Dynamical critical scaling of long-range interacting quantum magnets

Abstract: Slow variations (quenches) of the magnetic field across the paramagnetic-ferromagnetic phase transition of spin systems produce heat. In systems with short-range interactions the heat exhibits universal power-law scaling as a function of the quench rate, known as Kibble-Zurek scaling. In this work we analyze slow quenches of the magnetic field in the Lipkin-Meshkov-Glick (LMG) model, which describes fully connected quantum spins. We analytically determine the quantum contribution to the residual heat as a function of the quench rate $\delta$ by means of a Holstein-Primakoff expansion about the mean-field value. Unlike in the case of short-range interactions, scaling laws in the LMG model are only found for a ramp ending at the critical point. If instead the ramp is symmetric, as in the typical Kibble-Zurek scenario, after crossing the critical point the system tends to reabsorb the defects formed during the first part of the ramp: the number of excitations exhibits a crossover behavior as a function of $\delta$ and tends to a constant in the thermodynamic limit. Previous, and seemingly contradictory, theoretical studies are identified as specific limits of this dynamics. Our results can be tested on several experimental platforms, including quantum gases and trapped ions.