Academic literature on the topic 'Non-equilibrium many-body systems'

Non-equilibrium quantum many-body systems have attracted considerable attention in the past decades. The scope of the research of this kind of novel system involves interdisciplinary research of condensed matter, atomic and molecular physics, quantum optics, quantum information and quantum computation, as well as the non-equilibrium statistical physics. The non-equilibrium phenomena emerging from the aforementioned quantum systems can exhibit rich and universal behaviors, which have far from being well understood due to the novelties and complexities of these systems, and hence the quantum many-body physics becomes the research highlight. At the same time, with the rapid development of quantum techniques, the understanding of these complex systems is of important practical significance due to their potential applications in quantum computation and quantum manipulation. In this paper, we show our recent progress of non-equilibrium quantum many-body systems. We focus on the novel phenomena closely related to the temporary symmetry breaking, including the exotic quantum matter, quasi-particles as well as the dynamical universality classes in non-equilibrium quantum many-body systems.

The phenomenon of many-body localized (MBL) systems has attracted significant interest in recent years, for its intriguing implications from a perspective of both condensed-matter and statistical physics: they are insulators even at non-zero temperature and fail to thermalize, violating expectations from quantum statistical mechanics. What is more, recent seminal experimental developments with ultra-cold atoms in optical lattices constituting analog quantum simulators have pushed many-body localized systems into the realm of physical systems that can be measured with high accuracy. In this work, we introduce experimentally accessible witnesses that directly probe distinct features of MBL, distinguishing it from its Anderson counterpart. We insist on building our toolbox from techniques available in the laboratory, including on-site addressing, super-lattices, and time-of-flight measurements, identifying witnesses based on fluctuations, density–density correlators, densities, and entanglement. We build upon the theory of out of equilibrium quantum systems, in conjunction with tensor network and exact simulations, showing the effectiveness of the tools for realistic models.

We present an inequality that gives a lower bound on the expectation value of certain two-body interaction potentials in a general state on Fock space in terms of the corresponding expectation value for thermal equilibrium states of non-interacting systems and the difference in the free energy. This bound can be viewed as a rigorous version of first-order perturbation theory for many-body systems at positive temperature. As an application, we give a proof of the first two terms in a high density (and high temperature) expansion of the free energy of jellium with Coulomb interactions, both in the fermionic and bosonic case. For bosons, our method works above the transition temperature (for the non-interacting gas) for Bose–Einstein condensation.

In this article we give an overview of the concept of universal dynamics near non-thermal fixed points in isolated quantum many-body systems. We outline a non-perturbative kinetic theory derived within a Schwinger–Keldysh closed-time path-integral approach, as well as a low-energy effective field theory which enable us to predict the universal scaling exponents characterizing the time evolution at the fixed point. We discuss the role of wave-turbulent transport in the context of such fixed points and discuss universal scaling evolution of systems bearing ensembles of (quasi) topological defects. This is rounded off by the recently introduced concept of prescaling as a generic feature of the evolution towards a non-thermal fixed point.

We propose a multi-qubit Bose–Einstein-condensate (BEC) trap as a platform for studies of quantum statistical phenomena in many-body interacting systems. In particular, it could facilitate testing atomic boson sampling of the excited-state occupations and its quantum advantage over classical computing in a full, controllable and clear way. Contrary to a linear interferometer enabling Gaussian boson sampling of non-interacting non-equilibrium photons, the BEC trap platform pertains to an interacting equilibrium many-body system of atoms. We discuss a basic model and the main features of such a multi-qubit BEC trap.

AbstractThe optical conductivity is the basic defining property of materials characterizing the current response toward time-dependent electric fields. In this work, following the approach of Kubo’s response theory, we study the general properties of the nonlinear optical conductivities of quantum many-body systems both in equilibrium and non-equilibrium. We obtain an expression of the second- and the third-order optical conductivity in terms of correlation functions and present a perturbative proof of the generalized Kohn formula proposed recently. We also discuss a generalization of the f-sum rule to a non-equilibrium setting by focusing on the instantaneous response.

AbstractQuantum many-body systems display rich phase structure in their low-temperature equilibrium states1. However, much of nature is not in thermal equilibrium. Remarkably, it was recently predicted that out-of-equilibrium systems can exhibit novel dynamical phases2–8 that may otherwise be forbidden by equilibrium thermodynamics, a paradigmatic example being the discrete time crystal (DTC)7,9–15. Concretely, dynamical phases can be defined in periodically driven many-body-localized (MBL) systems via the concept of eigenstate order7,16,17. In eigenstate-ordered MBL phases, the entire many-body spectrum exhibits quantum correlations and long-range order, with characteristic signatures in late-time dynamics from all initial states. It is, however, challenging to experimentally distinguish such stable phases from transient phenomena, or from regimes in which the dynamics of a few select states can mask typical behaviour. Here we implement tunable controlled-phase (CPHASE) gates on an array of superconducting qubits to experimentally observe an MBL-DTC and demonstrate its characteristic spatiotemporal response for generic initial states7,9,10. Our work employs a time-reversal protocol to quantify the impact of external decoherence, and leverages quantum typicality to circumvent the exponential cost of densely sampling the eigenspectrum. Furthermore, we locate the phase transition out of the DTC with an experimental finite-size analysis. These results establish a scalable approach to studying non-equilibrium phases of matter on quantum processors.

Thermodynamics is one of the pillars of modern science. Understanding which are the boundaries for the applicability of a theory is fundamental for every science and thermodynamics makes no exception. This Thesis studied the implications of thermodynamic transformations applied to quantum systems, particularly discussing the limits of a proper thermodynamic interpretation of such a transformation for a quantum many-body system. First a framework is developed to give a physical meaning to the full statistics of the work distributions for a many-body system, with particular emphasis on the quantum Ising model. Signatures of criticality are found at any level of the statistics of the work distribution. Furthermore, a detailed study of cyclic work extraction protocols is reported, for the case of the Dicke model, analysing the interplay between entanglement and phase transition from the point of view of non-equilibrium thermodynamics. Afterwards, a study of non-equilibrium thermodynamics of open quantum systems is reported. The first experimental reconstruction of the irreversible entropy production for a critical quantum manybody system is demonstrated, showing an excellent agreement with the theoretical predictions. Finally, in the framework of thermodynamics of quantum jump trajectories, a novel approach to the resolution of the large-deviation function is derived. Using this method many studies on the thermodynamics of open quantum many-body systems can be realised in the future.

Cette thèse porte sur l'étude de propriétés dynamiques de modèles quantiques portés hors équilibre. Nous introduisons en particulier des modèles généraux de type spin-boson, qui décrivent par exemple l'interaction lumière-matière ou certains phénomènes de dissipation. Nous contribuons au développement d'une approche stochastique exacte permettant de d'écrire la dynamique hors équilibre du spin dans ces modèles. Dans ce contexte, l'effet de l'environnement bosonique est pris en compte par l'intermédiaire des degrés de liberté stochastiques supplémentaires, dont les corrélations temporelles dépendent des propriétés spectrales de l'environnement bosonique. Nous appliquons cette approche à l'étude de phénomènes à N-corps, comme par exemple la transition de phase dissipative induite par un environnement bosonique de type ohmique. Des phénomènes de synchronisation spontanée, et de transition de phase topologique sont aussi identifiés. Des progrès sont aussi réalisés dans l'étude de la dynamique dans les réseaux de systèmes lumière-matière couplés. Ces développements théoriques sont motivés par les progrès expérimentaux récents, qui permettent d'envisager une étude approfondie de ces phénomènes. Cela inclut notamment les systèmes d'atomes ultra-froids, d'ions piégés, et les plateformes d'électrodynamique en cavité et en circuit. Nous intéressons aussi à la physique des systèmes hybrides comprenant des dispositifs à points quantiques mésoscopiques couplés à un résonateur électromagnétique. L'avènement de ces systèmes permet de mesures de la formation d'états à N-corps de type Kondo grâce au résonateur; et d'envisager des dispositifs thermoélectriques
This thesis deals with the study of dynamical properties of out-of-equilibrium quantum systems. We introduce in particular a general class of Spin-Boson models, which describe for example light-matter interaction or dissipative phenomena. We contribute to the development of a stochastic approach to describe the spin dynamics in these models. In this context, the effect of the bosonic environment is encapsulated into additional stochastic degrees of freedom whose time-correlations are determined by spectral properties of the bosonic environment. We use this approach to study many-body phenomena such as the dissipative quantum phase transition induced by an ohmic bosonic environment. Synchronization phenomena as well as dissipative topological transitions are identified. We also progress in the study of arrays of interacting light-matter systems. These theoretical developments follow recent experimental achievements, which could ensure a quantitative study of these phenomena. This notably includes ultra-cold atoms, trapped ions and cavity and circuit electrodynamics setups. We also investigate hybrid systems comprising electronic quantum dots coupled to electromagnetic resonators, which enable us to provide a spectroscopic analysis of many-body phenomena linked to the Kondo effect. We also introducethermoelectric applications in these devices

Recent experimental progress on ultracold atomic gases have opened up the possibility to simulate many-body systems out of equilibrium. We consider such a system described by the Luttinger model, which is a model of interacting fermions in one spatial dimension. It is well known that the Luttinger model is exactly solvable using bosonization. This also remains true for certain extensions of the model, e.g., where, in addition, the fermions are coupled to phonons. We give a self-contained account of bosonization, together with complete proofs, and show how this can be used to solve the Luttinger model and the above fermion-phonon model rigorously. The main focus is on non-equilibrium properties of the Luttinger model. We use the exact solution of the Luttinger model, with non-local interactions, to study the evolution starting from a non-uniform initial state with a position-dependent chemical potential. The system is shown to reach a current-carrying final steady state, in which the universal value of the electrical conductance, known from near-to-equilibrium settings, is recovered. We also study the effects of suddenly changing the interactions and show that the final state has memory of the initial state, which is, e.g., manifested by non- equilibrium exponents in its fermion two-point correlation functions.

QC 20161003

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 e^iβφ(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.

Thermalization, the evolution of an interacting many-body system towards a thermal Gibbs ensemble after initialization in an arbitrary non-equilibrium state, is currently a phenomenon of great interest, both in theory and experiment. As the time evolution of a quantum system is unitary, the proposed mechanism of thermalization in quantum many-body systems corresponds to the so-called eigenstate thermalization hypothesis (ETH) and the typicality of eigenstates. Although this formally solves the contradiction of thermalizing but unitary dynamics in a closed quantum many-body system, it does neither make any statement on the dynamical process of thermalization itself nor in which way the coupling of the system to an environment can hinder or modify the relaxation dynamics. In this thesis, we address both the question whether or not a quantum system driven away from equilibrium is able to relax to a thermal state, which fulfills detailed balance, and if one can identify universal behavior in the non-equilibrium relaxation dynamics. As a first realization of driven quantum systems out of equilibrium, we investigate a system of Ising spins, interacting with the quantized radiation field in an optical cavity. For multiple cavity modes, this system forms a highly entangled and frustrated state with infinite correlation times, known as a quantum spin glass. In the presence of drive and dissipation, introduced by coupling the intra-cavity radiation field to the photon vacuum outside the cavity via lossy mirrors, the quantum glass state is modified in a universal manner. For frequencies below the photon loss rate, the dissipation takes over and the system shows the universal behavior of a dissipative spin glass, with a characteristic spectral density $\\mathcal{A}(\\omega)\\sim\\sqrt{\\omega}$. On the other hand, for frequencies above the loss rate, the system retains the universal behavior of a zero temperature, quantum spin glass. Remarkably, at the glass transition, the two subsystems of spins and photons thermalize to a joint effective temperature, even in the presence of photon loss. This thermalization is a consequence of the strong spin-photon interactions, which favor detailed balance in the system and detain photons from escaping the cavity. In the thermalized system, the features of the spin glass are mirrored onto the photon degrees of freedom, leading to an emergent photon glass phase. Exploiting the inherent photon loss of the cavity, we make predictions of possible measurements on the escaping photons, which contain detailed information of the state inside the cavity and allow for a precise, non-destructive measurement of the glass state. As a further set of non-equilibrium systems, we consider one-dimensional quantum fluids driven out of equilibrium, whose universal low energy theory is formed by the so-called Luttinger Liquid description, which, due to its large degree of universality, is of intense theoretical and experimental interest. A set of recent experiments in research groups in Vienna, Innsbruck and Munich have probed the non-equilibrium time-evolution of one-dimensional quantum fluids for different experimental realizations and are pushing into a time regime, where thermalization is expected. From a theoretical point of view, one-dimensional quantum fluids are particular interesting, as Luttinger Liquids are integrable and therefore, due to an infinite number of constants of motion, do not thermalize. The leading order correction to the quadratic theory is irrelevant in the sense of the renormalization group and does therefore not modify static correlation functions, however, it breaks integrability and will therefore, even if irrelevant, induce a completely different non-equilibrium dynamics as the quadratic Luttinger theory alone. In this thesis, we derive for the first time a kinetic equation for interacting Luttinger Liquids, which describes the time evolution of the excitation densities for arbitrary initial states. The resonant character of the interaction makes a straightforward derivation of the kinetic equation, using Fermi\'s golden rule, impossible and we have to develop non-perturbative techniques in the Keldysh framework. We derive a closed expression for the time evolution of the excitation densities in terms of self-energies and vertex corrections. Close to equilibrium, the kinetic equation describes the exponential decay of excitations, with a decay rate $\\sigma^R=\\mbox\\Sigma^R$, determined by the self-energy at equilibrium. However, for long times $\\tau$, it also reveals the presence of dynamical slow modes, which are the consequence of exactly energy conserving dynamics and lead to an algebraic decay $\\sim\\tau^$ with $\\eta_D=0.58$. The presence of these dynamical slow modes is not contained in the equilibrium Matsubara formalism, while they emerge naturally in the non-equilibrium formalism developed in this thesis. In order to initialize a one-dimensional quantum fluid out of equilibrium, we consider an interaction quench in a model of interacting, dispersive fermions in Chap.~\\ref. In this scenario, the fermionic interaction is suddenly changed at time $t=0$, such that for $t>0$ the system is not in an eigenstate and therefore undergoes a non-trivial time evolution. For the quadratic theory, the stationary state in the limit $t\\rightarrow\\infty$ is a non-thermal, or prethermal, state, described by a generalized Gibbs ensemble (GGE). The GGE takes into account for the conservation of all integrals of motion, formed by the eigenmodes of the Hamiltonian. On the other hand, in the presence of non-linearities, the final state for $t\\rightarrow\\infty$ is a thermal state with a finite temperature $T>0$. . The spatio-temporal, dynamical thermalization process can be decomposed into three regimes: A prequench regime on the largest distances, which is determined by the initial state, a prethermal plateau for intermediate distances, which is determined by the metastable fixed point of the quadratic theory and a thermal region on the shortest distances. The latter spreads sub-ballistically $\\sim t^$ in space with $0<\\alpha<1$ depending on the quench. Until complete thermalization (i.e. for times $t<\\infty$), the thermal region contains more energy than the prethermal and prequench region, which is expressed in a larger temperature $T_{t}>T_$, decreasing towards its final value $T_$. As the system has achieved local detailed balance in the thermalized region, energy transport to the non-thermal region can only be performed by the macroscopic dynamical slow modes and the decay of the temperature $T_{t}-T_\\sim t^$ again witnesses the presence of these slow modes. The very slow spreading of thermalization is consistent with recent experiments performed in Vienna, which observe a metastable, prethermal state after a quench and only observe the onset of thermalization on much larger time scales. As an immediate indication of thermalization, we determine the time evolution of the fermionic momentum distribution after a quench from non-interacting to interacting fermions. For this quench scenario, the step in the Fermi distribution at the Fermi momentum $k\\sub$ decays to zero algebraically in the absence of a non-linearity but as a stretched exponential (the exponent being proportional to the non-linearity) in the presence of a finite non-linearity. This can serve as a proof for the presence or absence of the non-linearity even on time-scales for which thermalization can not yet be observed. Finally, we consider a bosonic quantum fluid, which is driven away from equilibrium by permanent heating. The origin of the heating is atomic spontaneous emission of laser photons, which are used to create a coherent lattice potential in optical lattice experiments. This process preserves the system\'s $U(1)$-invariance, i.e. conserves the global particle number, and the corresponding long-wavelength description is a heated, interacting Luttinger Liquid, for which phonon modes are continuously populated with a momentum dependent rate $\\partial_tn_q\\sim\\gamma |q|$. In the dynamics, we identify a quasi-thermal regime for large momenta, featuring an increasing time-dependent effective temperature. In this regime, due to fast phonon-phonon scattering, detailed balance has been achieved and is expressed by a time-local, increasing temperature. The thermal region emerges locally and spreads in space sub-ballistically according to $x_t\\sim t^{4/5}$. For larger distances, the system is described by an non-equilibrium phonon distribution $n_q\\sim |q|$, which leads to a new, non-equilibrium behavior of large distance observables. For instance, the phonon decay rate scales universally as $\\gamma_q\\sim |q|^{5/3}$, with a new non-equilibrium exponent $\\eta=5/3$, which differs from equilibrium. This new, universal behavior is guaranteed by the $U(1)$ invariant dynamics of the system and is insensitive to further subleading perturbations. The non-equilibrium long-distance behavior can be determined experimentally by measuring the static and dynamic structure factor, both of which clearly indicate the exponents for phonon decay, $\\eta=5/3$ and for the spreading of thermalization $\\eta_T=4/5$. Remarkably, even in the presence of this strong external drive, the interactions and their aim to achieve detailed balance are strong enough to establish a locally emerging and spatially spreading thermal region. The physical setups in this thesis do not only reveal interesting and new dynamical features in the out-of-equilibrium time evolution of interacting systems, but they also strongly underline the high degree of universality of thermalization for the classes of models studied here. May it be a system of coupled spins and photons, where the photons are pulled away from a thermal state by Markovian photon decay caused by a leaky cavity, a one-dimensional fermionic quantum fluid, which has been initialized in an out-of-equilibrium state by a quantum quench or a one-dimensional bosonic quantum fluid, which is driven away from equilibrium by continuous, external heating, all of these systems at the end establish a local thermal equilibrium, which spreads in space and leads to global thermalization for $t\\rightarrow\\infty$. This underpins the importance of thermalizing collisions and endorses the standard approach of equilibrium statistical mechanics, describing a physical system in its steady state by a thermal Gibbs ensemble.

2009/2010
In this Thesis we describe the theoretical-computational study performed on the behavior of isolated systems, far from thermodynamic equilibrium. Analyzing models well-known in literature we follow a path bringing to the classification of different behaviors in function of the interaction range of the systems' particles. In the case of systems with long-range interaction we studied the "Quasi-Stationary states" (QSSs) which emerge at short times when the system evolves with Hamiltonian dynamics. Their interest is in the fact that in many physical systems, such as self-gravitating systems, plasmas and systems characterized by wave-particle interaction, QSSs are the only experimentally accessible regime. QSS are defined as stable solutions of the Vlasov equation and, as their duration diverges with the system size, for large systems' size they can be seen as the true equilibria. They do not follow the Boltzmann statistics, and it does not exists a general theory which describes them. Anyway it is possible to give an approximate description using Lynden-Bell theory. One part of the thesis is devoted to shed light on the characteristics of the phase diagram of the "Hamiltonian mean field" model (HMF), during the QSS, calculated with the Lynden-Bell theory. The results of our work allowed to confirm numerically the presence of a phase re-entrance. In the Thesis is present also a detailed description on the system's caloric curves and on the metastability. Still in this context we show an analysis of the equivalence of the statistical ensembles, confirmed in almost the totality of the phase diagram (except for a small region), although the presence of negative specific heat in the microcanonical ensemble, which in Boltzmannian systems implies the non-equivalence of statistical ensembles. This result allowed us to arrive to a surprising conclusion: the presence of negative specific heat in the canonical ensemble. Still in the context of long-range interacting systems we analyze the linear stability of the non-homogeneous QSSs with respect to the Vlasov equation. Since the study of QSS find an application in the Free-electron laser (FEL) and other light sources, which are characterized by wave-particle interaction, we analyze, in the last chapter, the experimental perspectives of our work in this context. The other class of systems we studied are short-range interacting systems. Here the behavior of the components of the system is strongly influenced by the neighbors, and if one takes a system in a disordered state (a zero magnetization state for magnetic systems), which relaxes towards an ordered equilibrium state, one sees that the ordering process first develops locally and then extends to the whole system forming domains of opposed magnetization which grow in size. This process is called "coarsening". Our work in this field consisted in investigating numerically the laws of scale, and in the Thesis we characterize the temporal dependence of the domain sizes for different interaction ranges and we show a comparison between Hamiltonian and Langevin dynamics. This work inserts in the open debate on the equivalence of different dynamics where we found that, at least for times not too large, the two dynamics give different scaling laws.
In questa Tesi è stato fatto uno studio di natura teorico-computazionale sul comportamento dei sistemi isolati lontani dall'equilibrio termodinamico. Analizzando modelli noti in letteratura è stato seguito un percorso che ha portato alla classificazione di differenti comportamenti in funzione del range di interazione delle particelle del sistema. Nel caso di sistemi con interazione a lungo raggio sono stati studiati gli "stati quasi-stazionari" (QSS) che emergono a tempi brevi quando il sistema evolve con dinamica hamiltoniana. Il loro interesse risiede nel fatto che in molti sistemi fisici, come i sistemi auto-gravitanti, plasmi e sistemi caratterizzati da interazione onda-particella, i QSS risultano essere gli unici regimi accessibili sperimentalmente. I QSS sono definiti come soluzioni stabili dell'equazione di Vlasov, e visto che la loro durata diverge con la taglia del sistema, per sistemi di grandi dimensioni possono essere visti come i veri stati di equilibrio. Questi non seguono la statistica di Bolzmann, e non esiste una teoria generale che li descriva. E' tuttavia possibile fare una descrizione approssimata utilizzando la teoria di Lynden-Bell. Una parte della tesi è dedicata alla comprensione delle caratteristiche del diagramma di fase del modello "Hamiltonian mean field" (HMF) durante il QSS, calcolato con la teoria di Lynden-Bell. Il risultato del nostro lavoro ha permesso di confermare numericamente la presenza di fasi rientrati. E' inoltre presente un'analisi dettagliata sulle curve caloriche del sistema e sulla metastabilità. Sempre in questo contesto è stata fatto uno studio sull'equivalenza degli ensemble statistici, confermata nella quasi totalità del diagramma di fase (tranne in una piccola regione), nonostante la presenza di calore specifico negativo nell'insieme microcanonico, che in sistemi Boltzmanniani è sinonimo di non-equivalenza degli ensemble statistici. Questo risultato ci ha permesso di arrivare ad una sorprendente conclusione: la presenza di calore specifico negativo nell'insieme canonico. Sempre nel contesto dei sistemi con interazione a lungo range, è stata analizzata la stabilità lineare rispetto all'equazione di Vlasov degli stati quasi-stazionari non-omogenei. Poiché lo studio dei QSS trova applicazione nel Free-electron laser (FEL) e in altre sorgenti di luce, caratterizzate dall'interazione onda-particella, abbiamo analizzato anche le prospettive sperimentali del nostro lavoro in questo contesto. L'altra classe di sistemi che è stata studiata sono i sistemi con interazione a corto raggio. Qui il comportamento dei componenti del sistema è fortemente influenzato dai vicini, e se si prende un sistema in uno stato disordinato (a magnetizzazione nulla nei sistemi magnetici) che rilassa verso l'equilibrio ordinato, si vede che il processo di ordinamento si sviluppa prima localmente e poi si estende a tutto il sistema formando dei domini di magnetizzazione opposta che crescono in taglia. Questo processo si chiama "coarsening". Il nostro lavoro in questo contesto è consistito in una investigazione numerica delle leggi di scala, e nella tesi è stata caratterizzata la dipendenza temporale della taglia dei domini per differenti range di interazione ed è stato fatto un confronto fra dinamica hamiltoniana e dinamica di Langevin. Questi risultati si inseriscono nel dibattito aperto sull'equivalenza di differenti dinamiche, e si è mostrato che, almeno per tempi non troppo grandi, le due dinamiche portano a leggi di scala differenti.
XXIII Ciclo
1982

In this work the role of disorder, interaction and temperature in the physics of quantum non-ergodic systems is discussed. I first review what is meant by thermalization in closed quantum systems, and how ergodicity is violated in the presence of strong disorder, due to the phenomenon of Anderson localization. I explain why localization can be stable against the addition of weak dephasing interactions, and how this leads to the very rich phenomenology associated with many-body localization. I also briefly compare localized systems with their closest classical analogue, which are glasses, and discuss their similarities and differences, the most striking being that in quantum systems genuine non ergodicity can be proven in some cases, while in classical systems it is a matter of debate whether thermalization eventually takes place at very long times. Up to now, many-body localization has been studies in the region of strong disorder and weak interaction. I show that strongly interacting systems display phenomena very similar to localization, even in the absence of disorder. In such systems, dynamics starting from a random inhomogeneous initial condition are non-perturbatively slow, and relaxation takes place only in exponentially long times. While in the thermodynamic limit ergodicity is ultimately restored due to rare events, from the practical point of view such systems look as localized on their initial condition, and this behavior can be studied experimentally. Since their behavior shares similarities with both many-body localized and classical glassy systems, these models are termed “quantum glasses”. Apart from the interplay between disorder and interaction, another important issue concerns the role of temperature for the physics of localization. In non-interacting systems, an energy threshold separating delocalized and localized states exist, termed “mobility edge”. It is commonly believed that a mobility edge should exist in interacting systems, too. I argue that this scenario is inconsistent because inclusions of the ergodic phase in the supposedly localized phase can serve as mobile baths that induce global delocalization. I conclude that true non-ergodicity can be present only if the whole spectrum is localized. Therefore, the putative transition as a function of temperature is reduced to a sharp crossover. I numerically show that the previously reported mobility edges can not be distinguished from finite size effects. Finally, the relevance of my results for realistic experimental situations is discussed.

Cold-atom quantum simulators offer unique possibilities to prepare, manipulate, and probe quantum many-body systems. However, despite the high level of control in modern experiments, not all observables of interest are easily accessible. This thesis aims at establishing protocols to measure currently elusive static and dynamic properties of quantum systems. The experimental feasibility of these schemes is illustrated by means of numerical simulations for relevant applications in many-body physics and quantum simulation. In particular, we introduce a general method for measuring dynamical correlations based on non-Hermitian linear response. This enables unbiased tests of the famous fluctuation-dissipation relation as a probe of thermalization in isolated quantum systems. Furthermore, we develop ancilla-based techniques for the measurement of currents and current correlations, permitting the characterization of strongly correlated quantum matter. Another application is geared towards revealing signatures of supersolidity in spin-orbit-coupled Bose gases by exciting the relevant Goldstone modes. Finally, we explore a scenario for quantum-simulating post-inflationary reheating dynamics by parametrically driving a Bose gas into the regime of universal far-from-equilibrium dynamics. The presented protocols also apply to other analog quantum simulation platforms and thus open up promising applications in the field of quantum science and technology.
I simulatori quantistici ad atomi freddi offrono possibilità uniche per preparare, manipolare e sondare sistemi quantistici a molti corpi. Tuttavia, nonostante l'alto livello di controllo raggiunto negli esperimenti moderni, non tutte le osservabili di interesse sono facilmente accessibili. Lo scopo di questa tesi è quello di stabilire protocolli per misurare delle proprietà statiche e dinamiche dei sistemi quantistici attualmente inaccessibili. La fattibilità sperimentale di questi schemi è illustrata mediante simulazioni numeriche per applicazioni rilevanti nella fisica a molti corpi e nella simulazione quantistica. In particolare, introduciamo un metodo generale per misurare le correlazioni dinamiche basato su una risposta lineare non hermitiana. Ciò consente test imparziali della famosa relazione fluttuazione-dissipazione come sonda di termalizzazione in sistemi quantistici isolati. Inoltre, sviluppiamo tecniche basate su ancilla per la misura di correnti e correlazioni di corrente, consentendo la caratterizzazione della materia quantistica fortemente correlata. Un'altra applicazione è orientata a rivelare l'impronta della supersolidità nei gas Bose con accoppiamento spin-orbita eccitando il corrispondente modo di Goldstone. Infine, esploriamo uno scenario per la simulazione quantistica della dinamica di riscaldamento post-inflazione modulando parametricamente un gas Bose e portandolo nel regime della dinamica universale lontana dall'equilibrio. I protocolli presentati si applicano anche ad altre piattaforme di simulazione quantistica analogica e aprono quindi applicazioni promettenti nel campo della scienza e della tecnologia quantistica.
Quantensimulatoren auf Basis ultrakalter Atome eröffnen einzigartige Möglichkeiten zur Präparation, Manipulation und Untersuchung von Quanten-Vielteilchen-Systemen. Trotz des hohen Maßes an Kontrolle in modernen Experimenten sind jedoch nicht alle interessanten Observablen auf einfache Weise zugänglich. Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, Protokolle zur Messung aktuell nur schwer erfassbarer statischer und dynamischer Eigenschaften von Quantensystemen zu etablieren. Die experimentelle Realisierbarkeit dieser Verfahren wird durch numerische Simulationen anhand relevanter Anwendungen in der Vielteilchenphysik und Quantensimulation veranschaulicht. Insbesondere wird eine allgemeine Methode zur Messung dynamischer Korrelationen basierend auf der linearen Antwort auf nicht-hermitesche Störungen vorgestellt. Diese ermöglicht unabhängige Tests des berühmten Fluktuations-Dissipations-Theorems als Indikator der Thermalisierung isolierter Quantensysteme. Darüber hinaus werden Verfahren zur Messung von Strömen und Strom-Korrelationen mittels Kopplung an einen Hilfszustand entwickelt, welche die Charakterisierung stark korrelierter Quantenmaterie erlauben. Eine weitere Anwendung zielt auf die Enthüllung spezifischer Merkmale von Supersolidität in Spin-Bahn-gekoppelten Bose-Einstein-Kondensaten ab, indem die relevanten Goldstone-Moden angeregt werden. Schließlich wird ein Szenario zur Quantensimulation post-inflationärer Thermalisierungsdynamik durch die parametrische Anregung eines Bose-Gases in das Regime universeller Dynamik fern des Gleichgewichts erschlossen. Die dargestellten Protokolle lassen sich auch auf andere Plattformen für analoge Quantensimulation übertragen und eröffnen damit vielversprechende Anwendungen auf dem Gebiet der Quantentechnologie.

This book focuses on a method for exploring, explaining, and understanding the behavior of large many-body systems. It describes an approach to non-equilibrium behavior that focuses on structures (represented by correlation functions) that characterize mesoscale properties of the systems. In other words, rather than a fully bottom-up approach, starting with the components at the atomic or molecular scale, the “hydrodynamic approach” aims to describe and account for continuum behaviors by largely ignoring details at the “fundamental” level. This methodological approach has its origins in Einstein’s work on Brownian motion. He gave what may be the first instance of “upscaling” to determine an effective (continuum) value for a material parameter—the viscosity. His method is of a kind with much work in the science of materials. This connection and the wide-ranging interdisciplinary nature of these methods are stressed. Einstein also provided the first expression of a fundamental theorem of statistical mechanics called the Fluctuation-Dissipation theorem. This theorem provides the primary justification for the hydrodynamic, mesoscale methodology. Philosophical consequences include an argument to the effect that mesoscale parameters can be the natural variables for characterizing many-body systems. Further, the book offers a new argument for why continuum theories (fluid mechanics and equations for the bending of beams) are still justified despite completely ignoring the fact that fluids and materials have lower scale structure. The book argues for a middle way between continuum theories and atomic theories. A proper understanding of those connections can be had when mesoscales are taken seriously.

This monograph presents recent advances in neural network (NN) approaches and applications to chemical reaction dynamics. Topics covered include: (i) the development of ab initio potential-energy surfaces (PES) for complex multichannel systems using modified novelty sampling and feedforward NNs; (ii) methods for sampling the configuration space of critical importance, such as trajectory and novelty sampling methods and gradient fitting methods; (iii) parametrization of interatomic potential functions using a genetic algorithm accelerated with a NN; (iv) parametrization of analytic interatomic potential functions using NNs; (v) self-starting methods for obtaining analytic PES from ab inito electronic structure calculations using direct dynamics; (vi) development of a novel method, namely, combined function derivative approximation (CFDA) for simultaneous fitting of a PES and its corresponding force fields using feedforward neural networks; (vii) development of generalized PES using many-body expansions, NNs, and moiety energy approximations; (viii) NN methods for data analysis, reaction probabilities, and statistical error reduction in chemical reaction dynamics; (ix) accurate prediction of higher-level electronic structure energies (e.g. MP4 or higher) for large databases using NNs, lower-level (Hartree-Fock) energies, and small subsets of the higher-energy database; and finally (x) illustrative examples of NN applications to chemical reaction dynamics of increasing complexity starting from simple near equilibrium structures (vibrational state studies) to more complex non-adiabatic reactions. The monograph is prepared by an interdisciplinary group of researchers working as a team for nearly two decades at Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK with expertise in gas phase reaction dynamics; neural networks; various aspects of MD and Monte Carlo (MC) simulations of nanometric cutting, tribology, and material properties at nanoscale; scaling laws from atomistic to continuum; and neural networks applications to chemical reaction dynamics. It is anticipated that this emerging field of NN in chemical reaction dynamics will play an increasingly important role in MD, MC, and quantum mechanical studies in the years to come.

This monograph presents recent advances in neural network (NN) approaches and applications to chemical reaction dynamics. Topics covered include: (i) the development of ab initio potential-energy surfaces (PES) for complex multichannel systems using modified novelty sampling and feedforward NNs; (ii) methods for sampling the configuration space of critical importance, such as trajectory and novelty sampling methods and gradient fitting methods; (iii) parametrization of interatomic potential functions using a genetic algorithm accelerated with a NN; (iv) parametrization of analytic interatomic potential functions using NNs; (v) self-starting methods for obtaining analytic PES from ab inito electronic structure calculations using direct dynamics; (vi) development of a novel method, namely, combined function derivative approximation (CFDA) for simultaneous fitting of a PES and its corresponding force fields using feedforward neural networks; (vii) development of generalized PES using many-body expansions, NNs, and moiety energy approximations; (viii) NN methods for data analysis, reaction probabilities, and statistical error reduction in chemical reaction dynamics; (ix) accurate prediction of higher-level electronic structure energies (e.g. MP4 or higher) for large databases using NNs, lower-level (Hartree-Fock) energies, and small subsets of the higher-energy database; and finally (x) illustrative examples of NN applications to chemical reaction dynamics of increasing complexity starting from simple near equilibrium structures (vibrational state studies) to more complex non-adiabatic reactions. The monograph is prepared by an interdisciplinary group of researchers working as a team for nearly two decades at Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK with expertise in gas phase reaction dynamics; neural networks; various aspects of MD and Monte Carlo (MC) simulations of nanometric cutting, tribology, and material properties at nanoscale; scaling laws from atomistic to continuum; and neural networks applications to chemical reaction dynamics. It is anticipated that this emerging field of NN in chemical reaction dynamics will play an increasingly important role in MD, MC, and quantum mechanical studies in the years to come.