Recently it has been shown that interparticle interactions generically destroy dynamical localization in periodically driven systems, resulting in diffusive transport and heating. In this Rapid Communication we rigorously construct a family of interacting driven systems which are dynamically localized and effectively decoupled from the external driving potential. We show that these systems exhibit tunable periodic or quasiperiodic revivals of the many-body wave function and thus of all physical observables. By numerically examining spinless fermions on a one-dimensional lattice we show that the analytically obtained revivals of such systems remain stable for finite systems with open boundary conditions while having a finite lifetime in the presence of static spatial disorder. We find this lifetime to be inversely proportional to the disorder strength.
Disordered quantum systems undergoing a many-body localization (MBL) transition fail to reach thermal equilibrium under their own dynamics. Distinguishing between asymptotically localized or delocalized dynamics based on numerical results is, however, nontrivial due to finite-size effects. Numerical linked cluster expansions (NLCE) provide a means to tackle quantum systems directly in the thermodynamic limit but are challenging for models without translational invariance. Here we demonstrate that NLCE provides a powerful tool to explore MBL by simulating quench dynamics in disordered spin-
1/2 two-leg ladders and Fermi-Hubbard chains. Combining NLCE with an efficient real-time evolution of pure states, we obtain converged results for the decay of the imbalance on long time scales and show that, especially for intermediate disorder below the putative MBL transition, NLCE outperforms direct simulations of finite systems with open or periodic boundaries. Furthermore, while spin is delocalized even in strongly disordered Hubbard chains with frozen charge, we unveil that an additional tilted potential leads to a drastic slowdown of the spin imbalance and nonergodic behavior on accessible times. Our work sheds light on MBL in systems beyond the well-studied disordered Heisenberg chain and emphasizes the usefulness of NLCE for this purpose.
Quantum interference lies at the heart of several surprising equilibrium and non‐equilibrium phenomena in many‐body Physics. Here we discuss two recently explored non‐equilibrium scenarios where external periodic drive applied to closed (i.e., not attached to any external bath) quantum many‐body systems have apparently opposite effects in respective cases. In one case it freezes/localizes a disorder free system dynamically, while in the other it delocalizes a disordered many‐body localized system, and quantum interference is responsible for both the effects. We review these in the perspective of more general questions of ergodicity, energy absorption, asymptotic behavior, and finally the essential role of quantum mechanics in understanding these issues in periodically driven closed many‐body systems. In this article we intend to deliver a non‐technical account of some recent developments in this field in a manner accessible to a broad readership. image