Tuning ergodicity breaking: Anomalous diffusion under asymptotic power-law forcing

Abstract

In non-Markovian systems, distinct dynamical phases arise from the competition between internal memory and external forcing, encompassing thermalization, persistent ergodicity breaking, and runaway energy growth. This study shows that the scaling parameter η governs the emergent phase diagram within a system described by the Generalized Langevin Equation, particularly when subjected to external drives with asymptotic power-law tails. Three universal regimes for diffusive processes are delineated by this parameter: thermalization (η > 0), non-ergodic saturation (η = 0), and a force-dominated runaway phase (η < 0). The fluctuation-dissipation theorem, within this framework, is shown to be independent of external force and determined by the integral of noise density of states. A selective breaking of ergodicity is revealed by this formulation; microscopic fluctuations are decoupled from the drive, yet the relaxation completely encodes it, which in turn controls the kinetic effective temperature. Direct Langevin simulations in the Markovian limit quantitatively confirm this classification, capturing the non-thermal plateau at the critical point.