Universal behavior of cumulants in non-equilibrium phase transitions - Kibble-Zurek scaling functions for trans-critical quenches
M. Harhoff*,
L.J. Sieke,
S. Schlichting and
L. von Smekal*: corresponding author
Published on:
March 04, 2026
Abstract
In context of the search for the QCD critical endpoint in heavy-ion collisions, a deep understanding of the out-of-equilibrium dynamics of the system is necessary to make well-grounded predictions for signatures in final states. To this end, we investigate the dynamic critical behavior of a classical scalar field theory with $\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry in the dynamic universality class of Model A in two spatial dimensions. The critical dynamics of the system is studied under a linear quench protocol, in which the external symmetry breaking field is changed at a constant rate through the critical point. We discuss the connection to the Kibble-Zurek mechanism and determine universal scaling functions, which fully describe the non-equilibrium evolution of the system near the critical point for all quench rates under consideration. We find that, while the scaling functions are non-trivial, the corresponding scaling exponents are fully determined by static critical exponents and the dynamic critical exponent.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22323/1.475.0014
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