Far from Equilibrium Criticality
Mixed-Order Quantum Phase Transition far from Equilibrium
(b) The properties of the energy current far from equilibrium reflect the possible phases of the system.
In an article published this week in Physical Review Letters, a team of scientists from China and Portugal establishes that quantum phase transitions out of equilibrium can be of mixed order: first order and continuous. Their findings exemplify that far from equilibrium, novel critical phenomena exist which are not possible in equilibrium.