Thursday, May 3, 2012

1205.0370 (Elena Canovi et al.)

Many-body localization and thermalization in the full probability
distribution function of observables
   [PDF]

Elena Canovi, Davide Rossini, Rosario Fazio, Giuseppe E. Santoro, Alessandro Silva
We investigate the relation between thermalization following a quantum quench and many-body localization in quasiparticle space in terms of the long-time full distribution function of physical observables. In particular, expanding on our recent work [E. Canovi {\em et al.}, Phys. Rev. B {\bf 83}, 094431 (2011)] we focus on the dynamics of an integrable XXZ chain subject to an integrability-breaking perturbation, a random transverse field. After a characterization of the breaking of integrability and the associated localization/delocalization transition using the level spacing statistics and the properties of the eigenstates, we study the effect of integrability-breaking on the dynamics after a quantum quench of the anisotropy parameter, looking at the behavior of the full probability distribution of the transverse and longitudinal magnetization of a subsystem. We compare the resulting distributions with those obtained in equilibrium at an effective temperature set by the initial energy. We find that, while the long time distribution functions appear to always agree {\it qualitatively} with the equilibrium ones, {\it quantitative} agreement is obtained only when integrability is fully broken and the relevant eigenstates are diffusive in quasi-particle space.
View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1205.0370

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