Wetting critical behavior in the quantum Ising model within the framework of Lindblad dissipative dynamics

TL;DR

This paper studies the critical behavior of wetting interfaces in a quantum Ising model using Lindblad dynamics, providing insights into phase transitions through dissipative quantum dynamics rather than traditional free energy methods.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach employing Lindblad master equations to analyze wetting phenomena in quantum systems, bypassing conventional free energy calculations.

Findings

Lindblad dynamics effectively characterize wetting critical behavior.

The approach offers an alternative way to map phase diagrams.

Steady states reveal phase coexistence and transitions.

Abstract

We investigate the critical behavior, both in space and time, of the wetting interface within the coexistence region around the first-order phase transition of a fully-connected quantum Ising model in slab geometry. For that, we employ the Lindblad master equation formalism in which temperature is inherited by the coupling to a dissipative bath, rather than being a functional parameter as in the conventional Cahn's free energy. Lindblad's approach gives not only access to the dissipative dynamics and steady-state configuration of the quantum wetting interface throughout the whole phase diagram but also shows that the wetting critical behavior can be successfully exploited to characterize the phase diagram as an alternative to the direct evaluation of the free energies of the competing phases.