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arXiv:1412.4787 · Journal of Statistical Mechanics Theory and Experiment

Quenching the XXZ spin chain: quench action approach versus generalized Gibbs ensemble

Márton Mestyán, Balázs Pozsgay, G. Takács, Miklós Antal Werner

Published Apr 20, 2015• 130 citations
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Abstract

Following our previous work (Pozsgay et al 2014 Phys. Rev. Lett. 113 117203 ) we present here a detailed comparison of the quench action approach and the predictions of the generalized Gibbs ensemble, with the result that while the quench action formalism correctly captures the steady state, the GGE does not give a correct description of local short-distance correlation functions. We extend our studies to include another initial state, the so-called q-dimer state. We present important details of our construction, including new results concerning exact overlaps for the dimer and q-dimer states, and we also give an exact solution of the quench-action-based overlap-TBA for the q-dimer. Furthermore, we extend our computations to include the xx spin correlations besides the zz correlations treated previously, and give a detailed discussion of the underlying reasons for the failure of the GGE, especially in the light of new developments.

DOI
10.1088/1742-5468/2015/04/p04001

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Following our previous work (Pozsgay et al 2014 Phys. Rev. Lett. 113 117203 ) we present here a detailed comparison of the quench action approach and the predictions of the generalized Gibbs ensemble, with the result that while the quench action formalism correctly captures the steady state, the GGE does not give a correct description of local short-distance correlation functions. We extend our studies to include another initial state, the so-called q-dimer state. We present important details of our construction, including new results concerning exact overlaps for the dimer and q-dimer states, and we also give an exact solution of the quench-action-based overlap-TBA for the q-dimer. Furthermore, we extend our computations to include the xx spin correlations besides the zz correlations treated previously, and give a detailed discussion of the underlying reasons for the failure of the GGE, especially in the light of new developments.
We study the nonequilibrium time evolution of the spin-1/2 anisotropic Heisenberg (XXZ) spin chain, with a choice of dimer product and Néel states as initial states. We investigate numerically various short-ranged spin correlators in the long-time limit and find that they deviate significantly from predictions based on the generalized Gibbs ensemble (GGE) hypotheses. By computing the asymptotic spin correlators within the recently proposed quench-action formalism [Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 257203 (2013)], however, we find excellent agreement with the numerical data. We, therefore, conclude that the GGE cannot give a complete description even of local observables, while the quench-action formalism correctly captures the steady state in this case.
We consider the Generalized Gibbs Ensemble (GGE) in the context of global quantum quenches in XXZ Heisenberg spin chains. Embedding the GGE into the Quantum Transfer Matrix formalism we develop an iterative procedure to fix the Lagrange-multipliers and to calculate predictions for the long-time limit of short-range correlators. The main idea is to consider truncated GGE’s with only a finite number of charges and to investigate the convergence of the numerical results as the truncation level is increased. As an example we consider a quantum quench situation where the system is initially prepared in the Néel state and then evolves with an XXZ Hamiltonian with anisotropy ∆ > 1. We provide predictions for short range correlators and gather numerical evidence that the iterative procedure indeed converges. The results show that the system retains memory of the initial condition, and there are clear differences between the numerical values of the correlators as calculated from the purely thermal and the Generalized Gibbs ensembles.
The steady state after a quantum quench from the Néel state to the anisotropic Heisenberg model for spin chains is investigated. Two methods that aim to describe the postquench non-thermal equilibrium, the generalized Gibbs ensemble and the quench action approach, are discussed and contrasted. Using the recent implementation of the quench action approach for this Néel-to-XXZ quench, we obtain an exact description of the steady state in terms of Bethe root densities, for which we give explicit analytical expressions. Furthermore, by developing a systematic small-quench expansion around the antiferromagnetic Ising limit, we analytically investigate the differences between the predictions of the two methods in terms of densities and postquench equilibrium expectation values of local physical observables. Finally, we discuss the details of the quench action solution for the quench to the isotropic Heisenberg spin chain. For this case we validate the underlying assumptions of the quench action approach by studying the large-system-size behavior of the overlaps between Bethe states and the Néel state.
We consider the generalized Gibbs ensemble (GGE) in the context of global quantum quenches in XXZ Heisenberg spin chains. Embedding the GGE into the quantum transfer matrix formalism, we develop an iterative procedure to fix the Lagrange multipliers and to calculate predictions for the long-time limit of short-range correlators. The main idea is to consider truncated GGEs with only a finite number of charges and to investigate the convergence of the numerical results as the truncation level is increased. As an example we consider a quantum quench situation where the system is initially prepared in the Néel state and then evolves with an XXZ Hamiltonian with anisotropy Δ > 1. We provide predictions for short-range correlators and gather numerical evidence that the iterative procedure indeed converges. The results show that the system retains memory of the initial condition, and there are clear differences between the numerical values of the correlators as calculated from the purely thermal and generalized Gibbs ensembles.
We study the unitary dynamics and the thermalization properties of free-fermion-like Hamiltonians after a sudden quantum quench, extending the results of S. Ziraldo et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 247205 (2012)]. With analytical and numerical arguments, we show that the existence of a stationary state and its description with a generalized Gibbs ensemble (GGE) depend crucially on the observable considered (local versus extensive) and on the localization properties of the final Hamiltonian. We present results on two one-dimensional (1D) models, the disordered 1D fermionic chain with long-range hopping and the disordered Ising/XYXYXY spin chain. We analytically prove that, while time averages of one-body operators are perfectly reproduced by GGE (even for finite-size systems, if time integrals are extended beyond revivals), time averages of many-body operators might show clear deviations from the GGE prediction when disorder-induced localization of the eigenstates is at play.
We study quenches in integrable spin-1/2 chains in which we evolve the ground state of the antiferromagnetic Ising model with the anisotropic Heisenberg Hamiltonian. For this nontrivially interacting situation, an application of the first-principles-based quench-action method allows us to give an exact description of the postquench steady state in the thermodynamic limit. We show that a generalized Gibbs ensemble, implemented using all known local conserved charges, fails to reproduce the exact quench-action steady state and to correctly predict postquench equilibrium expectation values of physical observables. This is supported by numerical linked-cluster calculations within the diagonal ensemble in the thermodynamic limit.