Nucleation of superfluid-light domains in a quenched dynamics

TL;DR

This paper investigates how quenched dynamics in coupled resonator arrays induce a first-order phase transition with domain nucleation, affecting photonic transport and revealing universal scaling laws relevant for quantum simulation devices.

Contribution

It demonstrates the emergence of a first-order like phase transition and domain nucleation in finite-sized coupled resonator arrays under quenched dynamics, highlighting universal behaviors.

Findings

First-order like phase transition observed in finite arrays.

Domain nucleation influences photonic transport properties.

Universal scaling law identified across complex architectures.

Abstract

Strong correlation effects emerge from light-matter interactions in coupled resonator arrays, such as the Mott-insulator to superfluid phase transition of atom-photon excitations. We demonstrate that the quenched dynamics of a finite-sized complex array of coupled resonators induces a first-order like phase transition. The latter is accompanied by domain nucleation that can be used to manipulate the photonic transport properties of the emerging superfluid phase; this in turn leads to an empirical scaling law. This universal behavior emerges from the light-matter interaction and the topology of the array. The validity of our results over a wide range of complex architectures might lead to to a promising device for use in scaled quantum simulations.