Landau theory of the short-time dynamical phase transitions of the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang interface

Mirror symmetry breakdown in the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang universality class

The current/height fluctuation statistics of Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) universality in 1+1 dimensions are sensitive to the initial state. We find that the averages over the initial states exhibit universal and scale-invariant patterns when conditioning on fluctuations. To establish universality of our findings, we demonstrate scale invariance at different times and heights using large-scale Monte Carlo simulations of the totally asymmetric simple exclusion process, which belongs to the KPZ universality class. Here we focus on current (or height) fluctuations in the steady-state regime described by the Baik-Rains distribution. The conditioned probability distribution of an initial-state order parameter shows a transition from uni- to bimodal. Bimodality occurs for negative current/height fluctuations that are dominated by superdiffusive shock dynamics. It is caused by two possible point-symmetric shock profiles and the KPZ mirror symmetry breakdown. Similar surprising relations between initial states and fluctuations might exist in other universality classes as well.

Large deviations of the interface height in the Golubović-Bruinsma model of stochastic growth

We study large deviations of the one-point height H of a stochastic interface, governed by the Golubović-Bruinsma equation, ∂_{t}h=-ν∂_{x}^{4}h+(λ/2)(∂_{x}h)^{2}+sqrt[D]ξ(x,t), where h(x,t) is the interface height at point x and time t and ξ(x,t) is the Gaussian white noise. The interface is initially flat, and H is defined by the relation h(x=0,t=T)=H. We focus on the short-time limit, T≪T_{NL}, where T_{NL}=ν^{5/7}(Dλ^{2})^{-4/7} is the characteristic nonlinear time of the system. In this limit typical, small fluctuations of H are unaffected by the nonlinear term, and they are Gaussian. However, the large-deviation tails of the probability distribution P(H,T) "feel" the nonlinearity already at short times, and they are non-Gaussian and asymmetric. We evaluate these tails using the optimal fluctuation method (OFM). The lower tail scales as -lnP(H,T)∼H^{5/2}/T^{1/2}. It coincides with its analog for the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) equation, and we point out to the mechanism of this universality. The upper tail scales as -lnP(H,T)∼H^{11/6}/T^{5/6}, it is different from the upper tail of the KPZ equation. We also compute the large deviation function of H numerically and verify our asymptotic results for the tails.

Large deviations in chaotic systems: Exact results and dynamical phase transition

Large deviations in chaotic dynamics have potentially significant and dramatic consequences. We study large deviations of series of finite lengths N generated by chaotic maps. The distributions generally display an exponential decay with N, associated with large-deviation (rate) functions. We obtain the exact rate functions analytically for the doubling, tent, and logistic maps. For the latter two, the solution is given as a power series whose coefficients can be systematically calculated to any order. We also obtain the rate function for the cat map numerically, uncovering strong evidence for the existence of a remarkable singularity of it that we interpret as a second-order dynamical phase transition. Furthermore, we develop a numerical tool for efficiently simulating atypical realizations of sequences if the chaotic map is not invertible, and we apply it to the tent and logistic maps.

Exact short-time height distribution and dynamical phase transition in the relaxation of a Kardar-Parisi-Zhang interface with random initial condition

We consider the relaxation (noise-free) statistics of the one-point height H=h(x=0,t), where h(x,t) is the evolving height of a one-dimensional Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) interface, starting from a Brownian (random) initial condition. We find that, at short times, the distribution of H takes the same scaling form -lnP(H,t)=S(H)/sqrt[t] as the distribution of H for the KPZ interface driven by noise, and we find the exact large-deviation function S(H) analytically. At a critical value H=H_{c}, the second derivative of S(H) jumps, signaling a dynamical phase transition (DPT). Furthermore, we calculate exactly the most likely history of the interface that leads to a given H, and show that the DPT is associated with spontaneous breaking of the mirror symmetry x↔-x of the interface. In turn, we find that this symmetry breaking is a consequence of the nonconvexity of a large-deviation function that is closely related to S(H), and describes a similar problem but in half space. Moreover, the critical point H_{c} is related to the inflection point of the large-deviation function of the half-space problem.

Inverse scattering solution of the weak noise theory of the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang equation with flat and Brownian initial conditions

We present the solution of the weak noise theory (WNT) for the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang equation in one dimension at short time for flat initial condition (IC). The nonlinear hydrodynamic equations of the WNT are solved analytically through a connection to the Zakharov-Shabat (ZS) system using its classical integrability. This approach is based on a recently developed Fredholm determinant framework previously applied to the droplet IC. The flat IC provides the case for a nonvanishing boundary condition of the ZS system and yields a richer solitonic structure comprising the appearance of multiple branches of the Lambert function. As a byproduct, we obtain the explicit solution of the WNT for the Brownian IC, which undergoes a dynamical phase transition. We elucidate its mechanism by showing that the related spontaneous breaking of the spatial symmetry arises from the interplay between two solitons with different rapidities.

Observing symmetry-broken optimal paths of the stationary Kardar-Parisi-Zhang interface via a large-deviation sampling of directed polymers in random media

Consider the short-time probability distribution P(H,t) of the one-point interface height difference h(x=0,τ=t)-h(x=0,τ=0)=H of the stationary interface h(x,τ) described by the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) equation. It was previously shown that the optimal path, the most probable history of the interface h(x,τ) which dominates the upper tail of P(H,t), is described by any of two ramplike structures of h(x,τ) traveling either to the left, or to the right. These two solutions emerge, at a critical value of H, via a spontaneous breaking of the mirror symmetry x↔-x of the optimal path, and this symmetry breaking is responsible for a second-order dynamical phase transition in the system. We simulate the interface configurations numerically by employing a large-deviation Monte Carlo sampling algorithm in conjunction with the mapping between the KPZ interface and the directed polymer in a random potential at high temperature. This allows us to observe the optimal paths, which determine each of the two tails of P(H,t), down to probability densities as small as 10^{-500}. At short times we observe mirror-symmetry-broken traveling optimal paths for the upper tail, and a single mirror-symmetric path for the lower tail, in good quantitative agreement with analytical predictions. At long times, even at moderate values of H, where the optimal fluctuation method is not supposed to apply, we still observe two well-defined dominating paths. Each of them violates the mirror symmetry x↔-x and is a mirror image of the other.

Inverse Scattering of the Zakharov-Shabat System Solves the Weak Noise Theory of the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang Equation

We solve the large deviations of the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) equation in one dimension at short time by introducing an approach which combines field theoretical, probabilistic, and integrable techniques. We expand the program of the weak noise theory, which maps the large deviations onto a nonlinear hydrodynamic problem, and unveil its complete solvability through a connection to the integrability of the Zakharov-Shabat system. Exact solutions, depending on the initial condition of the KPZ equation, are obtained using the inverse scattering method and a Fredholm determinant framework recently developed. These results, explicit in the case of the droplet geometry, open the path to obtain the complete large deviations for general initial conditions.

Dynamical Phase Transitions in Dissipative Quantum Dynamics with Quantum Optical Realization

We study dynamical phase transitions (DPT) in the driven and damped Dicke model, realizable for example by a driven atomic ensemble collectively coupled to a damped cavity mode. These DPTs are characterized by nonanalyticities of certain observables, primarily the overlap of time evolved and initial state. Even though the dynamics is dissipative, this phenomenon occurs for a wide range of parameters and no fine-tuning is required. Focusing on the state of the "atoms" in the limit of a bad cavity, we are able to asymptotically evaluate an exact path integral representation of the relevant overlaps. The DPTs then arise by minimization of a certain action function, which is related to the large deviation theory of a classical stochastic process. Finally, we present a scheme which allows a measurement of the DPT in a cavity-QED setup.

Probing large deviations of the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang equation at short times with an importance sampling of directed polymers in random media

The one-point distribution of the height for the continuum Kardar-Parisi-Zhang equation is determined numerically using the mapping to the directed polymer in a random potential at high temperature. Using an importance sampling approach, the distribution is obtained over a large range of values, down to a probability density as small as 10^{-1000} in the tails. The short-time behavior is investigated and compared with recent analytical predictions for the large-deviation forms of the probability of rare fluctuations, showing a spectacular agreement with the analytical expressions. The flat and stationary initial conditions are studied in the full space, together with the droplet initial condition in the half-space.

Instanton based importance sampling for rare events in stochastic PDEs

We present a new method for sampling rare and large fluctuations in a nonequilibrium system governed by a stochastic partial differential equation (SPDE) with additive forcing. To this end, we deploy the so-called instanton formalism that corresponds to a saddle-point approximation of the action in the path integral formulation of the underlying SPDE. The crucial step in our approach is the formulation of an alternative SPDE that incorporates knowledge of the instanton solution such that we are able to constrain the dynamical evolutions around extreme flow configurations only. Finally, a reweighting procedure based on the Girsanov theorem is applied to recover the full distribution function of the original system. The entire procedure is demonstrated on the example of the one-dimensional Burgers equation. Furthermore, we compare our method to conventional direct numerical simulations as well as to Hybrid Monte Carlo methods. It will be shown that the instanton-based sampling method outperforms both approaches and allows for an accurate quantification of the whole probability density function of velocity gradients from the core to the very far tails.

Large fluctuations of a Kardar-Parisi-Zhang interface on a half line: The height statistics at a shifted point

We consider a stochastic interface h(x,t), described by the 1+1 Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) equation on the half line x≥0 with the reflecting boundary at x=0. The interface is initially flat, h(x,t=0)=0. We focus on the short-time probability distribution P(H,L,t) of the height H of the interface at point x=L. Using the optimal fluctuation method, we determine the (Gaussian) body of the distribution and the strongly asymmetric non-Gaussian tails. We find that the slower-decaying tail scales as -sqrt[t]lnP≃|H|^{3/2}f_{-}(L/sqrt[|H|t]) and calculate the function f_{-} analytically. Remarkably, this tail exhibits a first-order dynamical phase transition at a critical value of L, L_{c}=0.60223⋯sqrt[|H|t]. The transition results from a competition between two different fluctuation paths of the system. The faster-decaying tail scales as -sqrt[t]lnP≃|H|^{5/2}f_{+}(L/sqrt[|H|t]). We evaluate the function f_{+} using a specially developed numerical method which involves solving a nonlinear second-order elliptic equation in Lagrangian coordinates. The faster-decaying tail also involves a sharp transition which occurs at a critical value L_{c}≃2sqrt[2|H|t]/π. This transition is similar to the one recently found for the KPZ equation on a ring, and we believe that it has the same fractional order, 5/2. It is smoothed, however, by small diffusion effects.

Exact short-time height distribution for the flat Kardar-Parisi-Zhang interface

We determine the exact short-time distribution -lnP_{f}(H,t)=S_{f}(H)/sqrt[t] of the one-point height H=h(x=0,t) of an evolving 1+1 Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) interface for flat initial condition. This is achieved by combining (i) the optimal fluctuation method, (ii) a time-reversal symmetry of the KPZ equation in 1+1 dimension, and (iii) the recently determined exact short-time height distribution -lnP_{st}(H,t)=S_{st}(H)/sqrt[t] for stationary initial condition. In studying the large-deviation function S_{st}(H) of the latter, one encounters two branches: an analytic and a nonanalytic. The analytic branch is nonphysical beyond a critical value of H where a second-order dynamical phase transition occurs. Here we show that, remarkably, it is the analytic branch of S_{st}(H) which determines the large-deviation function S_{f}(H) of the flat interface via a simple mapping S_{f}(H)=2^{-3/2}S_{st}(2H).