Nonequilibrium phase transition in a driven-dissipative quantum antiferromagnet

Abstract

A deeper theoretical understanding of driven-dissipative interacting systems and their nonequilibrium phase transitions is essential both to advance our fundamental physics understanding and to harness technological opportunities arising from optically controlled quantum many-body states. This paper provides a numerical study of dynamical phases and the transitions between them in the nonequilibrium steady state of the prototypical two-dimensional Heisenberg antiferromagnet with drive and dissipation. We demonstrate a nonthermal transition that is characterized by a qualitative change in the magnon distribution, from subthermal at low drive to a generalized Bose-Einstein form including a nonvanishing condensate fraction at high drive. A finite-size analysis reveals static and dynamical critical scaling at the transition, with a discontinuous slope of the magnon number versus driving field strength and critical slowing down at the transition point. Implications for experiments on quantum materials and polariton condensates are discussed.

14 pages, 8 figures, with supplementary information

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