Non-equilibrium Dynamics of Finite Interfaces

Using theories of phase ordering kinetics and of renormalization group, we derive analytically the relaxation times of the long wave-length fluctuations of a phase-separated domain boundary in the vicinity of (and below) the critical temperature, in the planar Ising universality class. For a conserved order parameter, the relaxation time grows like $\Lambda^3$ at wave-length $\Lambda$ and can be expressed in terms of parameters relevant at the microscopic scale: lattice spaci...

We investigate the non-equilibrium dynamics of a one-dimensional spin-1/2 XXZ model at zero-temperature in the regime $|\Delta|< 1$, initially prepared in a product state with two domain walls i.e, $|\downarrow\dots\downarrow\uparrow\dots\uparrow\downarrow\dots\downarrow\rangle$. At early times, the two domain walls evolve independently and only after a calculable time a non-trivial interplay between the two emerges and results in the occurrence of a split Fermi sea. For $\De...

We consider the scaling limit of a generic ferromagnetic system with a continuous phase transition, on the half plane with boundary conditions leading to the equilibrium of two different phases below criticality. We use general properties of low energy two-dimensional field theory to determine exact asymptotics of the magnetization profile perperdicularly to the boundary, to show the presence of an interface with endpoints pinned to the boundary, and to determine its passage ...

The interface between domains of opposite magnetization in the 3D Ising model near the critical temperature displays universal finite-size effects which can be described in terms of a gaussian model of capillary waves. It turns out that these finite-size corrections depend rather strongly on the shape of the lattice. This prediction, which has no adjustable parameters, is tested and accurately verified for various lattice shapes by means of numerical simulations with a cluste...

A wide range of non-equilibrium phenomena in nature involve non-reciprocal interactions. To understand the novel behaviors that can emerge in such systems, finding tractable models is essential. With this goal, we introduce a non-reciprocal generalization of the kinetic Ising model in one dimension and solve it exactly. Our solution uncovers novel properties driven by non-reciprocity, such as underdamped phases, critically damped phases where a system of size $N$ is described...

We investigate analytically and numerically the dynamics of domain walls in a spin chain with ferromagnetic Ising interaction and subject to an external magnetic field perpendicular to the easy magnetization axis (transverse field Ising model). The analytical results obtained within the continuum approximation and numerical simulations performed for discrete classical model are used to analyze the quantum properties of domain walls using the semiclassical approximation. We sh...

We consider near-critical two-dimensional statistical systems at phase coexistence on the half plane with boundary conditions leading to the formation of a droplet separating coexisting phases. General low-energy properties of two-dimensional field theories are used in order to find exact analytic results for one- and two-point correlation functions of both the energy density and order parameter fields. The subleading finite-size corrections are also computed and interpreted ...

Mathematical aspects of the theory of interfaces in statistical mechanics are discussed.

We compute thermal and quantum fluctuations in the background of a domain wall in a scalar field theory at finite temperature using the exact scalar propagator in the subspace orthogonal to the wall's translational mode. The propagator makes it possible to calculate terms of any order in the semiclassical expansion of the partition function of the system. The leading term in the expansion corresponds to the fluctuation determinant, which we compute for arbitrary temperature i...

We investigate how the scaling behavior of finite systems at magnetic first-order transitions (FOTs) with relaxational dynamics changes in correspondence of various boundary conditions. As a theoretical laboratory we consider the two-dimensional Ising model in the low-temperature phase. When the boundary conditions do not favor any specific phase of the system, we show that a dynamic finite-size scaling (DFSS) theory can be developed to describe the dynamic behavior in the co...