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A Unitary Perturbation Theory Approach to Real-Time Evolution in the Hubbard Model

Manuel Kreye

Published Jan 1, 2019• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

We advance perturbative approaches for out-of-equilibrium quantum many-body systems by applying unitary perturbation theory to the real-time evolution of the weakly interacting Hubbard model in d > 1 dimensions. We derive general expressions for the fermionic operators that allow us to perturbatively calculate the time evolution of observables to second-order expansion in the interaction strength. We find that the results are stable up to and including the prethermalization regime. We apply our findings to the nonequilibrium build-up of density-density correlations after a weak interaction quench and compare the prethermalization values to equilibrium correlations. Furthermore, we analyze the light-cone-like structure of the density-density susceptibility and the equal-time correlation function in the context of the Lieb-Robinson bounds.

DOI
10.53846/goediss-7704

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We advance perturbative approaches for out-of-equilibrium quantum many-body systems by applying unitary perturbation theory to the real-time evolution of the weakly interacting Hubbard model in d > 1 dimensions. We derive general expressions for the fermionic operators that allow us to perturbatively calculate the time evolution of observables to second-order expansion in the interaction strength. We find that the results are stable up to and including the prethermalization regime. We apply our findings to the nonequilibrium build-up of density-density correlations after a weak interaction quench and compare the prethermalization values to equilibrium correlations. Furthermore, we analyze the light-cone-like structure of the density-density susceptibility and the equal-time correlation function in the context of the Lieb-Robinson bounds.
In weakly perturbed systems that are close to integrability, thermalization can be delayed by the formation of prethermalization plateaus. We study the build-up of density-density correlations after a weak interaction quench in the Hubbard model in d>1d > 1d>1 dimensions using unitary perturbation theory. Starting from a pre-quench state at temperature TTT, we show that the prethermalization values of the post-quench correlations are equal to the equilibrium values of the interacting model at the same temperature TTT. This is explained by the local character of density-density correlations.
The study of the interplay between interaction-induced correlations and nonequilibrium initial conditions in many-body systems has recently attracted a lot of attention. New experimental techniques provide high control over many-body systems and systematic access to their nonequilibrium regime. In many systems the nonequilibrium properties of a Fermi liquid can be relevant. A first approach to their understanding is the main content of this thesis. At the beginning, nonequilibrium phenomena, Landau's theory of a Fermi liquid, the Hubbard model, time evolution in quantum mechanics, related experiments, and the flow equation method are reviewed. The key observation of this thesis, namely a characteristic mismatch of expectation values in equilibrium and nonequilibrium, is first illustrated for the squeezed oscillator. For this one-particle model Hamiltonian the perturbative approach can be compared with the exact solution and it is shown that the mismatch holds even beyond perturbation theory. Afterwards these observations are generalized to a larger class of one-particle models. Then the nonequilibrium behavior of a Fermi liquid is examined by analyzing the Fermi liquid phase of the Hubbard model in more than one dimension. After a sudden switch-on of a weak two-particle interaction to the noninteracting Fermi gas the relaxation of the many-body system is observed. For this purpose, the flow equation transformation is implemented for the Hubbard Hamiltonian. Then the discussion of the momentum distribution function and of the kinetic energy displays a three-step relaxation behavior of the Fermi liquid from the initial perturbation until thermalization is reached. Firstly, the sudden switch inserts excitation energy into the system which drives the following dynamics. Then a rapid initial build-up of correlations is caused by initial dephasing and leads to the establishment of a quasiparticle picture. By that the system enters into a quasi-stationary state which can be long-lasting for weak interaction. This state shows prethermalization of the kinetic energy which already has relaxed to its final values. However, the momentum distribution still resembles a zero temperature Fermi liquid. Its later relaxation on a second time scale is caused by a residual two-particle interaction which allows for scattering processes and can be described by a quantum Boltzmann equation. The physical origin of this delayed relaxation can be traced back to an interplay of translational invariance of the Hubbard model and the Pauli principle for fermions; together they restrict the phase space for scattering events. Comparing with similar work I conjecture on the generic nature of the findings made for the quenched Fermi liquid in other many-body systems. Finally I point out to the potential relevance of the delayed relaxation for the observation of further nonequilibrium phenomena, for instance in BCS systems. In order to extend the study of sudden switching to arbitrary switching processes the calculation is repeated using the Keldysh perturbation theory. First evaluations for a linear increase of the interaction strength are given. Extensions of this work are suggested and may motivate further research.
In the last years the impressive progress on the experimental side led to a variety of new experiments allowing to address systems out of equilibrium.In this way the behavior of such systems far from equilibrium is no longer a purely theoretical issue but indeed observable.New experimental techniques, like particles trapped in optical lattices, render a realization of quantum systems with nearly arbitrary system parameters possible and provide a possibility to study their time evolution.Systems out of equilibrium are characterized by the fact, that these systems are in highly excited states giving rise to totally new fascinating properties.In the present thesis one-and two-dimensional fermionic Hubbard models out of equilibrium are discussed.The system is taken out of equilibrium by a so-called interaction quench.At the beginning the system is prepared in the groundstate of the non-interacting Hamiltonian.At a time t the interaction between the fermions is suddenly turned on so that the time evolution is governed by the whole, interacting Hamiltonian.Hence the system is prepared in the groundstate of one Hamiltonian but evolves according to a di_erent Hamiltonian.Consequently the system ends up in a highly excited state.To describe such a system a method based on an expansion of the Heisenberg equations of motion to highest order possible is developed in this thesis.This method provides an exact description of the time evolution on short and intermediate time scales after the quench.As the method reveal exact results and does not rely on any perturbative assumption, a study of arbitrarily large interaction strengths is possible.Besides, the method is one of the few methods capable of two-dimensional systems.In the following the method used in this thesis is explained and advantages and disadvantages of the approach are thematized.For this purpose the results of the developed iterated equation of motion approach are compared to results obtained in calculation up to second order in the interaction.Then the dynamics of the onedimensional model is discussed with a focus on the relation of the results derived by the iterated equations of motion approach to results obtained by bosonization theory, the behavior for strong interactions and the dynamical transition from the weak to the strong quench regime.Furthermore, the Hubbard model is studied on a two-dimensional square lattice.This model is fundamentally di_erent from the one-dimensional model: In contrast to the one-dimensional model the two-dimensional model is not integrable allowing a true relaxation of the system.For this system a calculation up to second order in the interaction is performed and compared to the results of the iterated equation of motion approach.Besides, the time evolution of the momentum distribution and the influence of doping on the dynamics is studied.Moreover, a first estimate for relaxation times is provided without relying on the assumption of a mixed state.
Abstract The hierarchy of correlations is an approximation scheme which permits the study of non-equilibrium phenomena in strongly interacting quantum many-body systems on lattices in higher dimensions (with the underlying idea being somewhat similar to dynamical mean-field theory). So far, this method was restricted to equal-time correlators such as ⟨ A ˆ μ ( t ) B ˆ ν ( t ) ⟩ . Using the method of complete induction, we generalize this method to double-time correlators such as ⟨ A ˆ μ ( t ) B ˆ ν ( t ′ ) ⟩ . The hierarchical decoupling scheme permits the evaluation of correlation functions in thermal equilibrium as well as in non-equilibrium settings. As an application, we study the equilibrium dynamics of correlation functions and the related light-cone structure of the bosonic Hubbard model in the Mott insulator phase. Furthermore we address the light-cone structure when the system is quenched.
We investigate the nonequilibrium relaxation dynamics of the one-dimensional (1D) Fermi-Hubbard model subjected to abrupt, global interaction quenches. Specifically, we benchmark the convergence properties, structural accuracy, and algorithmic breakdown of the Magnus expansion against numerically exact results obtained via full Exact Diagonalization (ED) on small, periodic lattice clusters. By tracking the real-time evolution of local observables, double occupancy (doublon density), and many-body state fidelity metrics, we map out the validity bounds of the low-order Magnus series across weak, moderate, and strong interaction regimes. Our findings demonstrate that while the Magnus expansion provides an exceptionally accurate description of short-time coherent dynamics, rapid phase matching, and initial prethermalization tendencies, its convergence is fundamentally bottlenecked at longer timescales. This breakdown is driven by the rapid growth of multi-particle entanglement, non-local operator spreading via nested commutators, and the emergence of severe state-space fragmentation inherent to dense, strongly interacting many-body spectra.