Dynamical Phase Transitions in Open Quantum Walks

TL;DR

This paper explores how open quantum walks with periodic dephasing exhibit complex dynamical phase transitions, including first- and second-order types, due to the interplay of quantum coherence and classicalization, revealing new non-Hermitian spectral phenomena.

Contribution

It demonstrates the existence of both first- and second-order dynamical phase transitions in open quantum walks, extending classical Markov dynamics insights to quantum-classical hybrid systems.

Findings

Identification of first-order eigenvalue crossing transitions.

Discovery of second-order transitions at exceptional points.

Analysis of models showing detailed balance breaking mechanisms.

Abstract

Dynamical phase transitions in the relaxation behavior of stochastic quantum walks are investigated, focusing on systems where coherent unitary evolution is periodically interrupted by dephasing. This interplay leads to a classicalization of the dynamics, effectively described by non-equilibrium Markovian processes that can violate detailed balance. As a result, such systems exhibit a richer and more complex spectral structure than their equilibrium counterparts. Extending recent insights from classical Markov dynamics [G. Teza {\it et al.}, Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 130}, 207103 (2023)], we demonstrate that these quantum-classical hybrid systems can host not only first-order dynamical phase transitions -- characterized by eigenvalue crossings -- but also second-order transitions marked by the coalescence of eigenvalues and eigenvectors at exceptional points. We analyze two paradigmatic models: a quantum walk on a ring under gauge fields and a walk on a finite line with internal degrees of freedom, both exhibiting distinct mechanisms for breaking detailed balance. These findings reveal a novel class of critical behavior in open quantum systems, where decoherence-induced classicalization enables access to non-Hermitian spectral phenomena. Beyond their fundamental interest, our results offer promising implications for quantum technologies, including quantum simulation, error mitigation, and the engineering of controllable non-equilibrium quantum states.