Far-away-from-equilibrium quantum-critical conformal dynamics: Reversibility, thermalization, and hydrodynamics

Abstract

Generic far-away-from-equilibrium many-body dynamics involve entropy production, and hence are thermodynamically irreversible. Near quantum critical points, an emergent conformal symmetry can impose strong constraints on entropy production rates, and in some cases completely forbid entropy production, which usually occurs for systems that deviate from quantum critical points. In this article, we illustrate how the vanishing entropy production near a quantum critical point results in reversible far-away-from-equilibrium dynamics at finite temperatures that are otherwise irreversible. Away from the quantum critical point, the quantum dynamics are damped, and our analysis directly relates the thermalization time scale to the hydrodynamic viscosity near quantum critical points with dynamical critical exponent $z=2$. We demonstrate how both controllable reversible and irreversible dynamics can be potentially studied in cold gas experiments using Feshbach resonances.