Universal broadening of the light cone in low-temperature transport

Abstract

We consider the low-temperature transport properties of critical one-dimensional systems which can be described, at equilibrium, by a Luttinger liquid. We focus on the prototypical setting where two semi-infinite chains are prepared in two thermal states at small but different temperatures and suddenly joined together. At large distances $x$ and times $t$, conformal field theory characterizes the energy transport in terms of a single light cone spreading at the sound velocity $v$. Energy density and current take different constant values inside the light cone, on its left, and on its right, resulting in a three-step form of the corresponding profiles as a function of $\zeta =x/t$. Here, using a non-linear Luttinger liquid description, we show that for generic observables this picture is spoiled as soon as a non-linearity in the spectrum is present. In correspondence of the transition points $x/t=\pm v$ a novel universal region emerges at infinite times, whose width is proportional to the temperatures on the two sides. In this region, expectation values have a different temperature dependence and show smooth peaks as a function of $\zeta$. We explicitly compute the universal function describing such peaks. In the specific case of interacting integrable models, our predictions are analytically recovered by the generalized hydrodynamic approach.

6 pages, 3 figures; v2 as appears in Physical Review Letters

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