Entanglement negativity and entropy in non-equilibrium conformal field theory

Abstract: We study the dynamics of the entanglement in one dimensional critical quantum systems after a local quench in which two independently thermalized semi-infinite halves are joined to form a homogeneous infinite system and left to evolve unitarily. We show that under certain conditions a nonequilibrium steady state (NESS) is reached instantaneously as soon as the entanglement interval is within the light-cone emanating from the contact point. In this steady state, the exact expressions for the entanglement entropy and the logarithmic negativity are in agreement with the steady state density matrix being a boosted thermal state, as expected. We derive various general identities: relating the negativity after the quench with unequal left and right initial temperatures, with that with equal left and right temperatures; and relating these with the negativity in equilibrium thermal states. In certain regimes the resulting expressions can be analytically evaluated. Immediately after the interval interesects the lightcone, we find logarithmic growth. For a very long interval, we find that the negativity approaches a plateau after sufficiently long times, different from its NESS value. This provides a theoretical framework explaining recently obtained numerical results.