Generalized Gibbs Ensemble Research Articles

Quantum quench in long-range field theories

We study equilibration properties of observables in long-range field theories after the mass quench in $d=1,2$ and $3$ dimensions. We classify the regimes where we expect equilibration or its absence in different dimensions. In addition we study the effect of the initial state in the equilibration properties of our system. In the case of free field theories we show that whenever we have equilibration the long-time limit of correlations can be described by the Generalized Gibbs Ensemble. We prove that all integrals of motions in our system are non-local.

Nonequilibrium states of a quenched Bose gas

Yin and Radzihovsky [X. Yin and L. Radzihovsky, Phys. Rev. A 88, 063611 (2013)] recently developed a self-consistent extension of a Bogoliubov theory, in which the condensate number density ${n}_{c}$ is treated as a mean field that changes with time, in order to analyze a JILA experiment by Makotyn et al. [P. Makotyn et al., Nat. Phys. 10, 116 (2014)] on a $^{85}\mathrm{Rb}$ Bose gas following a deep quench to a large scattering length. We apply this theory to construct a closed set of equations that highlight the role of ${\stackrel{\ifmmode \dot{}\else \.{}\fi{}}{n}}_{c}$, which is to induce an effective interaction between quasiparticles. We show analytically that such a system supports a steady state characterized by a constant condensate density and a steady but periodically changing momentum distribution, whose time average is described exactly by the generalized Gibbs ensemble. We discuss how the ${\stackrel{\ifmmode \dot{}\else \.{}\fi{}}{n}}_{c}$-induced effective interaction, which cannot be ignored on the grounds of the adiabatic approximation for modes near the gapless Goldstone mode, can significantly affect condensate populations and Tan's contact for a Bose gas that has undergone a deep quench.

Light-cone effect and relaxation after a quantum quench from excited states in the Ising chain

The time evolution and stationary behaviour of local observables is studied after a quantum quench of the magnetic field in the transverse field Ising chain, when the initial state is chosen as an excited state of the pre-quench Hamiltonian. Relaxation to the Generalized Gibbs Ensemble is proved. Equal-time longitudinal two point function and entanglement entropy are analytically derived for a class of excited states which confirm the light-cone spreading of correlations also starting from excited states.

Quench action approach for releasing the Néel state into the spin-1/2 XXZ chain

The steady state after a quantum quench from the Néel state to the anisotropic Heisenberg model for spin chains is investigated. Two methods that aim to describe the postquench non-thermal equilibrium, the generalized Gibbs ensemble and the quench action approach, are discussed and contrasted. Using the recent implementation of the quench action approach for this Néel-to-XXZ quench, we obtain an exact description of the steady state in terms of Bethe root densities, for which we give explicit analytical expressions.Furthermore, by developing a systematic small-quench expansion around the antiferromagnetic Ising limit, we analytically investigate the differences between the predictions of the two methods in terms of densities and postquench equilibrium expectation values of local physical observables. Finally, we discuss the details of the quench action solution for the quench to the isotropic Heisenberg spin chain. For this case we validate the underlying assumptions of the quench action approach by studying the large-system-size behavior of the overlaps between Bethe states and the Néel state.

Quantum quench and prethermalization dynamics in a two-dimensional fermi gas with long-range interactions.

We study the effect of suddenly turning on a long-range interaction in a spinless Fermi gas in two dimensions. The short- to intermediate-time dynamics is described using the method of bosonization of the Fermi surface. The space-time dependence of the nonequilibrium fermion density matrix as well as the evolution after the quench of the discontinuity at the Fermi momentum of the momentum distribution are computed. We find that the asymptotic state predicted by bosonization is consistent with the existence of a prethermalization plateau, which is also predicted by a perturbative approach in terms of the fermionic degrees of freedom. The bosonized representation, however, explicitly allows for the construction of the generalized Gibbs ensemble describing the prethermalized state.

“Light-Cone” Dynamics After Quantum Quenches in Spin Chains

Signal propagation in the nonequilibrium evolution after quantum quenches has recently attracted much experimental and theoretical interest. A key question arising in this context is what principles, and which of the properties of the quench, determine the characteristic propagation velocity. Here we investigate such issues for a class of quench protocols in one of the central paradigms of interacting many-particle quantum systems, the spin-1/2 Heisenberg XXZ chain. We consider quenches from a variety of initial thermal density matrices to the same final Hamiltonian using matrix product state methods. The spreading velocities are observed to vary substantially with the initial density matrix. However, we achieve a striking data collapse when the spreading velocity is considered to be a function of the excess energy. Using the fact that the XXZ chain is integrable, we present an explanation of the observed velocities in terms of "excitations" in an appropriately defined generalized Gibbs ensemble.

Quantum quenches and thermalization on scale-free graphs

We show that after a quantum quench of the parameter controlling the number of particles in a Fermi–Hubbard model on scale-free graphs, the distribution of energy modes follows a power-law dependent on the quenched parameter and the connectivity of the graph. This paper contributes to the literature of quantum quenches on lattices, in which, for many integrable lattice models the distribution of modes after a quench thermalizes to a generalized Gibbs ensemble; this paper provides another example of distribution which can arise after relaxation. We argue that the main role is played by the symmetry of the underlying lattice which, in the case we study, is scale free, and to the distortion in the density of modes.

Failure of the local generalized Gibbs ensemble for integrable models with bound states

In this work we study the applicability of the GGE to integrable one dimensional systems with bound states. We find that the GGE fails to describe the long time dynamics for most initial states including eigenstates. We present our calculations studying the attractive Lieb-Liniger gas and the XXZ magnet, though similar results may be obtained for other models.

Erratum: Critical phenomena in one dimension from a Bethe ansatz perspective

In addition, here we would like to mention that the exact results for various observables of the Lieb–Liniger model at T = 0 and at finite temperature were obtained by using field theory methods. The repulsive Lieb–Liniger Bose gas can be obtained as the nonrelativistic limit of the sinh-Gordon model. The local twoand three-body correlations have been calculated from the powerful field theory methods. On the other hand, large spin Bose gases have a rich phase diagram and exhibit various phases of quantum liquids. A pedagogical review of theoretical results for the Ising model universality class, including E8 S-matrix, correlation functions, integrability breaking, etc, was discussed in terms of integrable field theory and critical phenomena. Moreover, the generalized Gibbs ensemble is used in discussions of nonthermal distributions in isolated systems with conserved laws. Recently there have been several papers focusing on the study of quench dynamics in regard to the validity of the generalized Gibbs Ensemble (GGE), see Refs. 13–17, etc. This research

Entanglement spectrum and number fluctuations in the spin-partitioned BCS ground state

We study entanglement between the spin components of the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) ground state by calculating the full entanglement spectrum and the corresponding von Neumann entanglement entropy. The entanglement spectrum is effectively modeled by a generalized Gibbs ensemble (GGE) of non-interacting electrons, which may be approximated by a canonical ensemble at the BCS critical temperature. We further demonstrate that the entanglement entropy is jointly proportional to the pairing energy and to the number of electrons about the Fermi surface (an area law). Furthermore, the entanglement entropy is also proportional to the number fluctuations of either spin component in the BCS state.

Quantum quenches and generalized Gibbs ensemble in a Bethe Ansatz solvable lattice model of interacting bosons

We consider quantum quenches in the so-called q-boson lattice model. We argue that the Generalized Eigenstate Thermalization Hypothesis holds in this model, therefore the Generalized Gibbs Ensemble (GGE) gives a valid description of the stationary states in the long time limit. For a special class of initial states (which are the pure Fock states in the local basis) we are able to provide the GGE predictions for the resulting root densities. We also give predictions for the long-time limit of certain local operators. In the q → ∞ limit the calculations simplify considerably, the wave functions are given by Schur polynomials and the overlaps with the initial states can be written as simple determinants. In two cases we prove rigorously that the GGE prediction for the root density is correct. Moreover, we calculate the exact time dependence of a physical observable (the one-site Emptiness Formation Probability) for the quench starting from the state with exactly one particle per site. In the long-time limit the GGE prediction is recovered.

Correlations after quantum quenches in the XXZ spin chain: failure of the generalized Gibbs ensemble.

We study the nonequilibrium time evolution of the spin-1/2 anisotropic Heisenberg (XXZ) spin chain, with a choice of dimer product and Néel states as initial states. We investigate numerically various short-ranged spin correlators in the long-time limit and find that they deviate significantly from predictions based on the generalized Gibbs ensemble (GGE) hypotheses. By computing the asymptotic spin correlators within the recently proposed quench-action formalism [Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 257203 (2013)], however, we find excellent agreement with the numerical data. We, therefore, conclude that the GGE cannot give a complete description even of local observables, while the quench-action formalism correctly captures the steady state in this case.

Quenching the anisotropic heisenberg chain: exact solution and generalized Gibbs ensemble predictions.

We study quenches in integrable spin-1/2 chains in which we evolve the ground state of the antiferromagnetic Ising model with the anisotropic Heisenberg Hamiltonian. For this nontrivially interacting situation, an application of the first-principles-based quench-action method allows us to give an exact description of the postquench steady state in the thermodynamic limit. We show that a generalized Gibbs ensemble, implemented using all known local conserved charges, fails to reproduce the exact quench-action steady state and to correctly predict postquench equilibrium expectation values of physical observables. This is supported by numerical linked-cluster calculations within the diagonal ensemble in the thermodynamic limit.

Failure of the generalized eigenstate thermalization hypothesis in integrable models with multiple particle species

It has been recently observed for a particular quantum quench in the XXZ spin chain that local observables do not equilibrate to the predictions of the generalized Gibbs ensemble (GGE). In this work we argue that the breakdown of the GGE can be attributed to the failure of the generalized eigenstate thermalization hypothesis (GETH), which has been the main candidate for explaining the validity of the GGE. We provide explicit counterexamples to the GETH and argue that generally it does not hold in models with multiple particle species. Therefore, there is no reason to assume that the GGE should describe the long time limit of observables in these integrable models.

Form factors in equilibrium and non-equilibrium mixed states of the Ising model

Using the ‘Liouville space’ (the space of operators) of the massive Ising model of quantum field theory, there is a natural definition of form factors in any mixed state. These generalize the usual form factors, and are building blocks for mixed-state correlation functions. We study the cases of mixed states that are diagonal in the asymptotic particle basis, and obtain exact expressions for all mixed-state form factors of order and disorder fields. We use novel techniques based on deriving and solving a system of non-linear functional differential equations. We then write down the full form factor expansion for mixed-state correlation functions of these fields. Under weak analytic conditions on the eigenvalues of the density matrix, this is an exact large-distance expansion. The form factors agree with the known finite-temperature form factors when the mixed state is specialized to a thermal Gibbs ensemble. Our results can be used to analyze correlation functions in generalized Gibbs ensembles (which occur after quantum quenches). Applying this to the density matrix for non-equilibrium steady states with energy flows, we observe that non-equilibrium form factors have branch cuts in rapidity space. We verify that this is in agreement with a non-equilibrium generalization of the KMS relations, and we conjecture that the leading large-distance behavior of order and disorder non-equilibrium correlation functions contains oscillations in the log of the distance between the fields.

Fluctuation theorems and the generalized Gibbs ensemble in integrable systems.

We derive fluctuation relations for a many-body quantum system prepared in a generalized Gibbs ensemble subject to a general nonequilibrium protocol. By considering isolated integrable systems, we find generalizations to the Tasaki-Crooks and Jarzynski relations. Our approach is illustrated by studying the one-dimensional quantum Ising model subject to a sudden change in the transverse field, where we find that the statistics of the work done and irreversible entropy show signatures of quantum criticality. We discuss these fluctuation relations in the context of thermalization.

Nonequilibrium Dynamics of One-Dimensional Hard-Core Anyons Following a Quench: Complete Relaxation of One-Body Observables

We demonstrate the role of interactions in driving the relaxation of an isolated integrable quantum system following a sudden quench. We consider a family of integrable hard-core lattice anyon models that continuously interpolates between noninteracting spinless fermions and strongly interacting hard-core bosons. A generalized Jordan-Wigner transformation maps the entire family to noninteracting fermions. We find that, aside from the singular free-fermion limit, the entire single-particle density matrix and, therefore, all one-body observables relax to the predictions of the generalized Gibbs ensemble (GGE). This demonstrates that, in the presence of interactions, correlations between particles in the many-body wave function provide the effective dissipation required to drive the relaxation of all one-body observables to the GGE. This relaxation does not depend on translational invariance or the tracing out of any spatial domain of the system.

Breakdown of the generalized Gibbs ensemble for current-generating quenches.

We establish a relation between two hallmarks of integrable systems: the relaxation towards the generalized Gibbs ensemble (GGE) and the dissipationless charge transport. We show that the former one is possible only if the so-called Mazur bound on the charge stiffness is saturated by local conserved quantities. As an example we show how a non-GGE steady state with a current can be generated in the one-dimensional model of interacting spinless fermions with a flux quench. Moreover, an extended GGE involving the quasilocal conserved quantities can be formulated for this case.

Equilibrium states of generic quantum systems subject to periodic driving.

When a closed quantum system is driven periodically with period T, it approaches a periodic state synchronized with the drive in which any local observable measured stroboscopically approaches a steady value. For integrable systems, the resulting behavior is captured by a periodic version of a generalized Gibbs ensemble. By contrast, here we show that for generic nonintegrable interacting systems, local observables become independent of the initial state entirely. Essentially, this happens because Floquet eigenstates of the driven system at quasienergy ω(α) consist of a mixture of the exponentially many eigenstates of the undriven Hamiltonian, which are thus drawn from the entire extensive undriven spectrum. This is a form of equilibration which depends only on the Hilbert space of the undriven system and not on any details of its Hamiltonian.

Validity of the GGE for quantum quenches from interacting to noninteracting models

.In the majority of analytical verifications of the conjecture that the Generalized Gibbs Ensemble (GGE) describes the large time asymptotics of local observables in quantum quench problems, both post- and pre-quench Hamiltonians are essentially noninteracting. We test this conjecture studying field correlations in the more general case of an arbitrary pre-quench Hamiltonian, while keeping the post-quench one noninteracting. We first show that, in the previously studied special case of a noninteracting pre-quench Hamiltonian, the validity of the conjecture is a consequence of Wick’s theorem. We then show that this conjecture is more generally valid for an arbitrary interacting pre-quench Hamiltonian, but this time as a consequence of the cluster decomposition property of the initial state, which is a fundamental principle for generic physical states. For arbitrary initial states that do not satisfy the cluster decomposition property, the above conjecture is not generally true. As a byproduct of our investigation we obtain an analytical derivation of earlier numerical results for the large time evolution of correlations after a quantum quench of the interaction in the Lieb–Liniger model from a nonzero value to zero.