Quantum quenches in fractonic field theories

We study out-of-equilibrium dynamics caused by global quantum quenches in fractonic scalar field theories. We consider several types of quenches, in particular, the mass quench in theories with different types of discrete rotational symmetries ($\mathbb{Z}_4$ and $\mathbb{Z}_8$), as well as an instantaneous quench via the transition between them. We also investigate fractonic boundary quenches, where the initial state is prepared on a finite-width slab in Euclidean time. We find that perturbing a fractonic system in finite volume especially highlights the restricted mobility via the formation and subsequent evolution of specific $\mathbb{Z}_4$-symmetric spatial structures. We discuss a generalization to $\mathbb{Z}_n$-symmetric field theories, and introduce a proper regularization, which allows us to explicitly deal with divergences inherent to fractonic field theories.