Nonequilibrium Quantum Phase Transitions in the Ising Model

We establish a set of nonequilibrium quantum phase transitions in the Ising model driven under monochromatic nonadiabatic modulation of the transverse field. We show that besides the Ising-like critical behavior, the system exhibits an anisotropic transition which is absent in equilibrium. The nonequilibrium quantum phases correspond to states which are synchronized with the external control in the long-time dynamics.

Finite-size scaling in the quantum phase transition of the open-system Dicke-model

Laser-driven Bose-Einstein condensate of ultracold atoms loaded into a lossy high-finesse optical resonator exhibits critical behavior and, in the thermodynamic limit, a phase transition between stationary states of different symmetries. The system realizes an open-system variant of the celebrated Dicke-model. We study the transition for a finite number of atoms by means of a Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov method adapted to a damped-driven open system. The finite-size scaling exponents are determined and a clear distinction between the non-equilibrium and the equilibrium quantum criticality is found.

Characterizing the dynamical phase diagram of the Dicke model via classical and quantum probes

We theoretically study the dynamical phase diagram of the Dicke model in both classical and quantum limits using large, experimentally relevant system sizes. Our analysis elucidates that the model features dynamical critical points that are distinct from previously investigated excited-state equilibrium transitions. Moreover, our numerical calculations demonstrate that mean-field features of the dynamics remain valid in the exact quantum dynamics, but we also find that in regimes where quantum effects dominate signatures of the dynamical phases and chaos can persist in purely quantum metrics such as entanglement and correlations. Our predictions can be verified in current quantum simulators of the Dicke model including arrays of trapped ions.

Multicriticality and quantum fluctuation in generalized Dicke model

We consider an important generalization of the Dicke model in which multi-level atoms, instead of two-level atoms as in conventional Dicke model, interact with a single photonic mode. We explore the phase diagram of a broad class of atom-photon coupling schemes and show that, under this generalization, the Dicke model can become multicritical. For a subclass of experimentally realizable schemes, multicritical conditions of arbitrary order can be expressed analytically in compact forms. We also calculate the atom-photon entanglement entropy for both critical and non-critical cases. We find that the order of the criticality strongly affects the critical entanglement entropy: higher order yields stronger entanglement. Our work provides deep insight into quantum phase transitions and multicriticality.

The Dicke model phase transition in the quantum motion of a Bose-Einstein condensate in an optical cavity

We show that the motion of a laser-driven Bose-Einstein condensate in a high-finesse optical cavity realizes the spin-boson Dicke-model. The quantum phase transition of the Dicke-model from the normal to the superradiant phase corresponds to the self-organization of atoms from the homogeneous into a periodically patterned distribution above a critical driving strength. The fragility of the ground state due to photon measurement induced back action is calculated.