Reviving product states in the disordered Heisenberg chain

authored by: Henrik Wilming, Tobias J. Osborne, Kevin S.C. Decker, Christoph Karrasch
Abstract: When a generic quantum system is prepared in a simple initial condition, it typically equilibrates toward a state that can be described by a thermal ensemble. A known exception is localized systems that are non-ergodic and do not thermalize; however, local observables are still believed to become stationary. Here we demonstrate that this general picture is incomplete by constructing product states that feature periodic high-fidelity revivals of the full wavefunction and local observables that oscillate indefinitely. The system neither equilibrates nor thermalizes. This is analogous to the phenomenon of weak ergodicity breaking due to many-body scars and challenges aspects of the current phenomenology of many-body localization, such as the logarithmic growth of the entanglement entropy. To support our claim, we combine analytic arguments with large-scale tensor network numerics for the disordered Heisenberg chain. Our results hold for arbitrarily long times in chains of 160 sites up to machine precision.
Organisation(s): Institute of Theoretical Physics
QuantumFrontiers
CRC 1227 Designed Quantum States of Matter (DQ-mat)
External Organisation(s): Technische Universität Braunschweig
Type: Article
Journal: Nature Communications
Volume: 14
ISSN: 2041-1723
Publication date: 20.09.2023
Publication status: Published
Peer reviewed: Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas: Chemistry(all), Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all), Physics and Astronomy(all)
Electronic version(s): https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2210.03153 (Access: Open)
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-41464-7 (Access: Open)

BibTeX

@article{1c77a4620e5e4ff79addf6ad2081657d,
title = "Reviving product states in the disordered Heisenberg chain",
abstract = "When a generic quantum system is prepared in a simple initial condition, it typically equilibrates toward a state that can be described by a thermal ensemble. A known exception is localized systems that are non-ergodic and do not thermalize; however, local observables are still believed to become stationary. Here we demonstrate that this general picture is incomplete by constructing product states that feature periodic high-fidelity revivals of the full wavefunction and local observables that oscillate indefinitely. The system neither equilibrates nor thermalizes. This is analogous to the phenomenon of weak ergodicity breaking due to many-body scars and challenges aspects of the current phenomenology of many-body localization, such as the logarithmic growth of the entanglement entropy. To support our claim, we combine analytic arguments with large-scale tensor network numerics for the disordered Heisenberg chain. Our results hold for arbitrarily long times in chains of 160 sites up to machine precision.",
author = "Henrik Wilming and Osborne, {Tobias J.} and Decker, {Kevin S.C.} and Christoph Karrasch",
note = "Funding Information: H.W. would like to thank Merlin F{\"u}llgraf and Daniel Burgarth for useful discussions and Berislav Bu{\v c}a for comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. We acknowledge support by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) through SFB 1227 (DQ-mat) (T.J.O.), Quantum Valley Lower Saxony (T.J.O.), and under Germany{\textquoteright}s Excellence Strategy EXC-2123 QuantumFrontiers 390837967 (H.W., T.J.O., C.K.). Moreover, we acknowledge support by {\textquoteleft}Nieders{\"a}chsisches Vorab{\textquoteright} through the {\textquoteleft}Quantum- and Nano-Metrology (QUANOMET){\textquoteright} initiative within the project P-1 (C.K., K.S.C.D.). ",
year = "2023",
month = sep,
day = "20",
doi = "10.48550/arXiv.2210.03153",
language = "English",
volume = "14",
journal = "Nature Communications",
issn = "2041-1723",
publisher = "Nature Publishing Group",
}