From thermal to excited-state quantum phase transitions ---the Dicke model

We study the thermodynamics of the full version of the Dicke model, including all the possible values of the total angular momentum $j$, with both microcanonical and canonical ensembles. We focus on how the excited-state quantum phase transition, which only appears in the microcanonical description of the maximum angular momentum sector, $j=N/2$, change to a standard thermal phase transition when all the sectors are taken into account. We show that both the thermal and the excited-state quantum phase transitions have the same origin; in other words, that both are two faces of the same phenomenon. Despite all the logarithmic singularities which characterize the excited-state quantum phase transition are ruled out when all the $j$-sectors are considered, the critical energy (or temperature) still divides the spectrum in two regions: one in which the parity symmetry can be broken, and another in which this symmetry is always well defined.Comment: Submitted to PRE. Comments are welcome. V2: Updated to match published versio

Entropy, chaos and excited-state quantum phase transitions in the Dicke model

We study non-equilibrium processes in an isolated quantum system ---the Dicke model--- focusing on the role played by the transition from integrability to chaos and the presence of excited-state quantum phase transitions. We show that both diagonal and entanglement entropies are abruptly increased by the onset of chaos. Also, this increase ends in both cases just after the system crosses the critical energy of the excited-state quantum phase transition. The link between entropy production, the development of chaos and the excited-state quantum phase transition is more clear for the entanglement entropy. On the contrary, the heat dissipated by the process is affected neither by the onset of chaos, nor by the excited-state quantum phase transition.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, RevTex 4.

Approximated integrability of the Dicke model

A very approximate second integral of motion of the Dicke model is identified within a broad region above the ground state, and for a wide range of values of the external parameters. This second integral, obtained from a Born Oppenheimer approximation, classifies the whole regular part of the spectrum in bands labelled by its corresponding eigenvalues. Results obtained from this approximation are compared with exact numerical diagonalization for finite systems in the superradiant phase, obtaining a remarkable accord. The region of validity of our approach in the parameter space, which includes the resonant case, is unveiled. The energy range of validity goes from the ground state up to a certain upper energy where chaos sets in, and extends far beyond the range of applicability of a simple harmonic approximation around the minimal energy configuration. The upper energy validity limit increases for larger values of the coupling constant and the ratio between the level splitting and the frequency of the field. These results show that the Dicke model behaves like a two-degree of freedom integrable model for a wide range of energies and values of the external parameters.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures. Second version with added text, references and some new figure

Decoherence induced by an interacting spin environment in the transition from integrability to chaos

We investigate the decoherence properties of a central system composed of two spins 1/2 in contact with a spin bath. The dynamical regime of the bath ranges from a fully integrable integrable limit to complete chaoticity. We show that the dynamical regime of the bath determines the efficiency of the decoherence process. For perturbative regimes, the integrable limit provides stronger decoherence, while in the strong coupling regime the chaotic limit becomes more efficient. We also show that the decoherence time behaves in a similar way. On the contrary, the rate of decay of magnitudes like linear entropy or fidelity does not depend on the dynamical regime of the bath. We interpret the latter results as due to a comparable complexity of the Hamiltonian for both the integrable and the fully chaotic limits.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev.

High resolution simulations of the head-on collision of white dwarfs

The direct impact of white dwarfs has been suggested as a plausible channel for type Ia supernovae. In spite of their (a priori) rareness, in highly populated globular clusters and in galactic centers, where the amount of white dwarfs is considerable, the rate of violent collisions between two of them might be non-negligible. Even more, there are indications that binary white dwarf systems orbited by a third stellar-mass body have an important chance to induce a clean head-on collision. Therefore, this scenario represents a source of contamination for the supernova light-curves sample that it is used as standard candles in cosmology, and it deserves further investigation. Some groups have conducted numerical simulations of this scenario, but their results show several differences. In this paper we address some of the possible sources of these differences, presenting the results of high resolution hydrodynamical simulations jointly with a detailed nuclear post-processing of the nuclear abundances, to check the viability of white dwarf collisions to produce significant amounts of 56Ni. To that purpose, we use a 2D-axial symmetric smoothed particle hydrodynamic code to obtain a resolution considerably higher than in previous studies. In this work, we also study how the initial mass and nuclear composition affect the results. The gravitational wave emission is also calculated, as this is a unique signature of this kind of events. All calculated models produce a significant amount of 56Ni, ranging from 0.1 Msun to 1.1 Msun, compatible not only with normal-Branch type Ia supernova but also with the subluminous and super-Chandrasekhar subset. Nevertheless, the distribution mass-function of white dwarfs favors collisions among 0.6-0.7 Msun objects, leading to subluminous events.Comment: 24 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Stringent Numerical Test of the Poisson Distribution for Finite Quantum Integrable Hamiltonians

Using a new class of exactly solvable models based on the pairing interaction, we show that it is possible to construct integrable Hamiltonians with a Wigner distribution of nearest neighbor level spacings. However, these Hamiltonians involve many-body interactions and the addition of a small integrable perturbation very quickly leads the system to a Poisson distribution. Besides this exceptional cases, we show that the accumulated distribution of an ensemble of random integrable two-body pairing hamiltonians is in perfect agreement with the Poisson limit. These numerical results for quantum integrable Hamiltonians provide a further empirical confirmation to the work of the Berry and Tabor in the semiclassical limit.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, LaTeX (RevTeX 4) Content changed, References added Accepted for publication in PR

Fluctuations in the level density of a Fermi gas

We present a theory that accurately describes the counting of excited states of a noninteracting fermionic gas. At high excitation energies the results reproduce Bethe's theory. At low energies oscillatory corrections to the many--body density of states, related to shell effects, are obtained. The fluctuations depend non-trivially on energy and particle number. Universality and connections with Poisson statistics and random matrix theory are established for regular and chaotic single--particle motion.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Thouless Energy Challenges Thermalization on the Ergodic Side of the Many-Body Localization Transition

We study the ergodic side of the many-body localization transition in its standard model, the disordered Heisenberg quantum spin chain. We show that the Thouless energy, extracted from long-range spectral statistics and the power-spectrum of the full momentum distribution fluctuations, is not large enough to guarantee thermalization. We find that both estimates coincide and behave non-monotonically, exhibiting a strong peak at an intermediate value of the disorder. Furthermore, we show that non-thermalizing initial conditions occur well within the ergodic phase with larger probability than expected. Finally, we propose a mechanism, driven by the Thouless energy and the presence of anomalous events, for the transition to the localized phase.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures. Accepted preprint; to appear in Phys. Rev.

Signatures of a critical point in the many-body localization transition

Disordered interacting spin chains that undergo a many-body localization transition are characterized by two limiting behaviors where the dynamics are chaotic and integrable. However, the transition region between them is not fully understood yet. We propose here a possible finite-size precursor of a critical point that shows a typical finite-size scaling and distinguishes between two different dynamical phases. The kurtosis excess of the diagonal fluctuations of the full one-dimensional momentum distribution from its microcanonical average is maximum at this singular point in the paradigmatic disordered $J_1$-$J_2$ model. For system sizes accessible to exact diagonalization, both the position and the size of this maximum scale linearly with the system size. Furthermore, we show that this singular point is found at the same disorder strength at which the Thouless and the Heisenberg energies coincide. Below this point, the spectral statistics follow the universal random matrix behavior up to the Thouless energy. Above it, no traces of chaotic behavior remain, and the spectral statistics are well described by a generalized semi-Poissonian model, eventually leading to the integrable Poissonian behavior. We provide, thus, an integrated scenario for the many-body localization transition, conjecturing that the critical point in the thermodynamic limit, if it exists, should be given by this value of disorder strength.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures, comments are welcom

Thouless energy challenges thermalization on the ergodic side of the many-body localization transition

We study the ergodic side of the many-body localization transition in its standard model, the disordered Heisenberg quantum spin chain. We show that the Thouless energy, extracted from long-range spectral statistics and the power-spectrum of the full momentum distribution fluctuations, is not large enough to guarantee thermalization. We find that both estimates coincide and behave nonmonotonically, exhibiting a strong peak at an intermediate value of the disorder. Furthermore, we show that nonthermalizing initial conditions occur well within the ergodic phase with larger probability than expected. Finally, we propose a mechanism, driven by the Thouless energy and the presence of anomalous events, for the transition to the localized phase