Observing non-ergodicity due to kinetic constraints in tilted Fermi-Hubbard chains

Sebastian Scherg, Thomas Kohlert, Pablo Sala, Frank Pollmann, Bharath Hebbe Madhusudhana, Immanuel Bloch () and Monika Aidelsburger ()
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Sebastian Scherg: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Thomas Kohlert: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Pablo Sala: Munich Center for Quantum Science and Technology (MCQST)
Frank Pollmann: Munich Center for Quantum Science and Technology (MCQST)
Bharath Hebbe Madhusudhana: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Immanuel Bloch: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Monika Aidelsburger: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract The thermalization of isolated quantum many-body systems is deeply related to fundamental questions of quantum information theory. While integrable or many-body localized systems display non-ergodic behavior due to extensively many conserved quantities, recent theoretical studies have identified a rich variety of more exotic phenomena in between these two extreme limits. The tilted one-dimensional Fermi-Hubbard model, which is readily accessible in experiments with ultracold atoms, emerged as an intriguing playground to study non-ergodic behavior in a clean disorder-free system. While non-ergodic behavior was established theoretically in certain limiting cases, there is no complete understanding of the complex thermalization properties of this model. In this work, we experimentally study the relaxation of an initial charge-density wave and find a remarkably long-lived initial-state memory over a wide range of parameters. Our observations are well reproduced by numerical simulations of a clean system. Using analytical calculations we further provide a detailed microscopic understanding of this behavior, which can be attributed to emergent kinetic constraints.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24726-0

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