We investigate the Kondo model with time-dependent couplings that are periodically switched on and off. On the Toulouse line we derive exact analytical results for the spin dynamics in the steady state that builds up after an infinite number of switching periods. Remarkably, the universal long-time behavior of the spin-spin correlation function remains completely unaffected by the driving. In the limit of slow driving the dynamics becomes equivalent to that of a single interaction quench. In the limit of fast driving it is shown that the steady state cannot be described by some effective equilibrium Hamiltonian due to the observation that an incautious implementation of the Trotter formula is not correct. As a consequence, the steady state in the limit of fast switching serves as an example for the emergence of new quantum states not accessible in equilibrium.

• Received 7 December 2009

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.81.144301