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arXiv:2202.04948 · Physical review. B./Physical review. B

Many-body localization in a tilted potential in two dimensions

Elmer V. H. Doggen, I. V. Gornyi, Dmitry G. Polyakov

Published Apr 25, 2022• 10 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Thermalization in many-body systems can be inhibited by the application of a linearly increasing potential, which is known as Stark many-body localization. Here we investigate the fate of this phenomenon on a two-dimensional disorder-free lattice with up to $24\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}6$ sites. Similar to the one-dimensional case, ``density-polarized'' regions can act as bottlenecks for transport and thermalization on laboratory timescales. However, compared to the one-dimensional case, a substantially stronger potential gradient is needed to prevent thermalization when an extra spatial dimension is involved. The origin of this difference and implications for experiments are discussed. We argue that delocalization is generally favored for typical states in two-dimensional Stark many-body systems, although nonergodicity can still be observed for a specific choice of initial states, such as those probed in experiments.

DOI
10.1103/physrevb.105.134204

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Thermalization in many-body systems can be inhibited by the application of a linearly increasing potential, which is known as Stark many-body localization. Here we investigate the fate of this phenomenon on a two-dimensional disorder-free lattice with up to 24\ifmmode×\else\texttimes\fi624\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}624\ifmmode×\else\texttimes\fi6 sites. Similar to the one-dimensional case, ``density-polarized'' regions can act as bottlenecks for transport and thermalization on laboratory timescales. However, compared to the one-dimensional case, a substantially stronger potential gradient is needed to prevent thermalization when an extra spatial dimension is involved. The origin of this difference and implications for experiments are discussed. We argue that delocalization is generally favored for typical states in two-dimensional Stark many-body systems, although nonergodicity can still be observed for a specific choice of initial states, such as those probed in experiments.
Many-body localization, an emergent quantum phenomenon, challenges the fundamental principles of thermodynamics and has attracted significant attention. In this study, we demonstrate Stark many-body localization in a one-dimensional Bose gas under the continuous limit, a scenario that extends well beyond the conventional tight-binding model commonly employed in most discussions. This localization occurs within a background harmonic trap without any random disorder, where the potential gradient effectively halts thermalization. Contrary to prior studies on Stark localization, our findings reveal that an increasing gradient does not necessarily lead to greater localization. Instead, we observe a complex transition within this continuous interacting system. Another surprising result is that a higher initial density, which typically correlates with a higher collisional rate and thermalization rate, actually induces stronger localization in this one-dimensional model. Additionally, we observe a density plateau with zero compressibility and low-density fluctuations, which may signal an insulating behavior associated with prethermalization during nonequilibrium dynamics.
In one-dimensional (1D) disorder-free interacting systems, a sufficiently strong linear potential can induce localization of the many-body eigenstates, a phenomenon dubbed as Stark many-body localization (MBL). In this paper, we investigate the fate of Stark MBL in 1D spinless fermions systems with long-range interactions, specifically focusing on the role of interaction strength. We obtain the Stark MBL phase diagrams by computing the mean gap ratio and many-body inverse participation ratio at half-filling. We show that, for short-range interactions, there is a qualitative symmetry between the limits of weak and strong interactions. However, this symmetry is absent in the case of long-range interactions, where the system is always Stark many-body localized at strong interactions, regardless of the linear potential strength. Furthermore, we study the dynamics of imbalance and entanglement with various initial states using time-dependent variational principle (TDVP) numerical methods. We reveal that the dynamical quantities display a strong dependence on the initial conditions, which suggests that the Hilbert-space fragmentation precludes thermalization. Our results demonstrate the robustness of Stark MBL even in the presence of long-range interactions and offer an avenue to explore MBL in disorder-free systems with long-range interactions.
The phenomenon of many-body Stark localization of bosons in tilted optical lattice is studied. Despite the fact that no disorder is necessary for Stark localization to occur, it is very similar to well-known many-body localization (MBL) in sufficiently strong disorder. Not only the mean gap ratio reaches Poissonian value as characteristic for localized situations, but also the eigenstates reveal multifractal character as in standard MBL. Stark localization enables a coexistence of spacially separated thermal and localized phases in the harmonic trap similarly to fermions. Stark localization may also lead to spectacular trapping of particles in a reversed harmonic field which naively might be considered as an unstable configuration.
The principles of ergodicity and thermalization constitute the foundation of statistical mechanics, positing that a many-body system progressively loses its local information as it evolves. Nevertheless, these principles can be disrupted when thermalization dynamics lead to the conservation of local information, as observed in the phenomenon known as many-body localization. Quantum spin chains provide a fundamental platform for exploring the dynamics of closed interacting quantum many-body systems. This study explores the dynamics of a spin chain with S≥1/2S\geq 1/2S≥1/2 within the Majumdar-Ghosh model, incorporating a non-uniform magnetic field and single-ion anisotropy. Through the use of exact numerical diagonalization, we unveil that a nearly constant-gradient magnetic field suppress thermalization, a phenomenon termed Stark many-body localization (SMBL), previously observed in S=1/2S=1/2S=1/2 chains. Furthermore, our findings reveal that the sole presence of single-ion anisotropy is sufficient to prevent thermalization in the system. Interestingly, when the magnitudes of the magnetic field and anisotropy are comparable, they compete, favoring delocalization. Despite the potential hindrance of SMBL by single-ion anisotropy in this scenario, it introduces an alternative mechanism for localization. Our interpretation, considering local energetic constraints and resonances between degenerate eigenstates, not only provides insights into SMBL but also opens avenues for future experimental investigations into the enriched phenomenology of disordered free localized S≥1/2S\geq 1/2S≥1/2 systems.
Abstract The principles of ergodicity and thermalization constitute the foundation of statistical mechanics, positing that a many-body system progressively loses its local information as it evolves. Nevertheless, these principles can be disrupted when thermalization dynamics lead to the conservation of local information, as observed in the phenomenon known as many-body localization. Quantum spin chains provide a fundamental platform for exploring the dynamics of closed interacting quantum many-body systems. This study explores the dynamics of a spin chain with S≥1/2S\geq 1/2S≥1/2 within the J1−J2J_1-J_2J1​−J2​, incorporating a non-uniform magnetic field and single-ion anisotropy. Through the use of exact numerical diagonalization, we unveil that a nearly constant-gradient magnetic field suppress thermalization, a phenomenon termed Stark many-body localization (SMBL), previously observed in S=1/2S=1/2S=1/2 chains. Furthermore, our findings reveal that the sole presence of single-ion anisotropy is sufficient to prevent thermalization in the system. Interestingly, when the magnitudes of the magnetic field and anisotropy are comparable, they compete, favoring delocalization. Despite the potential hindrance of SMBL by single-ion anisotropy in this scenario, it introduces an alternative mechanism for localization. Our interpretation, considering local energetic constraints and resonances between degenerate eigenstates, not only provides insights into SMBL but also opens avenues for future experimental investigations into the enriched phenomenology of disordered free localized S≥1/2S\geq 1/2S≥1/2 systems.
Physics Disordered interacting quantum many-body systems can become hopelessly localized. This so-called many-body localization has been studied in one-dimensional systems. In two dimensions, experiments indicate that the localization persists, but because it is difficult to tell the difference between no thermalization and slow thermalization, more theoretical work is needed. Relying on an approximate numerical method, Wahl et al. undertook large-scale simulations of a two-dimensional lattice of bosonic atoms in the presence of interactions and disorder. At intermediate disorder strengths, the on-site entanglement entropies exhibited a bimodal distribution, indicating a coexistence of localized and thermalized states; as disorder was increased, localized states took over. The authors were able to extract a critical disorder strength and set a benchmark for future experiments. Nat. Phys. 10.1038/s41567-018-0339-x (2018).