Domain coarsening in fractonic systems: a cascade of critical exponents

Abstract

We study the dynamics of domain growth when multipole moments of the order parameter are conserved. Following a quench into the ordered phase of the Ising model, the typical size of domains grows with time as $R(t) \sim t^{1/2}$ in the absence of conserved quantities. When the order parameter is conserved, the domain growth slows to $R(t) \sim t^{1/3}$. Conservation of higher moments of the order parameter fundamentally modifies this behavior: coarsening proceeds via anomalously slow growth. We analytically and numerically show that conservation of the $m$-th multipole moment causes domains to grow as $R(t) \sim t^{1/(2m+3)}$. This cascade of dynamical critical exponents characterizes a new family of non-equilibrium universality classes for fractonic systems.