Density-functional theory is utilized to investigate the zero-temperature transition from a Fermi liquid to an inhomogeneous stripe, or Wigner crystal phase, predicted to occur in a one-component, spin-polarized, two-dimensional dipolar Fermi gas. Correlations are treated semi-exactly within the local-density approximation using an empirical fit to Quantum Monte Carlo data. We find that the inclusion of the nonlocal contribution to the Hartree-Fock energy is crucial for the onset of an instability to an inhomogeneous density distribution. Our density-functional theory supports a transition to both a one-dimensional stripe phase, and a triangular Wigner crystal. However, we find that there is an instability first to the stripe phase, followed by a transition to the Wigner crystal at higher coupling.
Abstract. As part of the quest to uncover universal features of quantum dynamics, we study catastrophes that form in simple many-particle wave functions following a quench, focusing on two-mode systems that include the two-site Bose Hubbard model, and under some circumstances optomechanical systems and the Dicke model. When the wave function is plotted in Fock space certain characteristic shapes, that we identify as cusp catastrophes, appear under generic conditions. In the vicinity of a cusp the wave function takes on a universal structure described by the Pearcey function and obeys scaling relations which depend on the total number of particles N . In the thermodynamic limit (N → ∞) the cusp becomes singular, but at finite N it is decorated by an interference pattern. This pattern contains an intricate network of vortex-antivortex pairs, initiating a theory of topological structures in Fock space. In the case where the quench is a δ-kick the problem can be solved analytically and we obtain scaling exponents for the size and position of the cusp, as well as those for the amplitude and characteristic length scales of its interference pattern. Finally, we use these scalings to describe the wave function in the critical regime of a Z 2 symmetrybreaking dynamical phase transition.
We show that the light conelike structures that form in spin chains after a quench are quantum caustics. Their natural description is in terms of catastrophe theory and this implies (1) a hierarchy of light cone structures corresponding to the different catastrophes, (2) dressing by characteristic wave functions that obey scaling laws determined by the Arnol'd and Berry indices, and (3) a network of vortex-antivortex pairs in space-time inside the cone. We illustrate the theory by giving explicit calculations for the transverse field Ising model and the XY model, finding fold catastrophes dressed by the Airy functions and cusp catastrophes dressed by the Pearcey functions; multisite correlation functions are described by higher catastrophes such as the hyperbolic umbilic. Furthermore, we find that the vortex pairs created inside the cone are sensitive to phase transitions in these spin models with their rate of production being determined by the dynamical critical exponent. More broadly, this work illustrates how catastrophe theory can be applied to singularities in quantum fields.
We calculate the out-of-time-ordered correlation function (OTOC) of a single impurity qubit coupled to fully a connected many-particle system such as a bosonic Josephson junction or spins with long-range interactions. In these systems the qubit OTOC can be used to detect both ground state and excited state quantum phase transitions (QPTs), making it a robust order parameter that is considerably more sensitive than the standard one-body correlation function. Finite size scaling exponents for an N body system can also be accurately extracted from the long-time OTOC dynamics, however, for short times there is a discrepancy due to the fact that the qubit has not had enough time to couple to the larger system. Our results show that the OTOC of even the smallest probe is enough to diagnose a QPT in fully connected models but, like a continuous measurement, can still cause a backaction effect which leads to weakly chaotic dynamics and gradual information scrambling.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.