time-independent model. We show that the model being infinite-range and having an extensive amount of symmetry breaking eigenstates is essential for having the time-crystal behaviour. In particular we discuss the properties of the Floquet spectrum, and show the existence of doublets of Floquet states which are respectively even and odd superposition of symmetry broken states and have quasi-energies differing of half the driving frequencies, a key essence of Floquet time crystals. Remarkably, the stability of the time-crystal phase can be directly analysed in the limit of infinite size, discussing the properties of the corresponding classical phase space. Through a detailed analysis of the robustness of the time crystal to various perturbations we are able to map the corresponding phase diagram. We finally discuss the possibility of an experimental implementation by means of trapped ions.
The approach to thermal equilibrium, or thermalization, in isolated quantum systems is among the most fundamental problems in statistical physics. Recent theoretical studies have revealed that thermalization in isolated quantum systems has several remarkable features, which emerge from quantum entanglement and are quite distinct from those in classical systems. Experimentally, well isolated and highly controllable ultracold quantum gases offer an ideal system to study the nonequilibrium dynamics in isolated quantum systems, triggering intensive recent theoretical endeavors on this fundamental subject. Besides thermalization, many isolated quantum systems show intriguing behavior in relaxation processes, especially prethermalization. Prethermalization occurs when there is a clear separation in relevant time scales and has several different physical origins depending on individual systems. In this review, we overview theoretical approaches to the problems of thermalization and prethermalization.
Bose-Einstein condensation, the macroscopic occupation of a single quantum state, appears in equilibrium quantum statistical mechanics and persists also in the hydrodynamic regime close to equilibrium. Here we show that even when a degenerate Bose gas is driven into a steady state far from equilibrium, where the notion of a single-particle ground state becomes meaningless, Bose-Einstein condensation survives in a generalized form: the unambiguous selection of an odd number of states acquiring large occupations. Within mean-field theory we derive a criterion for when a single and when multiple states are Bose selected in a non-interacting gas. We study the effect in several driven-dissipative model systems, and propose a quantum switch for heat conductivity based on shifting between one and three selected states.
We study the dynamics of the statistics of the energy transferred across a point along a quantum chain which is prepared in the inhomogeneous initial state obtained by joining two identical semi-infinite parts thermalized at two different temperatures. In particular, we consider the transverse field Ising and harmonic chains as prototypical models of non-interacting fermionic and bosonic excitations, respectively. Within the so-called hydrodynamic limit of large space-time scales we first discuss the mean values of the energy density and current, and then, aiming at the statistics of fluctuations, we calculate exactly the scaled cumulant generating function of the transferred energy. From the latter, the evolution of the associated large deviation function is obtained. A natural interpretation of our results is provided in terms of a semi-classical picture of quasi-particles moving ballistically along classical trajectories. Similarities and differences between the transferred energy scaled cumulant and the large deviation functions in the cases of non-interacting fermions and bosons are discussed.