Systematic classification of nonequilibrium scaling dynamics

Develop a systematic classification of nonequilibrium scaling dynamics across systems exhibiting universal behavior such as wave turbulence, coarsening, ageing, dynamical phase transitions, and nonthermal fixed points.

Background

The paper situates nonthermal fixed points within the broader study of universal behavior in nonequilibrium systems. Although characteristic scaling laws have been identified in several settings—including wave turbulence, coarsening dynamics, ageing, and dynamical phase transitions—the authors state that a general framework for organizing and classifying such scaling dynamics has not yet been established.

The paper addresses a particular class of nonequilibrium scaling solutions: massless relativistic scalar field theories with O(N) symmetry, analyzed using a next-to-leading-order large-N expansion. This provides results for one universality class but does not resolve the broader problem of systematically classifying nonequilibrium scaling dynamics.