Dynamical universality class for competing short- and long-range interactions

Abstract

Understanding the dynamical universality classes of systems with long-range interactions remains a key challenge in statistical physics. In this Letter, we analytically and numerically investigate the non-equilibrium critical dynamics of the one-dimensional spin-$1/2$ Nagle-Kardar model, which is characterized by the competition between short- and long-range interactions and the presence of a tricritical point. We focus on the slowing-down of the magnetization $m$ at criticality under Glauber dynamics. Starting from the corresponding master equation, we perform a coarse-graining procedure to obtain a Fokker-Planck equation for the macroscopic variables. Then, the asymptotic decay of the magnetization is derived using central manifold theory. We find that $m$ decays as $t^{-1/2}$ along the critical line and as $t^{-1/4}$ precisely at the tricritical point. This finding confirms that the dynamical critical exponent is $z=2$ as for mean-field models, proving that the macroscopic critical dynamics of the Nagle-Kardar model falls within the dynamical universality class of purely relaxational, non-conserved order parameters (model A). While Kardar proved that the equilibrium Curie-Weiss theory extends to Ising models where nearest-neighbor interactions are included, we here show that such result is valid also for critical dynamics. Our work provides the semi-analytical solution for the critical dynamics of a model with mixed-range interactions, assigning its universality class.

7 pages, 3 figures. Comments and feedback are welcome