Dynamical Phase Transitions in Open Quantum Walks

Fuente: arXiv
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Autor principal: Longhi, Stefano
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2025
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author Longhi, Stefano
author_facet Longhi, Stefano
contents Dynamical phase transitions in the relaxation behavior of stochastic quantum walks are investigated, focusing on systems where coherent unitary evolution is periodically interrupted by dephasing. This interplay leads to a classicalization of the dynamics, effectively described by non-equilibrium Markovian processes that can violate detailed balance. As a result, such systems exhibit a richer and more complex spectral structure than their equilibrium counterparts. Extending recent insights from classical Markov dynamics [G. Teza {\it et al.}, Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 130}, 207103 (2023)], we demonstrate that these quantum-classical hybrid systems can host not only first-order dynamical phase transitions -- characterized by eigenvalue crossings -- but also second-order transitions marked by the coalescence of eigenvalues and eigenvectors at exceptional points. We analyze two paradigmatic models: a quantum walk on a ring under gauge fields and a walk on a finite line with internal degrees of freedom, both exhibiting distinct mechanisms for breaking detailed balance. These findings reveal a novel class of critical behavior in open quantum systems, where decoherence-induced classicalization enables access to non-Hermitian spectral phenomena. Beyond their fundamental interest, our results offer promising implications for quantum technologies, including quantum simulation, error mitigation, and the engineering of controllable non-equilibrium quantum states.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2508_11947
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Dynamical Phase Transitions in Open Quantum Walks
Longhi, Stefano
Quantum Physics
Statistical Mechanics
Optics
Dynamical phase transitions in the relaxation behavior of stochastic quantum walks are investigated, focusing on systems where coherent unitary evolution is periodically interrupted by dephasing. This interplay leads to a classicalization of the dynamics, effectively described by non-equilibrium Markovian processes that can violate detailed balance. As a result, such systems exhibit a richer and more complex spectral structure than their equilibrium counterparts. Extending recent insights from classical Markov dynamics [G. Teza {\it et al.}, Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 130}, 207103 (2023)], we demonstrate that these quantum-classical hybrid systems can host not only first-order dynamical phase transitions -- characterized by eigenvalue crossings -- but also second-order transitions marked by the coalescence of eigenvalues and eigenvectors at exceptional points. We analyze two paradigmatic models: a quantum walk on a ring under gauge fields and a walk on a finite line with internal degrees of freedom, both exhibiting distinct mechanisms for breaking detailed balance. These findings reveal a novel class of critical behavior in open quantum systems, where decoherence-induced classicalization enables access to non-Hermitian spectral phenomena. Beyond their fundamental interest, our results offer promising implications for quantum technologies, including quantum simulation, error mitigation, and the engineering of controllable non-equilibrium quantum states.
title Dynamical Phase Transitions in Open Quantum Walks
topic Quantum Physics
Statistical Mechanics
Optics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.11947