Quantum quench and coherent-incoherent dynamics of Ising chains interacting with dissipative baths

The modular path integral methodology is used to extend the well-known spin-boson dynamics to finite-length quantum Ising chains, where each spin is coupled to a dissipative harmonic bath. The chain is initially prepared in the ferromagnetic phase where all spins are aligned, and the magnetization is calculated with spin-spin coupling parameters corresponding to the paramagnetic phase, mimicking a quantum quench experiment. The observed dynamics is found to depend significantly on the location of the tagged spin. In the absence of a dissipative bath, the time evolution displays irregular patterns that arise from multiple frequencies associated with the eigenvalues of the chain Hamiltonian. Coupling of each spin to a harmonic bath leads to smoother dynamics, with damping effects that are stronger compared to those observed in the spin-boson model and more prominent in interior spins, a consequence of additional damping from the spin environment. Interior spins exhibit a transition from underdamped oscillatory to overdamped monotonic dynamics as the temperature, spin-bath, or spin-spin coupling is increased. In addition to these behaviors, a new dynamical pattern emerges in the evolution of edge spins with strong spin-spin coupling at low and intermediate temperatures, where the magnetization oscillates either above or below the equilibrium value.