Time-translation invariance symmetry breaking hidden by finite-scale singularities
Abstract
Abstract In this paper, we consider a renormalization group perspective on the quantum dynamics of a particle moving in the Euclidean R N space through the complex landscape provided by a disordered Hamiltonian of type ‘2 + p ’. We focus on the large N limit, where the coarse-graining procedure is unconventional: it is based on the Wigner spectrum of the rank-2 disorder. The main consequence of this choice is that canonical dimensions depend on the scale, and the flow equations fail to become autonomous, preventing the existence of global fixed points. One of the main features of the underlying renormalization group flow is the existence of finite-scale singularities for initial conditions sufficiently close to the Gaussian region and for rank- p disorder intensity large enough. Using the Luttinger-Ward formalism, we show that these finite-scale singularities hide (and should be resolved by) a phase transition that breaks time-translation invariance.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Quantum many-body systems
Theoretical and Computational Physics
Black Holes and Theoretical Physics
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Physica Scripta
- Publisher
- IOP Publishing
- Volume
- 101
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 115201–115201
- Publication date
- 3 March 2026