Title: Scaling Universality at the Dynamic Vortex Mott Transition,
Abstract: The dynamic Mott insulator-to-metal transition (DMT) is key to many
intriguing phenomena in condensed matter physics yet it remains nearly
unexplored. The cleanest way to observe DMT, without the interference from
disorder and other effects inherent to electronic and atomic systems, is to
employ the vortex Mott states formed by superconducting vortices in a regular
array of pinning sites. The applied electric current delocalizes vortices and
drives the dynamic vortex Mott transition. Here we report the critical behavior
of the vortex system as it crosses the DMT line, driven by either current or
temperature. We find universal scaling with respect to both, expressed by the
same scaling function and characterized by a single critical exponent
coinciding with the exponent for the thermodynamic Mott transition. We develop
a theory for the DMT based on the parity reflection-time reversal (PT) symmetry
breaking formalism and find that the nonequilibrium-induced Mott transition has
the same critical behavior as thermal Mott transition. Our findings demonstrate
the existence of physical systems in which the effect of nonequilibrium drive
is to generate effective temperature and hence the transition belonging in the
thermal universality class. We establish PT symmetry-breaking as a universal
mechanism for out-of-equilibrium phase transitions.