Floquet dynamical quantum phase transitions

Abstract

© 2019 American Physical Society. Dynamical quantum phase transitions (DQPTs) are manifested by time-domain nonanalytic behaviors of many-body systems. Introducing a quench is so far understood as a typical scenario to induce DQPTs. In this work, we discover a type of DQPTs, termed Floquet DQPTs, as intrinsic features of time-periodic systems. Floquet DQPTs occur within each period of continuous driving, without the need for any quenches. In particular, in a harmonically driven spin chain model, we find analytically the existence of Floquet DQPTs in and only in a parameter regime hosting a certain nontrivial Floquet topological phase. The Floquet DQPTs are further characterized by a dynamical topological invariant defined as the winding number of the Pancharatnam geometric phase versus quasimomentum. These findings are experimentally demonstrated with a single spin in diamond. This work thus opens a door for future studies of DQPTs in connection with topological matter.