Algebraic Relaxation of Strong-to-Weak Symmetry-Breaking Order via Charge-Sector Broadening

Abstract:Strong-to-weak spontaneous symmetry breaking (SW-SSB) is a distinctive phenomenon of mixed quantum states, characterized by nonlinear long-range order associated with strong symmetry. In realistic open quantum systems, however, strong symmetry is macroscopically fragile and can be explicitly reduced to weak symmetry through local charge exchange with the environment. In this paper, we investigate how the SW-SSB order decays under such strong-symmetry-breaking Liouvillian dynamics. For discrete $\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry, a local symmetry-breaking perturbation drives an exponential decay of the Rényi-1 long-range correlator, revealing the fragility of discrete SW-SSB order. By contrast, for continuous $U(1)$ symmetry, local charge exchange broadens the distribution over symmetry-charge sectors and leads to parametrically slower algebraic relaxation. We establish a rigorous algebraic lower bound on the connected Rényi-1 long-range correlation, demonstrating the robustness of this slow relaxation. In the thermodynamic limit, we further uncover a two-stage dynamical scaling: $\tilde{R}_1\sim t^{-1}$ at early times and $\tilde{R}_1\sim t^{-1/z}$ at long times, with $z$ set by the underlying hydrodynamic dynamics. As a numerical verification, we consider fermionic chains with $z=2$ and $z=4$, which are excellent agreement with the theoretical predictions.

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall); Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el); Quantum Physics (quant-ph)

arXiv:2610.00474 [cond-mat.mes-hall]

(or arXiv:2610.00474v1 [cond-mat.mes-hall] for this version)

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2610.00474 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration)

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