The Hartree ensemble approximation revisited: The "symmetric phase"

The Hartree ensemble approximation is studied in the ``symmetric phase'' of 1+1 dimensional lambda phi^4 theory. In comparison with the ``broken phase'' studied previously, it is shown that the dynamical evolution of observables such as the particle distribution, energy exchange and auto-correlation functions, is substantially slower. Approximate thermalization is found only for relatively large energy densities and couplings.Comment: 17 pages RevTeX, 16 figures, 3 tables, uses amsmath and feynmp. Extended some sections, reordered Sec.IV, added 3 refs, numerical typo corrected, published versio

Exact and Truncated Dynamics in Nonequilibrium Field Theory

Nonperturbative dynamics of quantum fields out of equilibrium is often described by the time evolution of a hierarchy of correlation functions, using approximation methods such as Hartree, large N, and nPI-effective action techniques. These truncation schemes can be implemented equally well in a classical statistical system, where results can be tested by comparison with the complete nonlinear evolution obtained by numerical methods. For a 1+1 dimensional scalar field we find that the early-time behaviour is reproduced qualitatively by the Hartree dynamics. The inclusion of direct scattering improves this to the quantitative level. We show that the emergence of nonthermal temperature profiles at intermediate times can be understood in terms of the fixed points of the evolution equations in the Hartree approximation. The form of the profile depends explicitly on the initial ensemble. While the truncated evolution equations do not seem to be able to get away from the fixed point, the full nonlinear evolution shows thermalization with a (surprisingly) slow relaxation.Comment: 30 pages with 12 eps figures, minor changes; to appear in Phys.Rev.

Looking for defects in the 2PI correlator

Truncations of the 2PI effective action are seen as a promising way of studying non-equilibrium dynamics in quantum field theories. We probe their applicability in the non-perturbative setting of topological defect formation in a symmetry-breaking phase transition, by comparing full classical lattice field simulations and the 2PI formulation for classical fields in an O($N$) symmetric scalar field theory. At next-to-leading order in 1/N, the 2PI formalism fails to reproduce any signals of defects in the two-point function. This suggests that one should be careful when applying the 2PI formalism for symmetry breaking phase transitions.Comment: 22 pages, 6 figure

Dynamics of broken symmetry lambda phi^4 field theory

We study the domain of validity of a Schwinger-Dyson (SD) approach to non-equilibrium dynamics when there is broken symmetry. We perform exact numerical simulations of the one- and two-point functions of lambda phi^4 field theory in 1+1 dimensions in the classical domain for initial conditions where < phi(x) > not equal to 0. We compare these results to two self-consistent truncations of the SD equations which ignore three-point vertex function corrections. The first approximation, which sets the three-point function to one (the bare vertex approximation (BVA)) gives an excellent description for < phi(x) > = phi(t). The second approximation which ignores higher in 1/N corrections to the 2-PI generating functional (2PI -1/N expansion) is not as accurate for phi(t). Both approximations have serious deficiencies in describing the two-point function when phi(0) > .4.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure

Transport coefficients from the 2PI effective action

We show that the lowest nontrivial truncation of the two-particle irreducible (2PI) effective action correctly determines transport coefficients in a weak coupling or 1/N expansion at leading (logarithmic) order in several relativistic field theories. In particular, we consider a single real scalar field with cubic and quartic interactions in the loop expansion, the O(N) model in the 2PI-1/N expansion, and QED with a single and many fermion fields. Therefore, these truncations will provide a correct description, to leading (logarithmic) order, of the long time behavior of these systems, i.e. the approach to equilibrium. This supports the promising results obtained for the dynamics of quantum fields out of equilibrium using 2PI effective action techniques.Comment: 5 pages, explanation in introduction expanded, summary added; to appear in PR

The approach to thermalization in the classical phi^4 theory in 1+1 dimensions: energy cascades and universal scaling

We study the dynamics of thermalization and the approach to equilibrium in the classical phi^4 theory in 1+1 spacetime dimensions. At thermal equilibrium we exploit the equivalence between the classical canonical averages and transfer matrix quantum traces of the anharmonic oscillator to obtain exact results for the temperature dependence of several observables, which provide a set of criteria for thermalization. We find that the Hartree approximation is remarkably accurate in equilibrium. The non-equilibrium dynamics is studied by numerically solving the equations of motion in light-cone coordinates for a broad range of initial conditions and energy densities.The time evolution is described by several stages with a cascade of energy towards the ultraviolet. After a transient stage, the spatio-temporal gradient terms become larger than the nonlinear term and a stage of universal cascade emerges.This cascade starts at a time scale t_0 independent of the initial conditions (except for very low energy density). Here the power spectra feature universal scaling behavior and the front of the cascade k(t) grows as a power law k(t) sim t^alpha with alpha lesssim 0.25. The wake behind the cascade is described as a state of Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium (LTE) with all correlations being determined by the equilibrium functional form with an effective time dependent temperatureTeff(t) which slowly decreases as sim t^{-alpha}.Two well separated time scales emerge while Teff(t) varies slowly, the wavectors in the wake with k < k(t) attain LTE on much shorter time scales.This universal scaling stage ends when the front of the cascade reaches the cutoff at a time t_1 sim a^{-1/alpha}. Virialization starts to set much earlier than LTE. We find that strict thermalization is achieved only for an infinite time scale.Comment: relevance for quantum field theory discussed providing validity criteria. To appear in Phys. Rev.

Complex Langevin: Etiology and Diagnostics of its Main Problem

The complex Langevin method is a leading candidate for solving the so-called sign problem occurring in various physical situations. Its most vexing problem is that in some cases it produces `convergence to the wrong limit'. In the first part of the paper we go through the formal justification of the method, identify points at which it may fail and identify a necessary and sufficient criterion for correctness. This criterion would, however, require checking infinitely many identities, and therefore is somewhat academic. We propose instead a truncation to the check of a few identities; this still gives a necessary criterion, but a priori it is not clear whether it remains sufficient. In the second part we carry out a detailed study of two toy models: first we identify the reasons why in some cases the method fails, second we test the efficiency of the truncated criterion and find that it works perfectly at least in the toy models studied.Comment: 39 pages, 15 figures; typos corrected and reference adde

Out-of-equilibrium quantum fields with conserved charge

We study the out-of-equilibrium evolution of an O(2)-invariant scalar field in which a conserved charge is stored. We apply a loop expansion of the 2-particle irreducible effective action to 3-loop order. Equations of motion are derived which conserve both total charge and total energy yet allow for the effects of scattering whereby charge and energy can transfer between modes. Working in (1+1)-dimensions we solve the equations of motion numerically for a system knocked out of equilibrium by a sudden temperature quench. We examine the initial stages of the charge and energy redistribution. This provides a basis from which we can understand the formation of Bose-Einstein condensates from first principles.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, replacement with improved presentatio