We present a class of quantum dimer models on the kagome lattice with full translational invariance that feature a quantum many-body scar state of analytically known entanglement properties within their spectra. Using exact diagonalization on lattices of up to 60 sites, we show that nonscar states conform to the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis. Specifically, we show that energies are distributed according to the Gaussian ensemble expected of their respective symmetry sector, illustrate the existence of the scar from bipartite entanglement properties, and demonstrate revival phenomena in studies of fidelity dynamics.
We present a class of quantum dimer models on the kagome lattice with full translational invariance that feature a quantum many-body scar state of analytically known entanglement properties within their spectra. Using exact diagonalization on lattices of up to 60 sites, we show that nonscar states conform to the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis. Specifically, we show that energies are distributed according to the Gaussian ensemble expected of their respective symmetry sector, illustrate the existence of the scar from bipartite entanglement properties, and demonstrate revival phenomena in studies of fidelity dynamics.
We generally expect quantum systems to thermalize and satisfy the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis (ETH), which states that finite-energy-density eigenstates are thermal. However, some systems, such as many-body localized systems and systems with quantum many-body scars, violate ETH and have high-energy athermal eigenstates. In systems with scars, most eigenstates thermalize, but a few atypical scar states do not. Scar states can give rise to a periodic revival when time-evolving particular initial product states, which can be detected experimentally. Recently, a family of spin Hamiltonians was found with magnetically ordered three-colored eigenstates that are quantum many-body scars [Lee et al., Phys. Rev. B 101, 241111(R) (2020)]. These models can be realized in any lattice that can be tiled by triangles, such as the triangular or kagome lattices, and have been shown to have close connections to the physics of quantum spin liquids in the Heisenberg kagome antiferromagnet. In this paper, we introduce a generalized family of n-colored Hamiltonians with ``spiral colored'' eigenstates made from n-spin motifs such as polygons or polyhedra. We show how these models can be realized in many different lattice geometries and provide numerical evidence that they can exhibit quantum many-body scars with periodic revivals that can be observed by time-evolving simple product states. The simple structure of these Hamiltonians makes them promising candidates for future experimental studies of quantum many-body scars.
Quantum many-body scars (QMBSs) are a novel paradigm for the violation of the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis—Hamiltonians of these systems exhibit mid-spectrum eigenstates that are equidistant in energy and which possess low entanglement and evade thermalization for long times. We present a novel approach to understanding the anomalous dynamical behavior in these systems. Specifically, we postulate that QMBS Hamiltonians H can generically be partitioned into a set of terms O a which do not commute over the entire Hilbert space, but commute to all orders within the subspace of scar states. All states in the scar subspace thus evolve according to a “broken unitary” U s ( t ) = ∏ a e − i O a t , where H = ∑ a O a , which provides a simple interpretation of the anomalous dynamical features exhibited by quantum scars; they evolve in time according to a simpler unitary operator allowing for revivals. It is found that the observed dynamical decoupling is often a direct consequence of simple local conditions, which when satisfied lead to recurring aspects of QMBSs, including equidistant eigenvalues, many-body revivals, and sub-volume-law entanglement entropy. Two classes of scar models emerge in this picture—those with a finite set of O a , as pertaining of, for instance, scars in the AKLT model, and those with an extensive set of such operators, such as eta pairing scar states in the Hubbard model. Besides discussing how many well-known scar models fit into the above picture, we show how the broken unitary formalism captures many known scar construction methods, known in the literature and generalizes others such as quasiparticles matrix product state (MPS) based methods, and the Shiraishi-Mori approach. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
We derive general rigorous results relating revivals in the dynamics of quantum many-body systems to the entanglement properties of energy eigenstates. For a D-dimensional lattice system of N sites initialized in a low-entangled and short-range correlated state, our results show that a perfect revival of the state after a time of at most O(poly(N)) implies the existence of at least O(N/log2D(N)) ``quantum many-body scars'': energy eigenstates with energies placed in an equally spaced ladder and with R\'enyi entanglement entropy of at most $O(log(N))+O(|\ensuremath{\partial}A|)$ for any region A of the lattice. This shows that quantum many-body scars are a necessary consequence of revivals, independent of particularities of the Hamiltonian leading to them. We also present results for approximate revivals and for revivals of expectation values of observables and prove that the duration of revivals of states has to become vanishingly short with increasing system size.
Isolated quantum many-body systems are often well described by the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis. There are, however, mechanisms that cause different behavior: many-body localization and quantum many-body scars. Here, we show how one can find disordered Hamiltonians hosting a tower of scars by adapting a known method for finding parent Hamiltonians. Using this method, we construct a spin-21 model which is both partially localized and contains scars. We demonstrate that the model is partially localized by studying numerically the level spacing statistics and bipartite entanglement entropy. As disorder is introduced, the adjacent gap ratio transitions from the Gaussian orthogonal ensemble to the Poisson distribution and the entropy shifts from volume-law to area-law scaling. We investigate the properties of scars in a partially localized background and compare with a thermal background. At strong disorder, states initialized inside or outside the scar subspace display different dynamical behavior but have similar entanglement entropy and Schmidt gap. We demonstrate that localization stabilizes scar revivals of initial states with support both inside and outside the scar subspace. Finally, we show how strong disorder introduces additional approximate towers of eigenstates.
Nonequilibrium properties of quantum materials present many intriguing properties, among them athermal behavior, which violates the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis. Such behavior has primarily been observed in disordered systems. More recently, experimental and theoretical evidence for athermal eigenstates, known as ``quantum scars,'' has emerged in nonintegrable disorder-free models in one dimension with constrained dynamics. In this Rapid Communication, we show the existence of quantum scar eigenstates and investigate their dynamical properties in many simple two-body Hamiltonians with ``staggered'' interactions, involving ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic motifs, in arbitrary dimensions. These magnetic models include simple modifications of widely studied ones (e.g., the XXZ model) on a variety of frustrated and unfrustrated lattices. We demonstrate our ideas by focusing on the two-dimensional frustrated spin-1/2 kagome antiferromagnet, which was previously shown to harbor a special exactly solvable point with ``three-coloring'' ground states in its phase diagram. For appropriately chosen initial product states---for example, those which correspond to any state of valid three-colors---we show the presence of robust quantum revivals, which survive the addition of anisotropic terms. We also suggest avenues for future experiments which may see this effect in real materials.
Formation of quantum scars in many-body systems provides a novel mechanism for enhancing coherence of weakly entangled states. At the same time, coherence of edge modes in certain symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases can persist away from the ground state. In this work we show the existence of many-body scars and their implications on bulk coherence in such an SPT phase. To this end, we study the eigenstate properties and the dynamics of an interacting spin-1/2 chain with three-site ``cluster'' terms hosting a ${\mathbb{Z}}_{2}\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{\mathbb{Z}}_{2}$ SPT phase. Focusing on the weakly interacting regime, we find that eigenstates with volume-law entanglement coexist with area-law entangled eigenstates throughout the spectrum. We show that a subset of the latter can be constructed by virtue of repeated cluster excitations on the even or odd sublattice of the chain, resulting in an equidistant ``tower'' of states, analogous to the phenomenology of quantum many-body scars. We further demonstrate that these scarred eigenstates support nonthermal expectation values of local cluster operators in the bulk and exhibit signatures of topological order even at finite energy densities. Studying the dynamics for out-of-equilibrium states drawn from the noninteracting ``cluster basis,'' we unveil that nonthermalizing bulk dynamics can be observed on long timescales if clusters on odd and even sites are energetically detuned. In this case, cluster excitations remain essentially confined to one of the two sublattices such that inhomogeneous cluster configurations cannot equilibrate and thermalization of the full system is impeded. Our work sheds light on the role of quantum many-body scars in preserving SPT order at finite temperature and the possibility of coherent bulk dynamics in models with SPT order beyond the existence of long-lived edge modes.