Modification of late time phase structure by quantum quenches

Abstract

The consequences of the sudden change in the coupling constants (quenches) on the phase structure of the theory at late times are explored. We study in detail the three dimensional phi^6 model in the large N limit, and show that the phi^6 coupling enjoys a widened range of stability compared to the static scenario. Moreover, a new massive phase emerges, which for sufficiently large coupling becomes the dominant vacuum. We argue that these novel phenomena cannot be described by a simple thermalization effect or the emergence of a single effective temperature.