Critical dynamics and phase transition of a strongly interacting warm spin gas

Yahel Horowicz, Or Katz, Oren Raz, Ofer Firstenberg

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

Phase transitions are emergent phenomena where microscopic interactions drive a disordered system into a collectively ordered phase. Near the boundary between two phases, the system can exhibit critical, scale-invariant behavior. Here, we report on a second-order phase transition accompanied by critical behavior in a system of warm cesium spins driven by linearly polarized light. The ordered phase exhibits macroscopic magnetization when the interactions between the spins become dominant. We measure the phase diagram of the system and observe the collective behavior near the phase boundaries, including power-law dependence of the magnetization and divergence of the susceptibility. Out of equilibrium, we observe a critical slowdown of the spin response time by two orders of magnitude, exceeding 5 s near the phase boundary. This work establishes a controlled platform for investigating equilibrium and nonequilibrium properties of magnetic phases.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere2106400118
JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume118
Issue number43
DOIs
StatePublished - 26 Oct 2021
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Alkali vapor
  • Critical dynamics
  • Phase transition
  • Spin exchange collisions

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Critical dynamics and phase transition of a strongly interacting warm spin gas'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this