Related papers: Non-adiabatic dynamics across a first order quantu…
The liquid-vapor transition is a classic example of a discontinuous (first-order) phase transition. Such transitions underlie many phenomena in cosmology, nuclear and particle physics, and condensed-matter physics. They give rise to…
A granular system confined in a quasi two-dimensional box that is vertically vibrated can transit to an absorbing state in which all particles bounce vertically in phase with the box, with no horizontal motion. In principle, this state can…
We apply a recently developed theory for metastability in open quantum systems to a one-dimensional dissipative quantum Ising model. Earlier results suggest this model features either a non-equilibrium phase transition or a smooth but sharp…
First-order phase transitions occur through the nucleation of critical bubbles of the stable phase within the metastable phase. Using holography, we present a fully microscopic description of these bubbles in a strongly coupled,…
We present two approaches to the dynamics of a quench-induced phase transition in quantum Ising model. The first one retraces steps of the standard approach to thermodynamic second order phase transitions in the quantum setting. The second…
We investigate quantum scaling phenomena driven by lower-dimensional defects in quantum Ising-like models. We consider quantum Ising rings in the presence of a bond defect. In the ordered phase, the system undergoes a quantum transition…
Symmetry-breaking quantum phase transitions lead to the production of topological defects or domain walls in a wide range of physical systems. In second-order transitions, these exhibit universal scaling laws described by the Kibble-Zurek…
Strongly first-order phase transitions, i.e., those with a large order parameter, are characterized by a considerable supercooling and high velocities of phase transition fronts. A very strong phase transition may have important…
Metastability in open system dynamics describes the phenomena of initial relaxation to longlived metastable states before decaying to the asymptotic stable states. It has been predicted in continuous-time stochastic dynamics of both…
Currently, existing quantum annealers have proven themselves as viable technology for the first practical applications in the noisy-intermediate-scale-quantum era. However, to fully exploit their capabilities, a comprehensive…
We compare the energies of different electron solids, such as bubble crystals with triangular and square symmetry and stripe phases, to those of correlated quantum liquids in partially filled intermediate Landau levels. Multiple transitions…
Understanding the non-deterministic behavior of deterministic nonlinear systems has been an implicit dream since Lorenz named it the "butterfly effect". A prominent example is the hysteresis and bistability of the Duffing oscillator, which…
In quantum field theory, the decay of an extended metastable state into the real ground state is known as ``false vacuum decay'' and it takes place via the nucleation of spatially localized bubbles. Despite the large theoretical effort to…
First order phase transitions are characterized by the nucleation and evolution of bubbles. The dynamics of cosmological vacuum bubbles, where the order parameter is independent of other degrees of freedom, are well known; more realistic…
Given a scalar field with metastable minima, bubbles nucleate quantum mechanically. When bubbles collide, energy stored in the bubble walls is converted into kinetic energy of the field. This kinetic energy can facilitate the classical…
We consider non-equilibrium phenomena in a very simple model that displays a zero-temperature first-order phase transition. The quantum Ising model with a four-spin exchange is adopted as a general representative of first-order quantum…
Making use of both the stochastic approach to the tunneling phenomenon and the threshold statistics, we offer a simple argument to show that critical bubbles may be correlated in first-order phase transitions and biased compared to the…
We investigate quantum tunneling in the theory of a complex scalar field with a global $U(1)$ symmetry when the charge density of the initial configuration does not vanish. We discuss the possible final configurations and set up the…
Discontinuous quantum phase transitions and the associated metastability play central roles in diverse areas of physics ranging from ferromagnetism to false vacuum decay in the early universe. Using strongly-interacting ultracold atoms in…
We discuss here phase transitions in quantum field theory in the context of vacuum realignment through an explicit construction. Vacuum destabilisation may occur through a scalar attaining a nonzero expectation value, or through a…