Quantum trajectory phase transitions in the micromaser

Spectral signatures of symmetry-breaking dynamical phase transitions

Large deviation theory provides the framework to study the probability of rare fluctuations of time-averaged observables, opening new avenues of research in nonequilibrium physics. Some of the most appealing results within this context are dynamical phase transitions (DPTs), which might occur at the level of trajectories in order to maximize the probability of sustaining a rare event. While macroscopic fluctuation theory has underpinned much recent progress on the understanding of symmetry-breaking DPTs in driven diffusive systems, their microscopic characterization is still challenging. In this work we shed light on the general spectral mechanism giving rise to continuous DPTs not only for driven diffusive systems, but for any jump process in which a discrete Z_{n} symmetry is broken. By means of a symmetry-aided spectral analysis of the Doob-transformed dynamics, we provide the conditions whereby symmetry-breaking DPTs might emerge and how the different dynamical phases arise from the specific structure of the degenerate eigenvectors. In particular, we show explicitly how all symmetry-breaking features are encoded in the subleading eigenvectors of the degenerate subspace. Moreover, by partitioning configuration space into equivalence classes according to a proper order parameter, we achieve a substantial dimensional reduction which allows for the quantitative characterization of the spectral fingerprints of DPTs. We illustrate our predictions in several paradigmatic many-body systems, including (1) the one-dimensional boundary-driven weakly asymmetric exclusion process (WASEP), which exhibits a particle-hole symmetry-breaking DPT for current fluctuations, (2) the three- and four-state Potts model for spin dynamics, which displays discrete rotational symmetry-breaking DPTs for energy fluctuations, and (3) the closed WASEP which presents a continuous symmetry-breaking DPT into a time-crystal phase characterized by a rotating condensate.

Hierarchical classical metastability in an open quantum East model

We study in detail an open quantum generalization of a classical kinetically constrained model-the East model-known to exhibit slow glassy dynamics stemming from a complex hierarchy of metastable states with distinct lifetimes. Using the recently introduced theory of classical metastability for open quantum systems, we show that the driven open quantum East model features a hierarchy of classical metastabilities at low temperature and weak driving field. We find that the effective long-time description of its dynamics not only is classical, but shares many properties with the classical East model, such as obeying an effective detailed balance condition and lacking static interactions between excitations, but with this occurring within a modified set of metastable phases which are coherent, and with an effective temperature that is dependent on the coherent drive.

Auxiliary open quantum system for the Floquet quantum master equation

By directly using the probability formulas of quantum trajectories, we construct an auxiliary open quantum system for a periodically driven open quantum system whose dynamics is governed by the Floquet quantum master equation. This auxiliary system can generate a quantum trajectory ensemble that is consistent with the canonical quantum trajectory ensemble. We find that, at a long time limit, though the Lindblad operators are modified, the coherent dynamics of the auxiliary system is the same as that of the original system. A periodically driven two-level quantum system is used to illustrate this construction.

Sampling rare events across dynamical phase transitions

Interacting particle systems with many degrees of freedom may undergo phase transitions to sustain atypical fluctuations of dynamical observables such as the current or the activity. In some cases, this leads to symmetry-broken space-time trajectories which enhance the probability of such events due to the emergence of ordered structures. Despite their conceptual and practical importance, these dynamical phase transitions (DPTs) at the trajectory level are difficult to characterize due to the low probability of their occurrence. However, during the last decade, advanced computational techniques have been developed to measure rare events in simulations of many-particle systems that allow the direct observation and characterization of these DPTs. Here we review the application of a particular rare-event simulation technique, based on cloning Monte Carlo methods, to characterize DPTs in paradigmatic stochastic lattice gases. In particular, we describe in detail some tricks and tips of the trade, paying special attention to the measurement of order parameters capturing the physics of the different DPTs, as well as to the finite-size effects (both in the system size and in the number of clones) that affect the measurements. Overall, we provide a consistent picture of the phenomenology associated with DPTs and their measurement.

Order and Symmetry Breaking in the Fluctuations of Driven Systems

Dynamical phase transitions (DPTs) in the space of trajectories are one of the most intriguing phenomena of nonequilibrium physics, but their nature in realistic high-dimensional systems remains puzzling. Here we observe for the first time a DPT in the current vector statistics of an archetypal two-dimensional (2D) driven diffusive system and characterize its properties using the macroscopic fluctuation theory. The complex interplay among the external field, anisotropy, and vector currents in 2D leads to a rich phase diagram, with different symmetry-broken fluctuation phases separated by lines of first- and second-order DPTs. Remarkably, different types of 1D order in the form of jammed density waves emerge to hinder transport for low-current fluctuations, revealing a connection between rare events and self-organized structures which enhance their probability.

Large deviations of the current for driven periodic diffusions

We study the large deviations of the time-integrated current for a driven diffusion on the circle, often used as a model of nonequilibrium systems. We obtain the large deviation functions describing the current fluctuations using a Fourier-Bloch decomposition of the so-called tilted generator, and we also construct from this decomposition the effective (biased, auxiliary, or driven) Markov process describing the diffusion as current fluctuations are observed in time. This effective process provides a clear physical explanation of the various fluctuation regimes observed. It is used here to obtain an upper bound on the current large deviation function, which we compare to a recently derived entropic bound, and to study the low-noise limit of large deviations.

Intermittency and dynamical Lee-Yang zeros of open quantum systems

We use high-order cumulants to investigate the Lee-Yang zeros of generating functions of dynamical observables in open quantum systems. At long times the generating functions take on a large-deviation form with singularities of the associated cumulant generating functions-or dynamical free energies-signifying phase transitions in the ensemble of dynamical trajectories. We consider a driven three-level system as well as the dissipative Ising model. Both systems exhibit dynamical intermittency in the statistics of quantum jumps. From the short-time behavior of the dynamical Lee-Yang zeros, we identify critical values of the counting field which we attribute to the observed intermittency and dynamical phase coexistence. Furthermore, for the dissipative Ising model we construct a trajectory phase diagram and estimate the value of the transverse field where the stationary state changes from being ferromagnetic (inactive) to paramagnetic (active).

Localization in space and time in disordered-lattice open quantum dynamics

We study a two-dimensional tight-binding lattice for excitons with on-site disorder, coupled to a thermal environment at infinite temperature. The disorder acts to localize an exciton spatially, while the environment generates dynamics which enable exploration of the lattice. Although the steady state of the system is trivially uniform, we observe a rich dynamics and uncover a dynamical phase transition in the space of temporal trajectories. This transition is identified as a localization in the dynamics generated by the bath. We explore spatial features in the dynamics and employ a generalization of the inverse participation ratio to deduce an ergodic timescale for the lattice.

Nonequilibrium microcanonical and canonical ensembles and their equivalence

Generalizations of the microcanonical and canonical ensembles for paths of Markov processes have been proposed recently to describe the statistical properties of nonequilibrium systems driven in steady states. Here, we propose a theory of these ensembles that unifies and generalizes earlier results and show how it is fundamentally related to the large deviation properties of nonequilibrium systems. Using this theory, we provide conditions for the equivalence of nonequilibrium ensembles, generalizing those found for equilibrium systems, construct driven physical processes that generate these ensembles, and rederive in a simple way known and new product rules for their transition rates. A nonequilibrium diffusion model is used to illustrate these results.

Trajectory phase transitions and dynamical Lee-Yang zeros of the Glauber-Ising chain

We examine the generating function of the time-integrated energy for the one-dimensional Glauber-Ising model. At long times, the generating function takes on a large-deviation form and the associated cumulant generating function has singularities corresponding to continuous trajectory (or "space-time") phase transitions between paramagnetic trajectories and ferromagnetically or antiferromagnetically ordered trajectories. In the thermodynamic limit, the singularities make up a whole curve of critical points in the complex plane of the counting field. We evaluate analytically the generating function by mapping the generator of the biased dynamics to a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian of an associated quantum spin chain. We relate the trajectory phase transitions to the high-order cumulants of the time-integrated energy which we use to extract the dynamical Lee-Yang zeros of the generating function. This approach offers the possibility to detect continuous trajectory phase transitions from the finite-time behavior of measurable quantities.

Characterization of dynamical phase transitions in quantum jump trajectories beyond the properties of the stationary state

We describe how to characterize dynamical phase transitions in open quantum systems from a purely dynamical perspective, namely, through the statistical behavior of quantum jump trajectories. This approach goes beyond considering only properties of the steady state. While in small quantum systems dynamical transitions can only occur trivially at limiting values of the controlling parameters, in many-body systems they arise as collective phenomena and within this perspective they are reminiscent of thermodynamic phase transitions. We illustrate this in open models of increasing complexity: a three-level system, the micromaser, and a dissipative version of the quantum Ising model. In these examples dynamical transitions are accompanied by clear changes in static behavior. This is however not always the case, and, in general, dynamical phases need to be uncovered by observables which are strictly dynamical, e.g., dynamical counting fields. We demonstrate this via the example of a class of models of dissipative quantum glasses, whose dynamics can vary widely despite having identical (and trivial) stationary states.

Asymptotic inference in system identification for the atom maser

System identification is closely related to control theory and plays an increasing role in quantum engineering. In the quantum set-up, system identification is usually equated to process tomography, i.e. estimating a channel by probing it repeatedly with different input states. However, for quantum dynamical systems such as quantum Markov processes, it is more natural to consider the estimation based on continuous measurements of the output, with a given input that may be stationary. We address this problem using asymptotic statistics tools, for the specific example of estimating the Rabi frequency of an atom maser. We compute the Fisher information of different measurement processes as well as the quantum Fisher information of the atom maser, and establish the local asymptotic normality of these statistical models. The statistical notions can be expressed in terms of spectral properties of certain deformed Markov generators, and the connection to large deviations is briefly discussed.

Generalized fluctuation relation for power-law distributions

Strong violations of existing fluctuation theorems may arise in nonequilibrium steady states characterized by distributions with power-law tails. The ratio of the probabilities of positive and negative fluctuations of equal magnitude behaves in an anomalous nonmonotonic way [H. Touchette and E. G. D. Cohen, Phys. Rev. E 76, 020101(R) (2007)]. Here, we propose an alternative definition of fluctuation relation (FR) symmetry that, in the power-law regime, is characterized by a monotonic linear behavior. The proposal is consistent with a large deviationlike principle. As an example, we study the fluctuations of the work done on a dragged particle immersed in a complex environment able to induce power-law tails. When the environment is characterized by spatiotemporal temperature fluctuations, distributions arising in nonextensive statistical mechanics define the work statistics. In that situation, we find that the FR symmetry is solely defined by the average bath temperature. The case of a dragged particle subjected to a Lévy noise is also analyzed in detail.

Phase transitions in trajectories of a superconducting single-electron transistor coupled to a resonator

Recent progress in the study of dynamical phase transitions has been made with a large-deviation approach to study trajectories of stochastic jumps using a thermodynamic formalism. We study this method applied to an open quantum system consisting of a superconducting single-electron transistor, near the Josephson quasiparticle resonance, coupled to a resonator. We find that the dynamical behavior shown in rare trajectories can be rich even when the mean dynamical activity is small, and thus the formalism gives insights into the form of fluctuations. The structure of the dynamical phase diagram found from the quantum-jump trajectories of the resonator is studied, and we see that sharp transitions in the dynamical activity may be related to the appearance and disappearance of bistabilities in the state of the resonator as system parameters are changed. We also demonstrate that for a fast resonator, the trajectories of quasiparticles are similar to the resonator trajectories.