Anomalous parametric resonance in a spin-1/2 chain: dynamical effects of nontrivial topology

Abstract

Resonant parametric modulation is a major tool of studying magnetic systems. For a spin-1/2 chain in a strong magnetic field, the resulting excitations can be mapped on fermionic excitations in the Kitaev chain. We show that the response to turning on the modulation reveals dynamical bulk aspects of the nontrivial topology of the closed chain. In the topological regime, depending on the turn-on rate, the system displays an absence of frequency dispersion of the time-averaged magnetization and an absence or a suppression of its spatial correlations near resonance. The transition between the topological and trivial regimes is controlled by the modulation frequency.