Critical dynamics and its interferometry in the one-dimensional p-wave-paired Aubry-André-Harper model (2503.03470v2)

Abstract: In this work, we focus on the critical dynamics of the one-dimensional quasiperiodic p-wave-paired Aubry-Andr\'{e}-Harper model, which exhibits a transition point between the gapped critical and the gapless localized phases. First, we disclose that the dynamical exponent features two distinct plateaus in the gapless localized phase. Besides the plateau with dynamical exponent $z=1.388$ near the transition point, there is a second one with $z=1$ away from the transition point. Then we demonstrate that these two plateaus intrinsically affect the critical dynamics with moderate quench rate by employing both one-way and round-trip quench protocols. In the one-way quench protocol, we clarify that the Kibble-Zurek (KZ) regime consists of two sub-regimes with different KZ exponents, which is a direct consequence of the two-plateau structure of the dynamical exponent. We also diagnose the KZ, pre-saturated, and saturated regimes by varying the quench rate from slow to fast limits. While, in the round-trip quench protocol, we confirm the interference effect of two critical dynamics and show a narrow neck in the oscillatory density of defects. It turns out that the position of the neck depends on the ratio of to-and-fro quench rates and the p-wave superconductivity pairing amplitude. We show how the position of the neck can be used to quantitatively determine the turning point of the two KZ sub-regimes.