Energy transport in an integrable parafermionic chain via generalized hydrodynamics

TL;DR

This paper develops a generalized hydrodynamic framework to analyze energy transport in an integrable $ ext{Z}_3$ parafermionic chain, revealing effects of conformal limits and junctions between different conformal field theories.

Contribution

It introduces a novel generalized hydrodynamics approach for the $ ext{Z}_3$ parafermionic chain, connecting integrability, conformal limits, and non-equilibrium energy transport.

Findings

Energy current influenced by low-energy conformal limit with $c=4/5$

Near maximally excited states, the system exhibits $c=1$ conformal behavior

Results approximate out-of-equilibrium conformal field theory predictions

Abstract

We study energy transport in the integrable $\mathbb Z_3$ parafermionic chain using the partitioning protocol. By exploiting the Bethe-ansatz solution for the thermodynamics of the system, we develop a generalized hydrodynamic description of the non-equilibrium steady states, which we benchmark using numerical simulations based on matrix product states. The model features a low-energy conformal limit with central charge $c=4/5$, which affects the low-temperature energy current, as we explicitly show. Moreover, we exploit that, for energies close to the maximally excited state, the system is also critical and described by a conformal field theory with $c=1$. By considering the two halves prepared at two temperatures both low in value but opposite in sign, we are able to investigate in an exact and controlled way the junction between two conformal field theories with different central charges. Notwithstanding the absence of global conformal invariance, we find results that approximate to a high degree those of out-of-equilibrium conformal field theories. Our study extends the generalized hydrodynamics to a novel framework, where it can be profitably used for exploring new physical phenomena.