Kibble-Zurek mechanism in the Ising Field Theory

How can we describe the formation of order in critical systems? If we tune the control parameters such that the system crosses the critical point, the answer is given by the Kibble-Zurek mechanism (KZM) that predicts universal dependence of observables on the rate of change of the control parameter. In recent years the KZM has been generalized to the context of quantum criticality. Our recent work explores the KZM in the Ising Field Theory, where the quantum critical point can be crossed in different directions in the two-dimensional coupling space leading to different scaling laws. We investigate the dynamics in this genuinely interacting field theory using a recently developed version of the Truncated Conformal Space Approach. We demonstrate dynamical scaling in the non-adiabatic time window and provide analytic and numerical evidence for specific scaling properties of various quantities. In particular, we argue that for a slow enough ramp, the higher cumulants of the excess heat exhibit universal scaling in generic interacting models.