Dynamic inhomogeneities and phase separation after quantum quenches in strongly correlated systems

TL;DR

This paper introduces a real-space Gutzwiller von Neumann dynamics method to simulate nonequilibrium phenomena in strongly correlated electron systems, revealing dynamical phase transitions and phase separation after quantum quenches.

Contribution

The paper develops a novel real-space Gutzwiller von Neumann dynamics approach for simulating nonequilibrium behavior in strongly correlated systems, highlighting the role of spatial fluctuations.

Findings

Amplification of initial inhomogeneities after interaction quenches

Collapse of synchronized oscillations in the system

Existence of a dynamical phase transition with distinct regimes

Abstract

We present a Gutzwiller von Neumann dynamics (GvND) method for simulating equilibrium and nonequilibrium phenomena in strongly correlated electron systems. Our approach is a real-space formulation of the time-dependent Gutzwiller approximation method. Applying the GvND method to simulate interaction quenches in the Peierls-Hubbard model, we demonstrate the amplification of initial inhomogeneities, which in turn results in the collapse of quench-induced synchronized oscillation. Moreover, we find a dynamical phase transition separating two quasi-stationary regimes with rather distinct spatial distributions of physical quantities after the collapsed oscillation. In particular, in the strong-coupling regime, the system exhibits a dynamic phase separation in the quasi-stationary state. Our results thus underscore the importance of spatial fluctuations in the nonequilibrium dynamics of strongly correlated systems.