From Effective Temperature to Non-Boltzmann State Selection in Driven-Dissipative Quantum Criticality

Abstract

Whether a nonequilibrium quantum-critical steady state can be described by an effective temperature remains an open question. We address it in a voltage-biased electronic Lipkin--Meshkov--Glick model, a minimal driven-dissipative model of a collective spin coupled to metallic leads. A controlled large-N treatment reveals an overdamped open quantum-critical regime distinct from the closed model. The surrounding quantum critical fan, organized by temperature and voltage, is explored and fluctuations are found to be governed by an effective temperature T_eff. At strong bias, the transition becomes first-order through a tricritical point. Remarkably, the same T_eff governs the strongly driven regime, but now varies across the entire order-parameter landscape. The steady state is therefore selected by a non-Boltzmann rule, shifting the first-order transition away from the equal-depth point of a deterministic potential. Driven criticality thus remains organized by an effective temperature while revealing non-thermal state selection.

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BibTeX RIS

BibTeX

@misc{jorge2026from,
  title = {{From Effective Temperature to Non-Boltzmann State Selection in Driven-Dissipative Quantum Criticality}},
  author = {Tiago Jorge and Jens Paaske and Pedro Ribeiro},
  howpublished = {arXiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.25242},
  eprint = {2609.25242},
  archivePrefix = {arXiv},
  url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.25242},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}

RIS

TY  - UNPB
TI  - From Effective Temperature to Non-Boltzmann State Selection in Driven-Dissipative Quantum Criticality
AU  - Tiago Jorge
AU  - Jens Paaske
AU  - Pedro Ribeiro
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/07
PB  - arXiv
DO  - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.25242
UR  - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.25242
AB  - Whether a nonequilibrium quantum-critical steady state can be described by an effective temperature remains an open question. We address it in a voltage-biased electronic Lipkin--Meshkov--Glick model, a minimal driven-dissipative model of a collective spin coupled to metallic leads. A controlled large-N treatment reveals an overdamped open quantum-critical regime distinct from the closed model. The surrounding quantum critical fan, organized by temperature and voltage, is explored and fluctuations are found to be governed by an effective temperature T_eff. At strong bias, the transition becomes first-order through a tricritical point. Remarkably, the same T_eff governs the strongly driven regime, but now varies across the entire order-parameter landscape. The steady state is therefore selected by a non-Boltzmann rule, shifting the first-order transition away from the equal-depth point of a deterministic potential. Driven criticality thus remains organized by an effective temperature while revealing non-thermal state selection.
ER  -

Abstract

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