SP Seminar 15.03.2016 @ ICTP: Sebastian DIEHL

[Condensed Matter Section]

JOINT ICTP/SISSA STATISTICAL PHYSICS SEMINAR

Tuesday 15 March - 11:30 a.m.

Luigi Stasi Seminar Room, 1st floor ICTP Leonardo Building


*****************************************************************

Sebastian DIEHL
Institute of Theoretical Physics, University of Koeln, Germany

Title: Universal Quantum Physics in Driven Open Many-Body Systems


Abstract:

Quantum optics and many-body physics increasingly merge together in 
ultracold atomic gases and certain classes of solid state systems. This 
gives rise to new non-equilibrium scenarios even in stationary state, 
where coherent and dissipative dynamics appear on an equal footing. 
Oftentimes however, in the transition from microscopic scales to 
macroscopic distances, much of the underlying quantum dynamics is washed 
out, and the long distance many-body physics is (semi-)classical.

Here we present two instances which do not follow this generic pattern. 
The first addresses the critical dynamics in a driven open system with a 
dark state realizable in microcavity arrays. We find it governed by a 
new non-equilibrium universality class, characterized by the absence of 
decoherence and thermalization. The second focuses on an ensemble of 
driven Rydberg atoms, in which the interplay of constrained coherent 
quantum dynamics and dissipation leads to a new variant of a 
non-equilibrium absorbing state transition beyond the classical paradigm 
of directed percolation.