Publications

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• Thermodynamics of quantum-jump trajectories of open quantum systems subject to stochastic resetting

  Gabriele Perfetto, Federico Carollo, Igor Lesanovsky

  SciPost Phys. 13, 079 (2022) · published 4 October 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We consider Markovian open quantum systems subject to stochastic resetting, which means that the dissipative time evolution is reset at randomly distributed times to the initial state. We show that the ensuing dynamics is non-Markovian and has the form of a generalized Lindblad equation. Interestingly, the statistics of quantum-jumps can be exactly derived. This is achieved by combining techniques from the thermodynamics of quantum-jump trajectories with the renewal structure of the resetting dynamics. We consider as an application of our analysis a driven two-level and an intermittent three-level system. Our findings show that stochastic resetting may be exploited as a tool to tailor the statistics of the quantum-jump trajectories and the dynamical phases of open quantum systems.

  19 citations

• Dynamics of a colloidal particle coupled to a Gaussian field: from a confinement-dependent to a non-linear memory

  Urna Basu, Vincent Démery, Andrea Gambassi

  SciPost Phys. 13, 078 (2022) · published 3 October 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The effective dynamics of a colloidal particle immersed in a complex medium is often described in terms of an overdamped linear Langevin equation for its velocity with a memory kernel which determines the effective (time-dependent) friction and the correlations of fluctuations. Recently, it has been shown in experiments and numerical simulations that this memory may depend on the possible optical confinement the particle is subject to, suggesting that this description does not capture faithfully the actual dynamics of the colloid, even at equilibrium. Here, we propose a different approach in which we model the medium as a Gaussian field linearly coupled to the colloid. The resulting effective evolution equation of the colloidal particle features a non-linear memory term which extends previous models and which explains qualitatively the experimental and numerical evidence in the presence of confinement. This non-linear term is related to the correlations of the effective noise via a novel fluctuation-dissipation relation which we derive.

  11 citations

• Relative cluster entropy for power-law correlated sequences

  Anna Carbone, Linda Ponta

  SciPost Phys. 13, 076 (2022) · published 30 September 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We propose an information-theoretical measure, the \textit{relative cluster entropy} $\mathcal{D_{C}}[P \| Q] $, to discriminate among cluster partitions characterised by probability distribution functions $P$ and $Q$. The measure is illustrated with the clusters generated by pairs of fractional Brownian motions with Hurst exponents $H_1$ and $H_2$ respectively. For subdiffusive, normal and superdiffusive sequences, the relative entropy sensibly depends on the difference between $H_1$ and $H_2$. By using the \textit{minimum relative entropy} principle, cluster sequences characterized by different correlation degrees are distinguished and the optimal Hurst exponent is selected. As a case study, real-world cluster partitions of market price series are compared to those obtained from fully uncorrelated sequences (simple Browniam motions) assumed as a model. The \textit{minimum relative cluster entropy} yields optimal Hurst exponents $H_1=0.55$, $H_1=0.57$, and $H_1=0.63$ respectively for the prices of DJIA, S\&P500, NASDAQ: a clear indication of non-markovianity. Finally, we derive the analytical expression of the relative cluster entropy and the outcomes are discussed for arbitrary pairs of power-laws probability distribution functions of continuous random variables.

  3 citations

• A splash in a one-dimensional cold gas

  Subhadip Chakraborti, Abhishek Dhar, P. L. Krapivsky

  SciPost Phys. 13, 074 (2022) · published 29 September 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We consider a set of hard point particles distributed uniformly with a specified density on the positive half-line and all initially at rest. The particle masses alternate between two values, $m$ and $M$. The particles interact via collisions that conserve energy and momentum. We study the cascade of activity that results when the left-most particle is given a positive velocity. At long times we find that this leads to two fascinating features in the observed dynamics. First, in the bulk of the gas, a shock front develops separating the cold gas from a thermalized region. The shock-front travels sub-ballistically, with the bulk described by self-similar solutions of Euler hydrodynamics. Second, there is a splash region formed by the recoiled particles which move ballistically with negative velocities. The splash region is completely non-hydrodynamic and we propose two conjectures for the long time particle dynamics in this region. We provide a detailed analytic understanding of these coexisting regimes. These are supported by the results of molecular dynamics simulations.

  2 citations

• Topological characterization of Lieb-Schultz-Mattis constraints and applications to symmetry-enriched quantum criticality

  Weicheng Ye, Meng Guo, Yin-Chen He, Chong Wang, Liujun Zou

  SciPost Phys. 13, 066 (2022) · published 26 September 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Lieb-Schultz-Mattis (LSM) theorems provide powerful constraints on the emergibility problem, i.e. whether a quantum phase or phase transition can emerge in a many-body system. We derive the topological partition functions that characterize the LSM constraints in spin systems with $G_s\times G_{int}$ symmetry, where $G_s$ is an arbitrary space group in one or two spatial dimensions, and $G_{int}$ is any internal symmetry whose projective representations are classified by $\mathbb{Z}_2^k$ with $k$ an integer. We then apply these results to study the emergibility of a class of exotic quantum critical states, including the well-known deconfined quantum critical point (DQCP), $U(1)$ Dirac spin liquid (DSL), and the recently proposed non-Lagrangian Stiefel liquid. These states can emerge as a consequence of the competition between a magnetic state and a non-magnetic state. We identify all possible realizations of these states on systems with $SO(3)\times \mathbb{Z}_2^T$ internal symmetry and either $p6m$ or $p4m$ lattice symmetry. Many interesting examples are discovered, including a DQCP adjacent to a ferromagnet, stable DSLs on square and honeycomb lattices, and a class of quantum critical spin-quadrupolar liquids of which the most relevant spinful fluctuations carry spin-$2$. In particular, there is a realization of spin-quadrupolar DSL that is beyond the usual parton construction. We further use our formalism to analyze the stability of these states under symmetry-breaking perturbations, such as spin-orbit coupling. As a concrete example, we find that a DSL can be stable in a recently proposed candidate material, NaYbO$_2$.

  23 citations

• Active particles driven by competing spatially dependent self-propulsion and external force

  Lorenzo Caprini, Umberto Marini Bettolo Marconi, René Wittmann , Hartmut Löwen

  SciPost Phys. 13, 065 (2022) · published 23 September 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We investigate how the competing presence of a nonuniform motility landscape and an external confining field affects the properties of active particles. We employ the active Ornstein-Uhlenbeck particle (AOUP) model with a periodic swim-velocity profile to derive analytical approximations for the steady-state probability distribution of position and velocity, encompassing both the Unified Colored Noise Approximation and the theory of potential-free active particles with spatially dependent swim velocity recently developed. We test the theory by confining an active particle in a harmonic trap, which gives rise to interesting properties, such as a transition from a unimodal to a bimodal (and, eventually multimodal) spatial density, induced by decreasing the spatial period of the self propulsion. Correspondingly, the velocity distribution shows pronounced deviations from the Gaussian shape, even displaying a bimodal profile in the high-motility regions. We thus show that the interplay of two relatively simple physical fields can be employed to generate complex emerging behavior.

  12 citations

• Generalised Gibbs Ensemble for spherically constrained harmonic models

  Damien Barbier, Leticia F. Cugliandolo, Gustavo S. Lozano, Nicolás Nessi

  SciPost Phys. 13, 048 (2022) · published 2 September 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We build and analytically calculate the Generalised Gibbs Ensemble partition function of the integrable Soft Neumann Model. This is the model of a classical particle which is constrained to move, on average over the initial conditions, on an $N$ dimensional sphere, and feels the effect of anisotropic harmonic potentials. We derive all relevant averaged static observables in the (thermodynamic) $N\rightarrow\infty$ limit. We compare them to their long-term dynamic averages finding excellent agreement in all phases of a non-trivial phase diagram determined by the characteristics of the initial conditions and the amount of energy injected or extracted in an instantaneous quench. We discuss the implications of our results for the proper Neumann model in which the spherical constraint is imposed strictly.

  2 citations

• Learning Summary Statistics for Bayesian Inference with Autoencoders

  Carlo Albert, Simone Ulzega, Firat Ozdemir, Fernando Perez-Cruz, Antonietta Mira

  SciPost Phys. Core 5, 043 (2022) · published 1 September 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  For stochastic models with intractable likelihood functions, approximate Bayesian computation offers a way of approximating the true posterior through repeated comparisons of observations with simulated model outputs in terms of a small set of summary statistics. These statistics need to retain the information that is relevant for constraining the parameters but cancel out the noise. They can thus be seen as thermodynamic state variables, for general stochastic models. For many scientific applications, we need strictly more summary statistics than model parameters to reach a satisfactory approximation of the posterior. Therefore, we propose to use the inner dimension of deep neural network based Autoencoders as summary statistics. To create an incentive for the encoder to encode all the parameter-related information but not the noise, we give the decoder access to explicit or implicit information on the noise that has been used to generate the training data. We validate the approach empirically on two types of stochastic models.

  4 citations

• Activity driven transport in harmonic chains

  Ion Santra, Urna Basu

  SciPost Phys. 13, 041 (2022) · published 30 August 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The transport properties of an extended system driven by active reservoirs is an issue of paramount importance, which remains virtually unexplored. Here we address this issue, for the first time, in the context of energy transport between two active reservoirs connected by a chain of harmonic oscillators. The couplings to the active reservoirs, which exert correlated stochastic forces on the boundary oscillators, lead to fascinating behavior of the energy current and kinetic temperature profile even for this linear system. We analytically show that the stationary active current (i) changes non-monotonically as the activity of the reservoirs are changed, leading to a negative differential conductivity (NDC), and (ii) exhibits an unexpected direction reversal at some finite value of the activity drive. The origin of this NDC is traced back to the Lorentzian frequency spectrum of the active reservoirs. We provide another physical insight to the NDC using nonequilibrium linear response formalism for the example of a dichotomous active force. We also show that despite an apparent similarity of the kinetic temperature profile to the thermally driven scenario, no effective thermal picture can be consistently built in general. However, such a picture emerges in the small activity limit, where many of the well-known results are recovered.

  14 citations

• Crystal gravity

  Jan Zaanen, Floris Balm, Aron J. Beekman

  SciPost Phys. 13, 039 (2022) · published 30 August 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We address a subject that could have been analyzed century ago: how does the universe of general relativity look like when it would have been filled with solid matter? Solids break spontaneously the translations and rotations of space itself. Only rather recently it was realized in various context that the order parameter of the solid has a relation to Einsteins dynamical space time which is similar to the role of a Higgs field in a Yang-Mills gauge theory. Such a "crystal gravity" is therefore like the Higgs phase of gravity. The usual Higgs phases are characterized by a special phenomenology. A case in point is superconductivity exhibiting phenomena like the Type II phase, characterized by the emergence of an Abrikosov lattice of quantized magnetic fluxes absorbing the external magnetic field. What to expect in the gravitational setting? The theory of elasticity is the universal effective field theory associated with the breaking of space translations and rotations having a similar status as the phase action describing a neutral superfluid. A geometrical formulation appeared in its long history, similar in structure to general relativity, which greatly facilitates the marriage of both theories. With as main limitation that we focus entirely on stationary circumstances -- the dynamical theory is greatly complicated by the lack of Lorentz invariance -- we will present a first exploration of a remarkably rich and often simple physics of "Higgsed gravity".

  7 citations