Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:2406.01440 · Physical review. B./Physical review. B

Prethermalization in the PXP model under continuous quasiperiodic driving

Pinaki Dutta, Sayan Choudhury, Vishwanath Shukla

Published Feb 3, 2025• 5 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Motivated by recent experiments realizing long-lived nonequilibrium states in aperiodically driven quantum many-body systems, we investigate the dynamics of a quasiperiodically driven Rydberg atom chain in the strong Rydberg blockage regime. In this regime, the system is kinetically constrained and the ``PXP'' model describes its dynamics. Even without driving, the PXP model exhibits many-body scarring and resultant persistent oscillations for dynamics originating from the N\'eel-ordered initial state. We demonstrate that a rich array of dynamical behaviors emerge when the system is subjected to a continuous drive. In the high-frequency regime, the system exhibits revivals and oscillations for the N\'eel ordered initial state both for periodic and quasiperiodic drives. We trace the origin of this nonergodicity to an effective PXP Hamiltonian for both of these driving protocols in this regime. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the behavior of the fidelity and the entanglement entropy is nonmonotonic at low frequencies in the high-amplitude regime. This leads to several re-entrant scarring transitions both for both the N\'eel-ordered and the fully polarized initial state. Our results demonstrate that continuous quasiperiodic drive protocols can provide a promising route to realize prethermal phases of matter in kinetically constrained systems.

DOI
10.1103/physrevb.111.064303

Related papers

Driving quantum many-body scars in the PXP model

Ana Hudomal, Jean-Yves Desaules, Bhaskar Mukherjee +3 more

Periodic driving has been established as a powerful technique for engineering novel phases of matter and intrinsically out-of-equilibrium phenomena such as time crystals. Recent paper by Bluvstein et al. [Science 371, 1355 (2021)] has demonstrated that periodic driving can also lead to a significant enhancement of quantum many-body scarring, whereby certain nonintegrable systems can display persistent quantum revivals from special initial states. Nevertheless, the mechanisms behind driving-induced scar enhancement remain poorly understood. Here we report a detailed study of the effect of periodic driving on the PXP model describing Rydberg atoms in the presence of a strong Rydberg blockade---the canonical static model of quantum many-body scarring. We show that periodic modulation of the chemical potential gives rise to a rich phase diagram, with at least two distinct types of scarring regimes that we distinguish by examining their Floquet spectra. We formulate a toy model, based on a sequence of square pulses, that accurately captures the details of the scarred dynamics and allows for analytical treatment in the large-amplitude and high-frequency driving regimes. Finally, we point out that driving with a spatially inhomogeneous chemical potential allows to stabilize quantum revivals from arbitrary initial states in the PXP model, via a mechanism similar to prethermalization.

arXiv:2204.13718•Physical review. B./Physical review. B•Sep 2, 2022•44 citations

Floquet-engineered fidelity revivals in the PXP model

Francesco Perciavalle, Francesco Plastina, Nicola Lo Gullo

We explore the dynamics of the PXP model when subjected to a periodic drive, and unveil the mechanism through which the interplay between spectral properties and initial states governs the emergence of dynamical revivals and their evolution across the space of driving parameters. For Néel-ordered initial states, revivals follow well-defined trajectories in the parameter space of the driving, primarily determined by a dominant quasi-energy spacing in the Floquet spectrum. Initial states interpolating between Néel and fully polarized configurations exhibit hybrid dynamics, which can be controlled by tuning their overlap with Floquet eigenstates via the driving parameters. This control also allows steering different routes for avoiding Floquet thermalization, showing how both initial state choice and driving protocol shape long-lived dynamics in this driven quantum many-body systems.

quant-pharXiv:2602.02673•Physical review. B./Physical review. B•Feb 4, 2026•0 citations

Dynamics of entangled domain walls in the PXP model under driving: Crossover from prethermalization to localization

Guanhua Chen, Weijie Huang, Yao Yao

Based on the PXP model adapted for Rydberg-blockaded chains, we investigate the dynamics of topological domain walls between different quantum many-body scar states of ${\mathbb{Z}}_{2}$ symmetry. It is found that the domain walls not only possess oscillating features of scars but also manifest longstanding bipartite entanglement with exactly unchanged flip-flop phase difference, suggesting their potential as a quantum information resource. A periodically driven field is exerted and the high-frequency drive gives rise to a crossover from prethermalization to Floquet localization. In order to investigate the stability of domain walls acting as information carriers, we further simulate the collision between them and find negligible influence on each other. Subsequently, the quench dynamics with domain walls reveals exotic physics and applicable potentials of nonthermalized scar states.

Physical review. B./Physical review. B•Nov 16, 2022•1 citation

Subharmonic fidelity revival in a driven PXP model

HaRu K. Park, SungBin Lee

The PXP model hosts a special set of nonergodic states, referred to as quantum many-body scars. One of the consequences of quantum scarring is the periodic revival of the wave function fidelity. It has been reported that quantum fidelity revival occurs in the PXP model for certain product states, and periodic driving of the chemical potential can enhance the magnitude of quantum revival and can even change the frequencies of revival showing the subharmonic response. Although the effect of the periodic driving in the PXP model has been studied in the limit of certain perturbative regimes, the general mechanism of such enhanced revival and frequency change has been barely studied. In this paper, we investigate how periodic driving in the PXP model can systematically control the fidelity revival. Particularly, focusing on a product state called the N\'eel state, we analyze the condition of driving to enhance the magnitude of revival or change the frequencies of revival. To clarify the reason for such control, we consider the similarities between the PXP model and the free spin-$1/2$ model in graph theoretical analysis and show that the quantum fidelity feature in the PXP model is well explained by the free spin-$1/2$ model. In addition, under a certain limit of the driving parameters, an analytic approach to explain the main features of the fidelity revival is also applied. Our results give insight into the scarring nature of the periodically driven PXP model and pave the way to understand the (sub)harmonic responses in these models and controls thereof.

arXiv:2301.00020•Physical review. B./Physical review. B•May 22, 2023•2 citations

Bridging quantum criticality via many-body scarring

Aiden Daniel, Andrew Hallam, Jean-Yves Desaules +4 more

Quantum dynamics in certain kinetically-constrained systems can display a strong sensitivity to the initial condition, wherein some initial states give rise to persistent quantum revivals---a type of weak ergodicity breaking known as ``quantum many-body scarring'' (QMBS). Recent work [Yao, Pan, Liu, and Zhai, Phys. Rev. B 105, 125123 (2022)] pointed out that QMBS gets destroyed by tuning the system to a quantum critical point, echoing the disappearance of long-range order in the system's ground state at equilibrium. Here we show that this picture can be much richer in systems that display QMBS dynamics from a continuous family of initial conditions: As the system is tuned across the critical point while at the same time deforming the initial state, the dynamical signatures of QMBS at intermediate times can undergo an apparently smooth evolution across the equilibrium phase transition point. We demonstrate this using the PXP model---a paradigmatic model of QMBS that has recently been realized in Rydberg atom arrays as well as ultracold bosonic atoms in a tilted optical lattice. Using exact diagonalization and matrix product state methods, we map out the dynamical phase diagram of the PXP model with the quenched chemical potential. We demonstrate the existence of a continuous family of initial states that give rise to QMBS and formulate a ramping protocol that can be used to prepare such states in experiment. Our results show the ubiquity of scarring in the PXP model and highlight its intriguing interplay with quantum criticality.

arXiv:2301.03631•Physical review. B./Physical review. B•Jun 5, 2023•20 citations

Prethermalization in aperiodically driven classical spin systems

Sajag Kumar, Sayan Choudhury

Periodically driven classical many-body systems can host a rich zoo of prethermal dynamical phases. In this work, we extend the paradigm of classical prethermalization to aperiodically driven systems. We establish the existence of a long-lived prethermal regime in spin systems subjected to random multipolar drives. We demonstrate that the thermalization time scales as (1/T)^{2n+2}, where n is the multipolar order and T is the intrinsic time-scale associated with the drive. In the n→∞ limit, the drive becomes quasiperiodic and the thermalization time becomes exponentially long [∼exp(β/T)]. We further establish the robustness of prethermalization by demonstrating that these thermalization time scaling laws hold for a wide range of initial state energy densities. Intriguingly, the thermalization process in these classical systems is parametrically slower than their quantum counterparts, thereby highlighting important differences between classical and quantum prethermalization. Finally, we propose a protocol to harness this classical prethermalization to realize time rondeau crystals.

arXiv:2404.10224•Physical review. E•Dec 26, 2024•8 citations
Motivated by recent experiments realizing long-lived nonequilibrium states in aperiodically driven quantum many-body systems, we investigate the dynamics of a quasiperiodically driven Rydberg atom chain in the strong Rydberg blockage regime. In this regime, the system is kinetically constrained and the ``PXP'' model describes its dynamics. Even without driving, the PXP model exhibits many-body scarring and resultant persistent oscillations for dynamics originating from the N'eel-ordered initial state. We demonstrate that a rich array of dynamical behaviors emerge when the system is subjected to a continuous drive. In the high-frequency regime, the system exhibits revivals and oscillations for the N'eel ordered initial state both for periodic and quasiperiodic drives. We trace the origin of this nonergodicity to an effective PXP Hamiltonian for both of these driving protocols in this regime. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the behavior of the fidelity and the entanglement entropy is nonmonotonic at low frequencies in the high-amplitude regime. This leads to several re-entrant scarring transitions both for both the N'eel-ordered and the fully polarized initial state. Our results demonstrate that continuous quasiperiodic drive protocols can provide a promising route to realize prethermal phases of matter in kinetically constrained systems.
Periodic driving has been established as a powerful technique for engineering novel phases of matter and intrinsically out-of-equilibrium phenomena such as time crystals. Recent paper by Bluvstein et al. [Science 371, 1355 (2021)] has demonstrated that periodic driving can also lead to a significant enhancement of quantum many-body scarring, whereby certain nonintegrable systems can display persistent quantum revivals from special initial states. Nevertheless, the mechanisms behind driving-induced scar enhancement remain poorly understood. Here we report a detailed study of the effect of periodic driving on the PXP model describing Rydberg atoms in the presence of a strong Rydberg blockade---the canonical static model of quantum many-body scarring. We show that periodic modulation of the chemical potential gives rise to a rich phase diagram, with at least two distinct types of scarring regimes that we distinguish by examining their Floquet spectra. We formulate a toy model, based on a sequence of square pulses, that accurately captures the details of the scarred dynamics and allows for analytical treatment in the large-amplitude and high-frequency driving regimes. Finally, we point out that driving with a spatially inhomogeneous chemical potential allows to stabilize quantum revivals from arbitrary initial states in the PXP model, via a mechanism similar to prethermalization.
We explore the dynamics of the PXP model when subjected to a periodic drive, and unveil the mechanism through which the interplay between spectral properties and initial states governs the emergence of dynamical revivals and their evolution across the space of driving parameters. For Néel-ordered initial states, revivals follow well-defined trajectories in the parameter space of the driving, primarily determined by a dominant quasi-energy spacing in the Floquet spectrum. Initial states interpolating between Néel and fully polarized configurations exhibit hybrid dynamics, which can be controlled by tuning their overlap with Floquet eigenstates via the driving parameters. This control also allows steering different routes for avoiding Floquet thermalization, showing how both initial state choice and driving protocol shape long-lived dynamics in this driven quantum many-body systems.
Based on the PXP model adapted for Rydberg-blockaded chains, we investigate the dynamics of topological domain walls between different quantum many-body scar states of Z2{\mathbb{Z}}_{2}Z2​ symmetry. It is found that the domain walls not only possess oscillating features of scars but also manifest longstanding bipartite entanglement with exactly unchanged flip-flop phase difference, suggesting their potential as a quantum information resource. A periodically driven field is exerted and the high-frequency drive gives rise to a crossover from prethermalization to Floquet localization. In order to investigate the stability of domain walls acting as information carriers, we further simulate the collision between them and find negligible influence on each other. Subsequently, the quench dynamics with domain walls reveals exotic physics and applicable potentials of nonthermalized scar states.
The PXP model hosts a special set of nonergodic states, referred to as quantum many-body scars. One of the consequences of quantum scarring is the periodic revival of the wave function fidelity. It has been reported that quantum fidelity revival occurs in the PXP model for certain product states, and periodic driving of the chemical potential can enhance the magnitude of quantum revival and can even change the frequencies of revival showing the subharmonic response. Although the effect of the periodic driving in the PXP model has been studied in the limit of certain perturbative regimes, the general mechanism of such enhanced revival and frequency change has been barely studied. In this paper, we investigate how periodic driving in the PXP model can systematically control the fidelity revival. Particularly, focusing on a product state called the N\'eel state, we analyze the condition of driving to enhance the magnitude of revival or change the frequencies of revival. To clarify the reason for such control, we consider the similarities between the PXP model and the free spin-1/21/21/2 model in graph theoretical analysis and show that the quantum fidelity feature in the PXP model is well explained by the free spin-1/21/21/2 model. In addition, under a certain limit of the driving parameters, an analytic approach to explain the main features of the fidelity revival is also applied. Our results give insight into the scarring nature of the periodically driven PXP model and pave the way to understand the (sub)harmonic responses in these models and controls thereof.
Quantum dynamics in certain kinetically-constrained systems can display a strong sensitivity to the initial condition, wherein some initial states give rise to persistent quantum revivals---a type of weak ergodicity breaking known as ``quantum many-body scarring'' (QMBS). Recent work [Yao, Pan, Liu, and Zhai, Phys. Rev. B 105, 125123 (2022)] pointed out that QMBS gets destroyed by tuning the system to a quantum critical point, echoing the disappearance of long-range order in the system's ground state at equilibrium. Here we show that this picture can be much richer in systems that display QMBS dynamics from a continuous family of initial conditions: As the system is tuned across the critical point while at the same time deforming the initial state, the dynamical signatures of QMBS at intermediate times can undergo an apparently smooth evolution across the equilibrium phase transition point. We demonstrate this using the PXP model---a paradigmatic model of QMBS that has recently been realized in Rydberg atom arrays as well as ultracold bosonic atoms in a tilted optical lattice. Using exact diagonalization and matrix product state methods, we map out the dynamical phase diagram of the PXP model with the quenched chemical potential. We demonstrate the existence of a continuous family of initial states that give rise to QMBS and formulate a ramping protocol that can be used to prepare such states in experiment. Our results show the ubiquity of scarring in the PXP model and highlight its intriguing interplay with quantum criticality.
Periodically driven classical many-body systems can host a rich zoo of prethermal dynamical phases. In this work, we extend the paradigm of classical prethermalization to aperiodically driven systems. We establish the existence of a long-lived prethermal regime in spin systems subjected to random multipolar drives. We demonstrate that the thermalization time scales as (1/T)^{2n+2}, where n is the multipolar order and T is the intrinsic time-scale associated with the drive. In the n→∞ limit, the drive becomes quasiperiodic and the thermalization time becomes exponentially long [∼exp(β/T)]. We further establish the robustness of prethermalization by demonstrating that these thermalization time scaling laws hold for a wide range of initial state energy densities. Intriguingly, the thermalization process in these classical systems is parametrically slower than their quantum counterparts, thereby highlighting important differences between classical and quantum prethermalization. Finally, we propose a protocol to harness this classical prethermalization to realize time rondeau crystals.