The Granovskii-Zhedanov (GZ) states are exact scar states of the spin-S XYZ chain for S >= 1. As a result, local quantum information encoded in a GZ state remains preserved under the unitary dynamics of the XYZ Hamiltonian; thus, these states evade thermalization and violate ergodicity despite the system being otherwise nonintegrable and chaotic. However, in realistic experimental settings, the realization of an ideal XYZ Hamiltonian is not possible, as perturbations are inevitable. These perturbations ultimately lead to the decay and thermalization of the GZ state. We study the stability and dynamics of GZ states in the presence of generic perturbations and propose physically realistic mechanisms to stabilize them. We show that the product structure of the GZ state allows its lifetime to be enhanced in the presence of an external helical magnetic field, which slows down thermalization but does not prevent it at long times. We further demonstrate that the inclusion of effective non-Hermitian spin relaxation processes can substantially stabilize the GZ states, leading to a nonequilibrium steady state with finite fidelity with GZ state. Such dissipative processes can naturally originate from mechanisms such as Purcell-enhanced spontaneous emission or spin-lattice relaxation in the presence of the helical magnetic field. Using infinite time-evolving block decimation and exact time evolution, we systematically analyze the dynamics and robustness of the GZ states in the perturbed non-Hermitian XYZ model. To connect with experimental platforms, we introduce a Hubbard model that maps onto the XYZ spin system and propose that ring-shaped optical lattices may provide a viable route for realizing and stabilizing GZ states. Finally, we present an equivalent Lindblad description of the effective non-Hermitian dynamics.
The Granovskii-Zhedanov (GZ) states are exact scar states of the spin-S XYZ chain for S >= 1. As a result, local quantum information encoded in a GZ state remains preserved under the unitary dynamics of the XYZ Hamiltonian; thus, these states evade thermalization and violate ergodicity despite the system being otherwise nonintegrable and chaotic. However, in realistic experimental settings, the realization of an ideal XYZ Hamiltonian is not possible, as perturbations are inevitable. These perturbations ultimately lead to the decay and thermalization of the GZ state. We study the stability and dynamics of GZ states in the presence of generic perturbations and propose physically realistic mechanisms to stabilize them. We show that the product structure of the GZ state allows its lifetime to be enhanced in the presence of an external helical magnetic field, which slows down thermalization but does not prevent it at long times. We further demonstrate that the inclusion of effective non-Hermitian spin relaxation processes can substantially stabilize the GZ states, leading to a nonequilibrium steady state with finite fidelity with GZ state. Such dissipative processes can naturally originate from mechanisms such as Purcell-enhanced spontaneous emission or spin-lattice relaxation in the presence of the helical magnetic field. Using infinite time-evolving block decimation and exact time evolution, we systematically analyze the dynamics and robustness of the GZ states in the perturbed non-Hermitian XYZ model. To connect with experimental platforms, we introduce a Hubbard model that maps onto the XYZ spin system and propose that ring-shaped optical lattices may provide a viable route for realizing and stabilizing GZ states. Finally, we present an equivalent Lindblad description of the effective non-Hermitian dynamics.
Quantum many-body scars are atypical energy eigenstates of chaotic quantum many-body systems that prevent certain special non-equilibrium initial conditions from thermalizing. We point out that quantum many-body scars exist for any nearest-neighbor spin-S XYZ quantum spin chain, and arise in the form of an infinite family of highly excited yet nonentangled product-state eigenstates, which define periodic textures in spin space. This set of scars, discovered originally by Granovskii and Zhedanov in 1985, encompasses both the experimentally relevant 'spin helices' for XXZ chains and more complicated helix-like states constructed from Jacobi elliptic functions for generic XYZ chains. An appealing feature of Granovskii-Zhedanov scars is that they are well-defined in the semiclassical limit S→∞, which allows for a systematic and analytical treatment of their dynamical instability to perturbations of the Hamiltonian. Using time-dependent spin-wave theory, we predict that upon perturbing along certain directions in Hamiltonian space, Granovskii-Zhedanov scars exhibit a dramatic asymmetry in their decay: depending on the sign of the perturbation, the decrease of their contrast is either slow and linear, or fast and exponential in time. This asymmetry can be traced to the absence (presence) of imaginarity in the spectrum of the Bogoliubov Hamiltonian governing quantum fluctuations about the scar, which corresponds to the absence (presence) of a non-zero Lyapunov exponent for the limiting classical trajectory. Numerical simulations using matrix product states (MPS) and infinite time-evolving block decimation (iTEBD) confirm that our prediction remains valid even far from the semiclassical limit. Our findings challenge existing theories of how quantum-many body scars relax.
In a work by Granovskii and Zhedanov, a surprising family of scar states exhibiting zero entanglement was discovered in the XYZ spin chain, remarkably, nearly three decades before the concept of many-body scars became a subject of active research. Despite its significance, these states have largely gone unnoticed within the physics community. In this study, we uncover the origin of the family of Granovskii-Zhedanov (GZ) scars within the framework of the modern algebraic understanding of quantum many-body scars. We demonstrate that the scar subspace can be effectively described using the spectrum-generating algebra (SGA) framework, as well as through a group-theoretical formulation of the XXZ Hamiltonian. This description, however, is strictly applicable only in the XXZ limit, where a quasi-U(1) symmetry exists within the scar subspace. In contrast, the absence of such quasi-U(1) symmetry in the GZ scar subspace restricts the direct applicability of these standard formulations. To address this, we adopt three alternative approaches. First, we perturbatively extrapolate an approximate SGA for the XYZ system from the XXZ system. Second, we construct the standard SGA directly from the GZ states in the XYZ limit. In the third approach, we numerically optimize the SGA generator and demonstrate that, apart from special q-values, the optimized generator is a local operator with support on two nearest-neighbor sites. Employing these algebraic constructions, we identify the scar subspaces of the XXZ and XYZ systems and clarify their interrelationships. We further explore the possibility of constructing lattice-independent GZ scars in higher-dimensional uniform spin-exchange systems with centrosymmetry, using graphical rules developed for GZ scar construction. Our results indicate that lattice-independent GZ scars can only be supported for specific spatially uniform and non-uniform lattices.
Quantum many-body scars are special eigenstates that violate the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis while residing at finite energy density along with thermalizing eigenstates. The spin-1 XY model is known to host a family of such exceptional states originating from long-lived quasiparticle excitations that exhibit anomalously low entanglement entropy and long-time periodic revivals, resulting in weak ergodicity breaking. We study the stability of these scarred states against typical U(1) symmetry preserving perturbation in the XY chain. While perturbation theory can describe the deformed scar states at small system sizes, finite-size scaling of the perturbation matrix elements indicate that the scars ultimately thermalize in larger chains. Nonetheless, we demonstrate that the long-range order associated with the scars decays under the perturbation, and we estimate the relaxation timescale of oscillatory dynamics in certain local observables to be of order λ−2, where λ is the perturbation strength.
Unraveling the mechanisms of ergodicity breaking in complex quantum systems is a central pursuit in nonequilibrium physics. In this work, we investigate a one-dimensional spin model featuring a tunable long-range hopping term, Hn, which introduces nonlocal interactions and bridges the gap between Hermitian and non-Hermitian regimes. Through a systematic analysis of level-spacing statistics, Krylov complexity, and entanglement entropy, we demonstrate that Hn acts as a universal control parameter driving the transition from integrability to quantum chaos. Specifically, increasing the strength of Hn induces a crossover from Poissonian to Gaussian Orthogonal Ensemble statistics in the Hermitian limit, and similarly triggers chaotic dynamics in the non-Hermitian case. Most remarkably, despite the onset of global chaos, we identify a tower of exact nonthermal eigenstates that evade thermalization. These states survive as robust quantum many-body scars, retaining low entanglement and coherent dynamics even under strong non-Hermitian perturbations. Our findings reveal a universal mechanism by which long-range and non-Hermitian effects reshape quantum ergodicity, offering new pathways for preserving quantum coherence in complex many-body systems.
The recent discovery of persistent revivals in the Rydberg-atom quantum simulator has revealed a weakly ergodicity-breaking mechanism dubbed quantum many-body scars, which are a set of nonthermal states embedded in otherwise thermal spectra. Until now, such a mechanism has been mainly studied in Hermitian systems. Here, we establish the non-Hermitian quantum many-body scars and systematically characterize their nature from dynamic revivals, entanglement entropy, physical observables, and energy level statistics. Notably, we find the non-Hermitian quantum many-body scars exhibit significantly enhanced coherent revival dynamics when approaching the exceptional point. The signatures of non-Hermitian scars switch from the real-energy axis to the imaginary-energy axis after a real-to-complex spectrum transition driven by increasing non-Hermiticity, where an exceptional point and a quantum tricritical point emerge simultaneously. We further examine the stability of non-Hermitian quantum many-body scars against external fields, reveal the non-Hermitian quantum criticality and eventually set up the whole phase diagram. The possible connection to the open quantum many-body systems is also explored. Our findings offer insights for realizing long-lived coherent states in non-Hermitian many-body systems.
The recent discovery of persistent revivals in the Rydberg-atom quantum simulator has revealed a weakly ergodicity-breaking mechanism dubbed quantum many-body scars, which are a set of nonthermal states embedded in otherwise thermal spectra. Until now, such a mechanism has been mainly studied in Hermitian systems. Here, we establish the non-Hermitian quantum many-body scars and systematically characterize their nature from dynamic revivals, entanglement entropy, physical observables, and energy level statistics. Notably, we find the non-Hermitian quantum many-body scars exhibit significantly enhanced coherent revival dynamics when approaching the exceptional point. The signatures of non-Hermitian scars switch from the real-energy axis to the imaginary-energy axis after a real-to-complex spectrum transition driven by increasing non-Hermiticity, where an exceptional point and a quantum tricritical point emerge simultaneously. We further examine the stability of non-Hermitian quantum many-body scars against external fields, reveal the non-Hermitian quantum criticality and eventually set up the whole phase diagram. The possible connection to the open quantum many-body systems is also explored. Our findings offer insights for realizing long-lived coherent states in non-Hermitian many-body systems.