Parity-time symmetry-breaking mechanism of dynamic Mott transitions in dissipative systems

TL;DR

This paper models the dynamic Mott insulator-to-metal transition in dissipative systems as a PT symmetry-breaking phase transition, linking critical behavior to non-Hermitian Hamiltonians and aligning theoretical predictions with experimental results.

Contribution

It introduces a PT symmetry framework to describe the critical behavior of dynamic Mott transitions in dissipative quantum systems, providing new insights into their phase transition mechanisms.

Findings

Identification of the Mott transition as a PT symmetry-breaking phase transition

Derivation of the critical exponent matching experimental data

Description of the collapse of the Mott gap at dielectric breakdown

Abstract

We describe the critical behavior of electric field-driven (dynamic) Mott insulator-to-metal transitions in dissipative Fermi and Bose systems in terms of non-Hermitian Hamiltonians invariant under simultaneous parity (P) and time-reversal (T) operations. The dynamic Mott transition is identified as a PT symmetry-breaking phase transition, with the Mott insulating state corresponding to the regime of unbroken PT symmetry with a real energy spectrum. We establish that the imaginary part of the Hamiltonian arises from the combined effects of the driving field and inherent dissipation. We derive the renormalization and collapse of the Mott gap at the dielectric breakdown and describe the resulting critical behavior of transport characteristics. The obtained critical exponent is in an excellent agreement with experimental findings.