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Decay and recurrence of non-Gaussian correlations in a quantum many-body system

Marek Gluza, Thomas Schweigler, Mohammadamin Tajik, Spyros Sotiriadis, Federica Cataldini, Si-Cong Ji, Frederik Møller, Sabino, João, Bernhard Rauer, Jens Eisert, Jörg Schmiedmayer

Published Jan 1, 2021• 50 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Gaussian models provide an excellent effective description of many quantum many-body systems ranging from condensed-matter systems1,2 all the way to neutron stars3. Gaussian states are common at equilibrium when the interactions are weak. Recently it was proposed that they can also emerge dynamically from a non-Gaussian initial state evolving under non-interacting dynamics4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11. Here we present the experimental observation of such a dynamical emergence of Gaussian correlations in a quantum many-body system. This non-equilibrium evolution is triggered by abruptly switching off the effective interaction between the observed collective degrees of freedom, while leaving the interactions between the microscopic constituents unchanged. Starting from highly non-Gaussian correlations, consistent with the sine–Gordon model12, we observe a Gaussian state emerging over time as revealed by the decay of the fourth- and sixth-order connected correlations in the quantum field. A description of this dynamics requires a novel mechanism for the emergence of Gaussian correlations, which is relevant for a wide class of quantum many-body systems. In our closed system with non-interacting effective degrees of freedom, we do not expect full thermalization13,14,15,16,17,18,19. This memory of the initial state is confirmed by observing recurrences20 of non-Gaussian correlations.

DOI
10.17169/refubium-33752

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Gaussian models provide an excellent effective description of many quantum many-body systems ranging from condensed-matter systems1,2 all the way to neutron stars3. Gaussian states are common at equilibrium when the interactions are weak. Recently it was proposed that they can also emerge dynamically from a non-Gaussian initial state evolving under non-interacting dynamics4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11. Here we present the experimental observation of such a dynamical emergence of Gaussian correlations in a quantum many-body system. This non-equilibrium evolution is triggered by abruptly switching off the effective interaction between the observed collective degrees of freedom, while leaving the interactions between the microscopic constituents unchanged. Starting from highly non-Gaussian correlations, consistent with the sine–Gordon model12, we observe a Gaussian state emerging over time as revealed by the decay of the fourth- and sixth-order connected correlations in the quantum field. A description of this dynamics requires a novel mechanism for the emergence of Gaussian correlations, which is relevant for a wide class of quantum many-body systems. In our closed system with non-interacting effective degrees of freedom, we do not expect full thermalization13,14,15,16,17,18,19. This memory of the initial state is confirmed by observing recurrences20 of non-Gaussian correlations.
We comprehensively investigate two distinct mechanisms leading to memory loss of non-Gaussian correlations after switching off the interactions in an isolated quantum system undergoing out-of-equilibrium dynamics. The first mechanism is based on spatial scrambling and results in the emergence of locally Gaussian steady states in large systems evolving over long times. The second mechanism, characterized as `canonical transmutation', is based on the mixing of a pair of canonically conjugate fields, one of which initially exhibits non-Gaussian fluctuations while the other is Gaussian and dominates the dynamics, resulting in the emergence of relative Gaussianity even at finite system sizes and times. We evaluate signatures of the occurrence of the two candidate mechanisms in a recent experiment that has observed Gaussification in an atom-chip controlled ultracold gas and elucidate evidence that it is canonical transmutation rather than spatial scrambling that is responsible for Gaussification in the experiment. Both mechanisms are shown to share the common feature that the Gaussian correlations revealed dynamically by the quench are already present though practically inaccessible at the initial time. On the way, we present novel observations based on the experimental data, demonstrating clustering of equilibrium correlations, analyzing the dynamics of full counting statistics, and utilizing tomographic reconstructions of quantum field states. Our work aims at providing an accessible presentation of the potential of atom-chip experiments to explore fundamental aspects of quantum field theories in quantum simulations.
Non-Gaussian evolution of high-order spin correlations characterizes important properties of quantum many-body systems. In practice, decoherence, statistical fluctuation and miscalibration of experimental parameters all hinder the witness of non-Gaussian dynamics. Here we demonstrate the crossover between Gaussian and non-Gaussian dynamics on a two-dimensional XY model with long-range and spatially structured interaction using a trapped ion quantum simulator. We prepare different initial densities of magnon excitations and verify the dynamics of single-spin observables for the engineered Hamiltonian. Then we compare the high-order spin correlations with the mean-field solution and the Holstein-Primakoff approximation, and demonstrate the non-Gaussian behavior in a way independent of the calibration errors. Our work provides a verifiable path from classically simulatable dynamics to regimes where quantum advantage may emerge.
Complete information on the equilibrium behavior and dynamics of quantum field theory (QFT) is provided by multipoint correlation functions. However, their theoretical calculation is a challenging problem, even for exactly solvable models. This has recently become an experimentally relevant problem, due to progress in cold-atom experiments simulating QFT models and directly measuring higher order correlations. Here we compute correlation functions of the quantum sine-Gordon model, a prototype integrable model of central interest from both theoretical and experimental points of view. Building upon the so-called truncated conformal space approach, we numerically construct higher order correlations in a system of finite size in various physical states of experimental relevance, both in and out of equilibrium. We measure deviations from Gaussianity due to the presence of interaction and analyze their dependence on temperature, explaining the experimentally observed crossover between Gaussian and non-Gaussian regimes. We find that correlations of excited states are markedly different from the thermal case, which can be explained by the integrability of the system. We also study dynamics after a quench, observing the effects of the interaction on the time evolution of correlation functions, their spatial dependence, and their non-Gaussianity as measured by the kurtosis.
Strongly interacting many-body systems exhibit collective properties that emerge from complex correlations among microscopic degrees of freedom. These cooperative phenomena govern the non-equilibrium response of quantum systems, with relevance ranging from condensed matter physics to quantum field theories describing fundamental aspects of our universe. Understanding such emergent dynamics from first principles remains one of the central challenges in quantum many-body physics. Here we report on the observation of collective cluster nucleation dynamics following quenches in 2D ferromagnetic quantum Ising systems implemented in an atomic Rydberg array. Our experiments reveal two distinct regimes: In the confined regime, we observe an energy-dependent cluster size, revealing large collective clusters exceeding ten spins. In contrast, the deconfined regime is characterized by kinetically constrained, avalanche-like nucleation dynamics involving the entire system. Our findings establish a new frontier for quantum simulations with Rydberg arrays, enabling controlled exploration of non-equilibrium phenomena previously out of reach. Beyond advancing experimental capabilities, they provide fundamental insights into highly correlated processes with implications that reach from quantum magnetism and glassy dynamics to cosmological models of the early universe.
In this thesis we study three examples of interacting many-body systems undergoing a non equilibrium time evolution. Firstly we consider the time evolution in an integrable system: the sine-Gordon field theory in the repulsive regime. We will focus on the one point function of the semi-local vertex operator eiβφ(x)/2 on a specific class of initial states. By analytical means we show that the expectation value considered decays exponentially to zero at late times and we determine the decay time. The method employed is based on a form-factor expansion and uses the "Representative Eigenstate Approach" of Ref. [73] (a.k.a. "Quench Action"). In a second example we study the time evolution in models close to "special" integrable points characterised by hidden symmetries generating infinitely many local conservation laws that do not commute with one another, in addition to the infinite commuting family implied by integrability. We observe that both in the case where the perturbation breaks the integrability and when it breaks only the additional symmetries maintaining integrability, the local observables show a crossover behaviour from an initial to a final quasi stationary plateau. We investigate a weak coupling limit, identify a time window in which the effects of the perturbations become significant and solve the time evolution through a mean-field mapping. As an explicit example we study the XYZ spin-1/2 chain with additional perturbations that break integrability. Finally, we study the effects of integrability breaking perturbations on the non-equilibrium evolution of more general many-particle quantum systems, where the unperturbed integrable model is generic. We focus on a class of spinless fermion models with weak interactions. We employ equation of motion techniques that can be viewed as generalisations of quantum Boltzmann equations. We benchmark our method against time dependent density matrix renormalisation group computations and find it to be very accurate as long as interactions are weak. For small integrability breaking, we observe robust prethermalisation plateaux for local observables on all accessible time scales. Increasing the strength of the integrability breaking term induces a "drift" away from the prethermalisation plateaux towards thermal behaviour. We identify a time scale characterising this crossover.
We prove that quantum many-body systems on a one-dimensional lattice locally relax to Gaussian states under non-equilibrium dynamics generated by a bosonic quadratic Hamiltonian. This is true for a large class of initial states—pure or mixed—which have to satisfy merely weak conditions concerning the decay of correlations. The considered setting is a proven instance of a situation where dynamically evolving closed quantum systems locally appear as if they had truly relaxed, to maximum entropy states for fixed second moments. This furthers the understanding of relaxation in suddenly quenched quantum many-body systems. The proof features a non-commutative central limit theorem for non-i.i.d. random variables, showing convergence to Gaussian characteristic functions, giving rise to trace-norm closeness. We briefly link our findings to the ideas of typicality and concentration of measure.