Prethermal nematic order and staircase heating in a driven frustrated Ising magnet with dipolar interactions

Many-body systems subject to a high-frequency drive can show intriguing thermalization behavior. Prior to heating to a featureless infinite-temperature state, these systems can spend an exponentially long time in prethermal phases characterized by various kinds of order. Here, we uncover the rich nonequilibrium phase diagram of a driven frustrated two-dimensional Ising magnet with competing short-range ferromagnetic and long-range dipolar interactions. We show that the ordered stripe and nematic phases, which appear in equilibrium as a function of temperature, underpin subsequent prethermal phases in a new multistep heating process en route towards the ultimate heat death. We discuss implications for experiments on ferromagnetic thin films and other driving induced phenomena in frustrated magnets.

Automated summary

Many-body systems subject to high-frequency drive can display intriguing thermalization behavior. This study uncovers the rich nonequilibrium phase diagram of a frustrated two-dimensional Ising magnet driven by competing short-range ferromagnetic and long-range dipolar interactions. The study discusses the implications for experiments on ferromagnetic thin films and other driving-induced phenomena in frustrated magnets.