Assisted Finite-Rate Adiabatic Passage Across a Quantum Critical Point: Exact Solution for the Quantum Ising Model

The dynamics of a quantum phase transition is inextricably woven with the formation of excitations, as a result of critical slowing down in the neighborhood of the critical point. We design a transitionless quantum driving through a quantum critical point, allowing one to access the ground state of the broken-symmetry phase by a finite-rate quench of the control parameter. The method is illustrated in the one-dimensional quantum Ising model in a transverse field. Driving through the critical point is assisted by an auxiliary Hamiltonian, for which the interplay between the range of the interaction and the modes where excitations are suppressed is elucidated.