By instantaneously changing a global parameter in an extended quantum system, an initially equilibrated state will afterwards undergo a complex nonequilibrium unitary evolution whose description is extremely challenging. A nonperturbative method giving a controlled error in the long time limit remained highly desirable to understand general features of the quench induced quantum dynamics. In this paper we show how integrability (via the algebraic Bethe ansatz) gives one numerical access, in a nearly exact manner, to the dynamics resulting from a global interaction quench of an ensemble of fermions with pairing interactions (Richardson’s model). This possibility is deeply linked to the specific structure of this particular integrable model which gives simple expressions for the scalar product of eigenstates of two different Hamiltonians. We show how, despite the fact that a sudden quench can create excitations at any frequency, a drastic truncation of the Hilbert space can be carried out therefore allowing access to large systems. The small truncation error which results does not change with time and consequently the method grants access to a controlled description of the long time behavior which is a hard to reach limit with other numerical approaches.
By instantaneously changing a global parameter in an extended quantum system, an initially equilibrated state will afterwards undergo a complex nonequilibrium unitary evolution whose description is extremely challenging. A nonperturbative method giving a controlled error in the long time limit remained highly desirable to understand general features of the quench induced quantum dynamics. In this paper we show how integrability (via the algebraic Bethe ansatz) gives one numerical access, in a nearly exact manner, to the dynamics resulting from a global interaction quench of an ensemble of fermions with pairing interactions (Richardson’s model). This possibility is deeply linked to the specific structure of this particular integrable model which gives simple expressions for the scalar product of eigenstates of two different Hamiltonians. We show how, despite the fact that a sudden quench can create excitations at any frequency, a drastic truncation of the Hilbert space can be carried out therefore allowing access to large systems. The small truncation error which results does not change with time and consequently the method grants access to a controlled description of the long time behavior which is a hard to reach limit with other numerical approaches.
Understanding the non-equilibrium dynamics of extended quantum systems after the trigger of a sudden, global perturbation (quench) represents a daunting challenge, especially in the presence of interactions. The main difficulties stem from both the vanishing timescale of the quench event, which can thus create arbitrarily high energy modes, and its non-local nature, which curtails the utility of local excitation bases. We here show that nonperturbative methods based on integrability can prove sufficiently powerful to completely characterize quantum quenches: we illustrate this using a model of fermions with pairing interactions (Richardson’s model). The effects of simple (and multiple) quenches on the dynamics of various important observables are discussed. Many of the features that we find are expected to be universal to all kinds of quench situations in atomic physics and condensed matter.
Integrable models provide an exact description for a wide variety of physical phenomena. For example nested integrable systems contain different species of interacting particles with a rich phenomenology in their collective behavior, which is the origin of the unconventional phenomenon of spin-charge separation. So far, however, most of the theoretical work in the study of non-equilibrium dynamics of integrable systems has been focusing on models with an elementary (i.e., not nested) Bethe ansatz. In this work we explicitly investigate quantum quenches in nested integrable systems, by generalizing the application of the Quench Action approach. Specifically, we consider the spin-1 Lai-Sutherland model, described, in the thermodynamic limit, by the theory of two different species of Bethe-ansatz particles, each one forming an infinite number of bound states. We focus on the situation where the quench dynamics starts from a simple matrix product state for which the overlaps with the eigenstates of the Hamiltonian are known. We fully characterize the post-quench steady state and perform several consistency checks for the validity of our results. Finally, we provide predictions for the propagation of entanglement and mutual information after the quench, which can be used as signature of the quasi-particle content of the model.
Abstract Integrable models provide an exact description for a wide variety of physical phenomena. For example nested integrable systems contain different species of interacting particles with a rich phenomenology in their collective behavior, which is the origin of the unconventional phenomenon of spin-charge separation. So far, however, most of the theoretical work in the study of non-equilibrium dynamics of integrable systems has focussed on models with an elementary (i.e. not nested) Bethe ansatz. In this work we explicitly investigate quantum quenches in nested integrable systems, by generalizing the application of the quench action approach. Specifically, we consider the spin-1 Lai–Sutherland model, described, in the thermodynamic limit, by the theory of two different species of Bethe-ansatz particles, each one forming an infinite number of bound states. We focus on the situation where the quench dynamics starts from a simple matrix product state for which the overlaps with the eigenstates of the Hamiltonian are known. We fully characterize the post-quench steady state and perform several consistency checks for the validity of our results. Finally, we provide predictions for the propagation of entanglement and mutual information after the quench, which can be used as signature of the quasi-particle content of the model.
We consider the generic problem of suddenly changing the geometry of an integrable, one-dimensional many-body quantum system. We show how the physics of an initial quantum state released into a bigger system can be completely described within the framework of the algebraic Bethe ansatz, by providing an exact decomposition of the initial state into the eigenstate basis of the system after such a geometric quench. Our results, applicable to a large class of models including the Lieb–Liniger gas and Heisenberg spin chains, thus offer a reliable framework for the calculation of time-dependent expectation values and correlations in this nonequilibrium situation.
This thesis studies the quench dynamics of strongly correlated quantum systems described by one dimensional integrable Hamiltonians. We develop the Yudson approach for such systems in terms of contour integrals allowing the expansion of arbitrary states in terms of the Bethe Ansatz eigenstates which in turn provides the means to calculate the time evolution of such observables as densities or noise correlations from any initial states. As a motivation to the present work, I present the state of art ultracold atom techniques and fundamental questions related to the quench dynamics. Then various Bethe ansatz solutions are discussed. This is followed by an introduction to the Yudson approach where advantages and difficulties are listed. As applications of the Yudson approach, I studied the nonequilibrium dynamics of the Lieb-Liniger model,(bosonic) Gaudin-Yang model, quenched from a Mott state with a super fluid Hamiltonian. Integration contours are specified for various models and different interactions. It is shown that the Yudson approach incorporates all free states and bound states into the contour, separating them apart sheds light on the validity of the String hypothesis. The result is affirmative for Lieb-Linger model, but not for the Gaudin-Yang model. Our calculations for the density and correlation shows that for interacting system, if the pre-quench state has negligible overlap among the particles, the system retains this feature after the quench. Particularly, normalized noise function c(z; -z) at the origin shows different stages. Shortly after the quench, the sign are different for attractive and repulsive interaction. Then they both quickly approaches the value where possibility to find both particles equals zero. Then the value increases gradually for attractive models, while c(0; 0) remains small for repulsive systems.
This thesis is concerned with non-equilibrium phenomena in interacting quantum many-body systems. Specifically, we investigate the time-evolution and relaxation dynamics of Bose gases in a highly restricted geometry, which constrains the dynamics to one spatial dimension. This leads to a description of the system in terms of a simple model Hamiltonian which permits exact many-body quantum mechanical solutions due to its integrability. In the first part of this thesis, a computational method is developed to obtain experimentally relevant correlation functions in the framework of the coordinate Bethe ansatz. We employ this method to compute exact ground-state correlation functions of the Lieb-Liniger gas for up to seven particles covering the whole regime of repulsive interactions. We also investigate the dynamics of the system after an instantaneous change of the interaction strength. This quantum quench deposits large amounts of energy that cannot be dissipated due to the system being closed, and so the dynamics far from equilibrium are probed. We prepare the system in two different initial states, and quench to the same final interaction strength. The latter is determined in such a way that the added energy due to the quench is the same for both scenarios. Conventional statistical mechanics predicts the same relaxed state, but due to the integrability of the system all considered correlation functions of the relaxed states differ from each other and also from the thermal ones. We then investigate the dynamics and relaxed state for a quench from zero to repulsive interactions in more detail, focussing on the mechanism of relaxation and the involved time-scales. We find that local correlation functions relax on time-scales determined by the interaction strength, in contrast to non-local correlation functions, whose relaxation time-scale is proportional to the system size. Next, we employ the same methodology to study the one-dimensional Bose gas with attractive interactions. In this case many-body bound states are permissible solutions of the Lieb-Liniger model. We compare exact ground-state correlation functions of up to seven particles to their corresponding mean-field solution. The latter displays a quantum phase transition at a critical interaction strength, marking the transition from a uniform-density state to a localized bright soliton. Our exact results agree remarkably well with the corresponding mean-field solution past the critical point. We also investigate the dynamics following an interaction strength quench, starting again from the non-interacting ground state. Bound states strongly influence correlation functions for all post-quench interaction strengths, and local correlation functions are largely increased compared to their initial value. In the last part of this thesis, we investigate the behavior of the one-dimensional Bose gas under periodic driving of the interaction strength. To this end, we extend the coordinate Bethe-ansatz formalism by employing Floquet theory to obtain solutions for the full time- dependent Hamiltonian. This realizes an extension to non-integrable systems in a way that allows controlled breaking of integrability. We compare the dynamics of the system following an interaction quench to a fixed final interaction strength to that of a system with periodically modulated post-quench interaction strength. For fast driving, the system evolves according to the time-averaged Hamiltonian and correlation functions are nearly identical to those of the undriven system. The response of the system qualitatively changes at resonances of the time-averaged Hamiltonian, where we observe energy absorption and a marked change in correlation functions. However, the system does not absorb energy indefinitely.