Smearing of dynamical quantum phase transitions in dissipative free-fermion systems

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Parez, Gilles, Alba, Vincenzo
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Parez, Gilles
Alba, Vincenzo
author_facet Parez, Gilles
Alba, Vincenzo
contents We investigate the Lindblad dynamics of the reduced Loschmidt echo (RLE) in dissipative quadratic fermion systems. Focusing on the case of gain and loss dissipation, we derive general conditions for the persistence of nonanalyticities (so-called dynamical quantum phase transitions) in the time evolution of the RLE. We show that nonanalyticities that are present in the corresponding unitary dynamics can survive under purely gain or purely loss processes, but are completely smeared out as soon as both channels are active, even if one is infinitesimally small. These results hold for generic dissipative Gaussian evolutions, and are illustrated explicitly for the quench from the Néel state in the tight-binding chain, as well as for the quantum Ising chain. We also show that the subtle interplay between dissipative and unitary dynamics gives rise to a nested lightcone structure in the dynamics of the RLE, even in cases where this structure is not present in the corresponding unitary evolution, due to coherent cancellations in the phase structure of the wavefunction.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_21585
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Smearing of dynamical quantum phase transitions in dissipative free-fermion systems
Parez, Gilles
Alba, Vincenzo
Statistical Mechanics
Quantum Gases
Strongly Correlated Electrons
High Energy Physics - Theory
Quantum Physics
We investigate the Lindblad dynamics of the reduced Loschmidt echo (RLE) in dissipative quadratic fermion systems. Focusing on the case of gain and loss dissipation, we derive general conditions for the persistence of nonanalyticities (so-called dynamical quantum phase transitions) in the time evolution of the RLE. We show that nonanalyticities that are present in the corresponding unitary dynamics can survive under purely gain or purely loss processes, but are completely smeared out as soon as both channels are active, even if one is infinitesimally small. These results hold for generic dissipative Gaussian evolutions, and are illustrated explicitly for the quench from the Néel state in the tight-binding chain, as well as for the quantum Ising chain. We also show that the subtle interplay between dissipative and unitary dynamics gives rise to a nested lightcone structure in the dynamics of the RLE, even in cases where this structure is not present in the corresponding unitary evolution, due to coherent cancellations in the phase structure of the wavefunction.
title Smearing of dynamical quantum phase transitions in dissipative free-fermion systems
topic Statistical Mechanics
Quantum Gases
Strongly Correlated Electrons
High Energy Physics - Theory
Quantum Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.21585