Kibble--Zurek Scaling in the Dicke Model at Mesoscopic Scales

Abstract

The Dicke model is a paradigmatic setting for collective light-matter physics and the superradiant phase transition. Yet extracting the critical exponents is challenging at experimentally accessible mesoscopic sizes, due to the slow divergence of the correlation time under all-to-all coupling and a photon-loss-driven crossover to a distinct dissipative universality class. Here, we perform a large-$N$ analysis that identifies distinct coherent and dissipative fixed points for the closed and open Dicke models. We then develop a unified mesoscopic scaling framework that incorporates the leading irrelevant correction and, going beyond static and spectral probes, brings ramping dynamics under the same scaling description. It recovers the corresponding exponents, verifies Kibble-Zurek scaling, and clarifies how finite size, dissipation, and speed compete in the ramping dynamics. Our work thus establishes a unified framework for resolving static and dynamical critical scaling in closed and open quantum systems, with broader applicability to mesoscopic systems with long-range interactions.