Litcius/Paper detail

Excited-state quantum phase transitions

Pavel Cejnar, Pavel Stránský, Michal Macek, Michal Kloc

2021Journal of Physics A Mathematical and Theoretical118 citationsDOIOpen Access PDF

Abstract

Abstract We review the effects of excited-state quantum phase transitions (ESQPTs) in interacting many-body systems with finite numbers of collective degrees of freedom. We classify typical ESQPT signatures in the spectra of energy eigenstates with respect to the underlying classical dynamics and outline a variety of quantum systems in which they occur. We describe thermodynamic and dynamic consequences of ESQPTs, like those in microcanonical thermodynamics, quantum quench dynamics, and in the response to nearly adiabatic or periodic driving. We hint at some generalizations of the ESQPT concept in periodic lattices and in resonant tunneling systems.

Topics & Concepts

Excited stateAdiabatic processQuantumPhysicsDegrees of freedom (physics and chemistry)Quantum tunnellingQuantum dynamicsQuantum phasesQuantum mechanicsQuantum phase transitionEigenvalues and eigenvectorsStatistical physicsCold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein CondensatesQuantum many-body systemsOpinion Dynamics and Social Influence