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arXiv:1907.01893 · New Journal of Physics

Process of equilibration in many-body isolated systems: diagonal versus thermodynamic entropy

Samy Mailoud, F. Borgonovi, Felix M. Izrailev

Published Jul 15, 2020• 2 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

As recently manifested [ 1 ], the quench dynamics of isolated quantum systems consisting of a finite number of particles, is characterized by an exponential spreading of wave packets in the many-body Hilbert space. This happens when the inter-particle interaction is strong enough, thus resulting in a chaotic structure of the many-body eigenstates considered in the non-interacting basis. The semi-analytical approach used here, allows one to estimate the rate of the exponential growth as well as the relaxation time, after which the equilibration (thermalization) emerges. The key ingredient parameter in the description of this process is the width Γ of the local density of states (LDoS) defined by the initially excited state, the number of particles and the interaction strength. In this paper we show that apart from the meaning of Γ as the decay rate of survival probability, the width of the LDoS is directly related to the diagonal entropy and the latter can be linked to the thermodynamic entropy of a system equilibrium state emerging after the complete relaxation. The analytical expression relating the two entropies is derived phenomenologically and numerically confirmed in a model of bosons with random two-body interaction, as well as in a deterministic model which becomes completely integrable in the continuous limit.

DOI
10.1088/1367-2630/aba652

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As recently manifested [ 1 ], the quench dynamics of isolated quantum systems consisting of a finite number of particles, is characterized by an exponential spreading of wave packets in the many-body Hilbert space. This happens when the inter-particle interaction is strong enough, thus resulting in a chaotic structure of the many-body eigenstates considered in the non-interacting basis. The semi-analytical approach used here, allows one to estimate the rate of the exponential growth as well as the relaxation time, after which the equilibration (thermalization) emerges. The key ingredient parameter in the description of this process is the width Γ of the local density of states (LDoS) defined by the initially excited state, the number of particles and the interaction strength. In this paper we show that apart from the meaning of Γ as the decay rate of survival probability, the width of the LDoS is directly related to the diagonal entropy and the latter can be linked to the thermodynamic entropy of a system equilibrium state emerging after the complete relaxation. The analytical expression relating the two entropies is derived phenomenologically and numerically confirmed in a model of bosons with random two-body interaction, as well as in a deterministic model which becomes completely integrable in the continuous limit.
We demonstrate analytically and numerically that in isolated quantum systems of many interacting particles, the number of many-body states participating in the evolution after a quench increases exponentially in time, provided the eigenstates are delocalized in the energy shell. The rate of the exponential growth is defined by the width Γ of the local density of states and is associated with the Kolmogorov-Sinai entropy for systems with a well-defined classical limit. In a finite system, the exponential growth eventually saturates due to the finite volume of the energy shell. We estimate the timescale for the saturation and show that it is much larger than ℏ/Γ. Numerical data obtained for a two-body random interaction model of bosons and for a dynamical model of interacting spin-1/2 particles show excellent agreement with the analytical predictions.
We demonstrate analytically and numerically that in isolated quantum systems of many interacting particles, the number of states participating in the evolution after a quench increases exponentially in time, provided the eigenstates are delocalized in the energy shell. The rate of the exponential growth is defined by the width Γ\GammaΓ of the local density of states (LDOS) and is associated with the Kolmogorov-Sinai entropy for systems with a well defined classical limit. In a finite system, the exponential growth eventually saturates due to the finite volume of the energy shell. We estimate the time scale for the saturation and show that it is much larger than 1/Γ1/\Gamma1/Γ. Numerical data obtained for a two-body random interaction model of bosons and for a dynamical model of interacting spin-1/2 particles show excellent agreement with the analytical predictions.
We provide an overview of our numerical and analytical studies of isolated interacting quantum systems that are abruptly quenched out of equilibrium instantaneously. We describe the relaxation process to a new equilibrium and obtain lower bounds for the relaxation time of full random matrices and realistic systems with two-body interactions. We show that the size of the time fluctuations after relaxation decays exponentially with system size for systems without too many degeneracies. We also discuss the conditions for thermalization and demonstrate that it can happen after local and global quenches in space. The analyses are developed for systems, initial states, and few-body observables accessible to experiments with optical lattices.
In this work we revisit the problem of equilibration in isolated many-body interacting quantum systems. We pay particular attention to quantum chaotic Hamiltonians, and rather than focusing on the properties of the asymptotic states and how they adhere to the predictions of the Eigenstate Thermalization Hypothesis, we focus on the equilibration process itself, i.e., the road to equilibrium. Along the road to equilibrium the diagonal ensembles obey an emergent form of the second law of thermodynamics and we provide an information theoretic proof of this fact. With this proof at hand we show that the road to equilibrium is nothing but a hierarchy in time of diagonal ensembles. Furthermore, introducing the notions of statistical complexity and the entropy-complexity plane, we investigate the uniqueness of the road to equilibrium in a generic many-body system by comparing its trajectories in the entropy-complexity plane to those generated by a random Hamiltonian. Finally, by treating the random Hamiltonian as a perturbation we analyzed the stability of entropy-complexity trajectories associated with the road to equilibrium for a chaotic Hamiltonian and different types of initial states.
A major open question in studies of nonequilibrium quantum dynamics is the identification of the time scales involved in the relaxation process of isolated quantum systems that have many interacting particles. We demonstrate that long time scales can be analytically found by analyzing dynamical manifestations of spectral correlations. Using this approach, we show that the Thouless time tTh{t}_{\text{Th}}tTh​ and the relaxation time tR{t}_{\text{R}}tR​ increase exponentially with system size. We define tTh{t}_{\text{Th}}tTh​ as the time at which the spread of the initial state in the many-body Hilbert space is complete and verify that it agrees with the inverse of the Thouless energy. tTh{t}_{\text{Th}}tTh​ marks the point beyond which the dynamics acquire universal features, while relaxation happens later when the evolution reaches a stationary state. In chaotic systems, ${t}_{\text{Th}}\ensuremath{\ll}{t}_{\text{R}}$, while for systems approaching a many-body localized phase, ${t}_{\text{Th}}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{t}_{\text{R}}$. Our analytical results for tTh{t}_{\text{Th}}tTh​ and tR{t}_{\text{R}}tR​ are obtained for the survival probability, which is a global quantity. We show numerically that the same time scales appear also in the evolution of the spin autocorrelation function, which is an experimental local observable. Our studies are carried out for realistic many-body quantum models. The results are compared with those for random matrices.
This cumulative doctoral thesis, based on the works [P1–P5], addresses various topical concepts as well as foundational questions in the nonequilibrium physics of quantum many-body systems. Publication [P1] concerns itself with the question of time’s arrow in quantum mechanics. Based on the recursion method, we attribute autocorrelation functions of few-body observables at infinite temperature (almost) monotonously decreasing functions, constructed from temporal derivatives of the correlation function that indicate a directed approach to equilibrium. We numerically find that in chaotic models, these constructions comprise a notion of simplicity of the underlying dynamics. Addressing the ubiquity of simple relaxation dynamics in otherwise complex chaotic systems, in Ref. [P3] we introduce a scheme based on Lanczos coefficients to approximate correlation functions in the thermodynamic limit. Examining several pertinent condensed-matter type models and benchmarking with state-of-the-art numerics, we find the method to yield good results already for a low number of included Lanczos coefficients, provided that the latter exhibit a smooth and increasing structure. We underpin these findings with analytical arguments on the method’s applicability. Ref. [P2] provides an estimate on the equilibration time of such infinite-temperature correlation functions in the thermodynamic limit. Similarly to Ref. [P3], we find the estimate to capture the equilibration times very reasonably, given that the corresponding Lanczos coefficients exhibit a smooth growth. Substantiated by analytical considerations, the convergence of the estimate implies that equilibration timescales of the relaxation processes are finite and conceivably short. In Ref. [P5] we scrutinize the interpretative power of the Lanczos coefficients concerning the system’s integrability or chaoticity, operator growth and the indicativeness of physical behavior. To this end, we analytically deter- mine the Lanczos coefficients for a Majorana observable in a strictly quadratic model and illustrate that within this model any structure of the Lanczos coefficients may be realised. Different to the other works, Ref. [P4] is not cast in the language of the recursion method. Focusing on the full eigenstate thermalization hypothesis, it explores the connection between thermalization dynamics of multi-point correlation functions and the scaling of thermal free cumulants in setups mimicking a system-bath situation.