No Arabic abstract
The exact nature of the many-body localization transition remains an open question. An aspect which has been posited in various studies is the emergence of scale invariance around this point, however the direct observation of this phenomenon is still absent. Here we achieve this by studying the logarithmic negativity and mutual information between disjoint blocks of varying size across the many-body localization transition. The two length scales, block sizes and the distance between them, provide a clear quantitative probe of scale invariance across different length scales. We find that at the transition point, the logarithmic negativity obeys a scale invariant exponential decay with respect to the ratio of block separation to size, whereas the mutual information obeys a polynomial decay. The observed scale invariance of the quantum correlations in a microscopic model opens the direction to probe the fractal structure in critical eigenstates using tensor network techniques and provide constraints on the theory of the many-body localization transition.
The many-body localization transition (MBLT) between ergodic and many-body localized phase in disordered interacting systems is a subject of much recent interest. Statistics of eigenenergies is known to be a powerful probe of crossovers between ergodic and integrable systems in simpler examples of quantum chaos. We consider the evolution of the spectral statistics across the MBLT, starting with mapping to a Brownian motion process that analytically relates the spectral properties to the statistics of matrix elements. We demonstrate that the flow from Wigner-Dyson to Poisson statistics is a two-stage process. First, fractal enhancement of matrix elements upon approaching the MBLT from the metallic side produces an effective power-law interaction between energy levels, and leads to a plasma model for level statistics. At the second stage, the gas of eigenvalues has local interaction and level statistics belongs to a semi-Poisson universality class. We verify our findings numerically on the XXZ spin chain. We provide a microscopic understanding of the level statistics across the MBLT and discuss implications for the transition that are strong constraints on possible theories.
Subsystems of strongly disordered, interacting quantum systems can fail to thermalize because of the phenomenon of many-body localization (MBL). In this article, we explore a tensor network description of the eigenspectra of such systems. Specifically, we will argue that the presence of a complete set of local integrals of motion in MBL implies an efficient representation of the entire spectrum of energy eigenstates with a single tensor network, a emph{spectral} tensor network. Our results are rigorous for a class of idealized systems related to MBL with integrals of motion of finite support. In one spatial dimension, the spectral tensor network allows for the efficient computation of expectation values of a large class of operators (including local operators and string operators) in individual energy eigenstates and in ensembles.
Many-body localized systems in which interactions and disorder come together defy the expectations of quantum statistical mechanics: In contrast to ergodic systems, they do not thermalize when undergoing nonequilibrium dynamics. What is less clear, however, is how topological features interplay with many-body localized phases as well as the nature of the transition between a topological and a trivial state within the latter. In this work, we numerically address these questions, using a combination of extensive tensor network calculations, specifically DMRG-X, as well as exact diagonalization, leading to a comprehensive characterization of Hamiltonian spectra and eigenstate entanglement properties.
We construct a family of many-body wave functions to study the many-body localization phase transition. The wave functions have a Rokhsar-Kivelson form, in which the weight for the configurations are chosen from the Gibbs weights of a classical spin glass model, known as the Random Energy Model, multiplied by a random sign structure to represent a highly excited state. These wave functions show a phase transition into an MBL phase. In addition, we see three regimes of entanglement scaling with subsystem size: scaling with entanglement corresponding to an infinite temperature thermal phase, constant scaling, and a sub-extensive scaling between these limits. Near the phase transition point, the fluctuations of the Renyi entropies are non-Gaussian. We find that Renyi entropies with different Renyi index transition into the MBL phase at different points and have different scaling behavior, suggesting a multifractal behavior.
Thermalizing quantum systems are conventionally described by statistical mechanics at equilibrium. However, not all systems fall into this category, with many body localization providing a generic mechanism for thermalization to fail in strongly disordered systems. Many-body localized (MBL) systems remain perfect insulators at non-zero temperature, which do not thermalize and therefore cannot be described using statistical mechanics. In this Colloquium we review recent theoretical and experimental advances in studies of MBL systems, focusing on the new perspective provided by entanglement and non-equilibrium experimental probes such as quantum quenches. Theoretically, MBL systems exhibit a new kind of robust integrability: an extensive set of quasi-local integrals of motion emerges, which provides an intuitive explanation of the breakdown of thermalization. A description based on quasi-local integrals of motion is used to predict dynamical properties of MBL systems, such as the spreading of quantum entanglement, the behavior of local observables, and the response to external dissipative processes. Furthermore, MBL systems can exhibit eigenstate transitions and quantum orders forbidden in thermodynamic equilibrium. We outline the current theoretical understanding of the quantum-to-classical transition between many-body localized and ergodic phases, and anomalous transport in the vicinity of that transition. Experimentally, synthetic quantum systems, which are well-isolated from an external thermal reservoir, provide natural platforms for realizing the MBL phase. We review recent experiments with ultracold atoms, trapped ions, superconducting qubits, and quantum materials, in which different signatures of many-body localization have been observed. We conclude by listing outstanding challenges and promising future research directions.