Fermion quantum criticality far from equilibrium

TL;DR

This paper develops a theoretical framework for fermionic quantum criticality far from equilibrium, revealing a new universality class and symmetry protection mechanism that sustains quantum correlations in dissipative conditions.

Contribution

It introduces the first non-equilibrium universality class for fermions and demonstrates a symmetry protection mechanism that preserves quantum states amid thermal baths.

Findings

Identified a new non-equilibrium universality class for fermions.

Derived an effective field theory coupling critical fermions to a bosonic bath.

Discovered a symmetry that protects fermion purity in dissipative environments.

Abstract

Driving a quantum system out of equilibrium while preserving its subtle quantum mechanical correlations on large scales presents a major challenge, both fundamentally and for technological applications. At its core, this challenge is pinpointed by the question of how quantum effects can persist at asymptotic scales, analogous to quantum critical points in equilibrium. In this work, we construct such a scenario using fermions as building blocks. These fermions undergo an absorbing-to-absorbing state transition between two topologically distinct and quantum-correlated dark states. Starting from a microscopic, interacting Lindbladian, we derive an effective Lindblad-Keldysh field theory in which critical fermions couple to a bosonic bath with hydrodynamic fluctuations associated with particle number conservation. A key feature of this field theory is an emergent symmetry that protects the purity of the fermions' state even in the presence of the thermal bath. We quantitatively characterise the critical point using a leading-order expansion around the upper critical dimension, thereby establishing the first non-equilibrium universality class of fermions. The symmetry protection mechanism, which exhibits parallels to the problem of directed percolation, suggests a pathway toward a broader class of robust, universal quantum phenomena in fermionic systems.