Motif magnetism and quantum many-body scars

Journal Article · 07 September 2021 · Physical Review. B

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.104.104410 · OSTI ID:1853479

Chertkov, Eli  ^[1]; Clark, Bryan K. ^[2]

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1. Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States). Inst. for Condensed Matter Theory; OSTI
2. Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States). Inst. for Condensed Matter Theory

In this work, we generally expect quantum systems to thermalize and satisfy the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis (ETH), which states that finite-energy-density eigenstates are thermal. However, some systems, such as many-body localized systems and systems with quantum many-body scars, violate ETH and have high-energy athermal eigenstates. In systems with scars, most eigenstates thermalize, but a few atypical scar states do not. Scar states can give rise to a periodic revival when time-evolving particular initial product states, which can be detected experimentally. Recently, a family of spin Hamiltonians was found with magnetically ordered three-colored eigenstates that are quantum many-body scars [Lee et al., Phys. Rev. B 101, 241111(R) (2020)]. These models can be realized in any lattice that can be tiled by triangles, such as the triangular or kagome lattices, and have been shown to have close connections to the physics of quantum spin liquids in the Heisenberg kagome antiferromagnet. In this paper, we introduce a generalized family of n-colored Hamiltonians with “spiral colored” eigenstates made from n-spin motifs such as polygons or polyhedra. We show how these models can be realized in many different lattice geometries and provide numerical evidence that they can exhibit quantum many-body scars with periodic revivals that can be observed by time-evolving simple product states. The simple structure of these Hamiltonians makes them promising candidates for future experimental studies of quantum many-body scars.

• Research Organization: Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC)
• Grant/Contract Number: SC0020165
• OSTI ID: 1853479
• Journal Information: Physical Review. B, Journal Name: Physical Review. B Journal Issue: 10 Vol. 104; ISSN 2469-9950; ISSN PRBMDO
• Publisher: American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English