It is analytically shown that the asymptotic correlations in exactly solvable models following a quantum quench can behave essentially as thermal correlations provided the entanglement between two eigenmodes is sufficiently strong. We provide one example and one counter example of this observation. The example illustrates the fact that the thermal correlations arise from initial states where the entanglement between the eigenmodes stems from the existence of a large energy gap in the initial state. On the other hand, the counter-example shows that when the bi-partite entanglement of the eigenmodes stems from interactions that do not open a gap, the correlations at asymptotically long times are non-thermal. We also show that the thermal behavior concerns only the asymptotic correlation functions, as the difference with an actual thermal ensemble can be observed measuring the energy fluctuations of the system. The latter observation implies a breakdown of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem.
It is analytically shown that the asymptotic correlations in exactly solvable models following a quantum quench can behave essentially as thermal correlations provided the entanglement between two eigenmodes is sufficiently strong. We provide one example and one counter example of this observation. The example illustrates the fact that the thermal correlations arise from initial states where the entanglement between the eigenmodes stems from the existence of a large energy gap in the initial state. On the other hand, the counter-example shows that when the bi-partite entanglement of the eigenmodes stems from interactions that do not open a gap, the correlations at asymptotically long times are non-thermal. We also show that the thermal behavior concerns only the asymptotic correlation functions, as the difference with an actual thermal ensemble can be observed measuring the energy fluctuations of the system. The latter observation implies a breakdown of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem.
In thermal equilibrium, the fluctuation-dissipation theorem relates the linear response and correlation functions in a model and observable independent fashion. Out of equilibrium, these relations still hold if the equilibrium temperature is replaced by an observable and frequency-dependent parameter (effective temperature). When the system achieves a long-time thermal state all of these effective temperatures should be equal and constant. Following this approach we examine the long-times regime after a quantum quench in a system with bipartite entanglement in which the asymptotic values of the observable are compatible with the ones obtained in a Gibbs ensemble. We observe that when the initial entanglement is large, and for a large range of (intermediate) frequencies, the effective temperatures corresponding to the analyzed local and nonlocal operators approach an approximate constant value equal to the temperature that governs the decay of correlations. Still, the residual frequency dependence in the effective temperature, and the differences observed among observables, discards strict thermalization.
We analyze the dynamics of quantum correlations between two qubits coupled to a linear chain of oscillators. The chain mediates interactions between the qubits and acts as a non-Markovian reservoir. The model is amenable to an analytical solution when the initial state of the chain is Gaussian. We study the dynamics of the qubits' concurrence starting from a separable state and assuming that the chain spectrum is gapped and the chain is initially in a thermal state. We identify three relevant regimes that depend on the strength of the qubit-chain coupling in relation to the spectral gap. These are (i) the weak-coupling regime, where the qubits are entangled at the asymptotics, (ii) the strong-coupling regime, where the concurrence can exhibit collapses followed by revivals with exponentially attenuated amplitude, and (iii) the thermal damping regime, where the concurrence rapidly vanishes due to the chain's thermal excitations. In all cases, if entanglement is generated, this occurs after a finite time has elapsed. This time scale depends exponentially on the qubits' distance and is determined by the spectral properties of the chain. Entanglement irreversible decay, on the other hand, is due to the dissipative effect induced by the coupling with the chain and is controlled by the coupling strength between the chain and qubits. This study unravels the basic mechanisms leading to entanglement in a non-Markovian bath and allows one to identify the key resources for realizing quantum coherent dynamics of open systems.
The generalized Gibbs ensemble introduced for describing few-body correlations in exactly solvable systems following a quantum quench is related to the nonergodic way in which operators sample, in the limit of infinite time after the quench, the quantum correlations present in the initial state. The nonergodicity of the correlations is thus shown analyticallyto imply the equivalence with the generalized Gibbs ensemble for quantum Ising and XX spin chains as well as for the Luttinger model the thermodynamic limit, and for a broad class of initial states and correlation functions of both local and nonlocal operators.
Thermalization plays a central role in out-of-equilibrium physics of ultracold atoms or electronic transport phenomena. On the other hand, entanglement concepts have proven to be extremely useful to investigate quantum phases of matter. Here, it is argued that bipartite entanglement measures provide key information on out-of-equilibrium states and might therefore offer stringent thermalization criteria. This is illustrated by considering a global quench in an (extended) XXZ spin-1/2 chain across its (zero-temperature) quantum critical point. A nonlocal bipartition of the chain preserving translation symmetry is proposed. The time evolution after the quench of the reduced density matrix of the half-system is computed and its associated (time-dependent) entanglement spectrum is analyzed. Generically, the corresponding entanglement entropy quickly reaches a ``plateau'' after a short transient regime. However, in the case of the integrable XXZ chain, the low-energy entanglement spectrum still reveals strong time fluctuations. In addition, its infinite-time average shows strong deviations from the spectrum of a Boltzmann thermal density matrix. In contrast, when the integrability of the model is broken (by small next-nearest-neighbor couplings), the entanglement spectra of the time average and thermal density matrices become remarkably similar.
In one-dimensional low-density Jaynes-Cummings Hubbard (JCH) models [Phys. Rev. E 106, 064107 (2022)2470-004510.1103/PhysRevE.106.064107], we proved that the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis (ETH) is valid when the tunneling strength and coupling strength are of the same order. Surprisingly, at the weak tunneling limit, we observed that the entanglement entropy and scaling law of kinetic energy operators also exhibit obvious quantum chaotic properties, this is an unexpected result. To substantiate these findings, we further discuss their nonequilibrium dynamics in this paper. Our analysis reveals that when the model is a weak tunneling limit after the quench and the initial state is an equilibrium state of chaos, the system reaches an equilibrium state. This observation supports the conclusion that the low-density JCH model at the weak tunneling limit is nonintegrable, corroborating our previous results [Phys. Rev. E 106, 064107 (2022)2470-004510.1103/PhysRevE.106.064107]. Additionally, by discussing the validity of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem (FDT) and the evolution behavior of entanglement entropy and fidelity, we numerically demonstrate the differences between the one-dimensional low-density JCH model and general nonintegrable systems. Specifically, in the low-density JCH model, when the Hamiltonian after the quench is integrable, the validity of FDT depends on the thermal behavior of the initial Hamiltonian, and a metastable state is observed during the evolution of entanglement entropy. Our research presents an an intriguing and unique nonintegrable model, enriching the current understanding of nonintegrable systems.
We consider dynamic (non-equal-time) correlation functions of local observables after a quantum quench. We show that, in the absence of long-range interactions in the final Hamiltonian, the dynamics is determined by the same ensemble that describes static (equal-time) correlations. For many integrable models, static correlation functions of local observables after a quantum quench relax to stationary values, which are described by a generalized Gibbs ensemble. The same generalized Gibbs ensemble then determines dynamic correlation functions, and the basic form of the fluctuation dissipation theorem holds, although the absorption and emission spectra are not simply related as in the thermal case. For quenches in the transverse field Ising chain, we derive explicit expressions for the time evolution of dynamic order parameter correlators after a quench.