Kibble-Zurek behavior in a topological phase transition with a quadratic band crossing

TL;DR

This paper investigates the Kibble-Zurek mechanism in a 2D topological phase transition with quadratic band crossing, revealing new critical exponents and extending understanding of non-equilibrium topological transitions.

Contribution

The study uncovers the KZ scaling behavior and critical exponents in a quadratic band crossing topological transition, expanding beyond linear band crossing models.

Findings

Correlation length diverges with exponent ~0.5 in equilibrium

KZ scaling verified with z~2 during slow quench

Relationship between critical exponents and band crossing order

Abstract

Kibble-Zurek (KZ) mechanism describes the scaling behavior when driving a system across a continuous symmetry-breaking transition. Previous studies have shown that the KZ-like scaling behavior also lies in the topological transitions in the Qi-Wu-Zhang model (2D) and the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model (1D), although symmetry breaking does not exist here. Both models with linear band crossings give that $\nu=1$ and $z=1$. We wonder whether different critical exponents can be acquired in topological transitions beyond linear band crossing. In this work, we look into the KZ behavior in a topological 2D checkerboard lattice with a quadratic band crossing. We investigate from dual perspectives: momentum distribution of the Berry curvature in clean systems for simplicity, and real-space analysis of domain-like local Chern marker configurations in disordered systems, which is a more intuitive analog to conventional KZ description. In equilibrium, we find the correlation length diverges with a power $\nu\simeq 1/2$. Then, by slowly quenching the system across the topological phase transition, we find that the freeze-out time $t_\mathrm{f}$ and the unfrozen length scale $\xi(t_\mathrm{f})$ both satisfy the KZ scaling, verifying $z\simeq 2$. We subsequently explore KZ behavior in topological phase transitions with other higher-order band crossing and find the relationship between the critical exponents and the order. Our results extend the understanding of the KZ mechanism and non-equilibrium topological phase transitions.