4,257 research outputs found
Universal nonequilibrium signatures of Majorana zero modes in quench dynamics
The quantum evolution after a metallic lead is suddenly connected to an
electron system contains information about the excitation spectrum of the
combined system. We exploit this type of "quantum quench" to probe the presence
of Majorana fermions at the ends of a topological superconducting wire. We
obtain an algebraically decaying overlap (Loschmidt echo) for large times after the quench, with
a universal critical exponent =1/4 that is found to be remarkably
robust against details of the setup, such as interactions in the normal lead,
the existence of additional lead channels or the presence of bound levels
between the lead and the superconductor. As in recent quantum dot experiments,
this exponent could be measured by optical absorption, offering a new signature
of Majorana zero modes that is distinct from interferometry and tunneling
spectroscopy.Comment: 9 pages + appendices, 4 figures. v3: published versio
Critical properties of joint spin and Fortuin-Kasteleyn observables in the two-dimensional Potts model
The two-dimensional Potts model can be studied either in terms of the
original Q-component spins, or in the geometrical reformulation via
Fortuin-Kasteleyn (FK) clusters. While the FK representation makes sense for
arbitrary real values of Q by construction, it was only shown very recently
that the spin representation can be promoted to the same level of generality.
In this paper we show how to define the Potts model in terms of observables
that simultaneously keep track of the spin and FK degrees of freedom. This is
first done algebraically in terms of a transfer matrix that couples three
different representations of a partition algebra. Using this, one can study
correlation functions involving any given number of propagating spin clusters
with prescribed colours, each of which contains any given number of distinct FK
clusters. For 0 <= Q <= 4 the corresponding critical exponents are all of the
Kac form h_{r,s}, with integer indices r,s that we determine exactly both in
the bulk and in the boundary versions of the problem. In particular, we find
that the set of points where an FK cluster touches the hull of its surrounding
spin cluster has fractal dimension d_{2,1} = 2 - 2 h_{2,1}. If one constrains
this set to points where the neighbouring spin cluster extends to infinity, we
show that the dimension becomes d_{1,3} = 2 - 2 h_{1,3}. Our results are
supported by extensive transfer matrix and Monte Carlo computations.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures, 2 table
Quantum Brownian motion in a quasiperiodic potential
We consider a quantum particle subject to Ohmic dissipation, moving in a
bichromatic quasiperiodic potential. In a periodic potential the particle
undergoes a zero-temperature localization-delocalization transition as
dissipation strength is decreased. We show that the delocalized phase is absent
in the quasiperiodic case, even when the deviation from periodicity is
infinitesimal. Using the renormalization group, we determine how the effective
localization length depends on the dissipation. We show that {a similar problem
can emerge in} the strong-coupling limit of a mobile impurity moving in a
periodic lattice and immersed in a one-dimensional quantum gas.Comment: 5+6 pages, 1 figur
Localization-protected order in spin chains with non-Abelian discrete symmetries
We study the non-equilibrium phase structure of the three-state random
quantum Potts model in one dimension. This spin chain is characterized by a
non-Abelian symmetry recently argued to be incompatible with the
existence of a symmetry-preserving many-body localized (MBL) phase. Using exact
diagonalization and a finite-size scaling analysis, we find that the model
supports two distinct broken-symmetry MBL phases at strong disorder that either
break the clock symmetry or a chiral
symmetry. In a dual formulation, our results indicate the existence of a stable
finite-temperature topological phase with MBL-protected parafermionic end zero
modes. While we find a thermal symmetry-preserving regime for weak disorder,
scaling analysis at strong disorder points to an infinite-randomness critical
point between two distinct broken-symmetry MBL phases.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures main text; 6 pages, 3 figures supplemental
material; Version 2 includes a corrected the form of the chiral order
parameter, and corresponding data, as well as larger system size numerics,
with no change to the phase structur
Particle-hole symmetry, many-body localization, and topological edge modes
We study the excited states of interacting fermions in one dimension with
particle-hole symmetric disorder (equivalently, random-bond XXZ chains) using a
combination of renormalization group methods and exact diagonalization. Absent
interactions, the entire many-body spectrum exhibits infinite-randomness
quantum critical behavior with highly degenerate excited states. We show that
though interactions are an irrelevant perturbation in the ground state, they
drastically affect the structure of excited states: even arbitrarily weak
interactions split the degeneracies in favor of thermalization (weak disorder)
or spontaneously broken particle-hole symmetry, driving the system into a
many-body localized spin glass phase (strong disorder). In both cases, the
quantum critical properties of the non-interacting model are destroyed, either
by thermal decoherence or spontaneous symmetry breaking. This system then has
the interesting and counterintuitive property that edges of the many-body
spectrum are less localized than the center of the spectrum. We argue that our
results rule out the existence of certain excited state symmetry-protected
topological orders.Comment: 9 pages. 7 figure
Traffic jams and intermittent flows in microfluidic networks
We investigate both experimentally and theoretically the traffic of particles
flowing in microfluidic obstacle networks. We show that the traffic dynamics is
a non-linear process: the particle current does not scale with the particle
density even in the dilute limit where no particle collision occurs. We
demonstrate that this non-linear behavior stems from long range hydrodynamic
interactions. Importantly, we also establish that there exists a maximal
current above which no stationary particle flow can be sustained. For higher
current values, intermittent traffic jams form thereby inducing the ejection of
the particles from the initial path and the subsequent invasion of the network.
Eventually, we put our findings in the broader context of the transport
proccesses of driven particles in low dimension
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