We consider the isotropic spin-$1/2$ Heisenberg spin chain weakly perturbed by a local translationally- and $SU(2)$-invariant perturbation. Starting from the local integrals of motion of the unperturbed model, we modify them in order to obtain quasi-
conserved integrals of motion (charges) for the perturbed model. Such quasi-conserved quantities are believed to be responsible for the existence of the prethermalization phase at intermediate timescales. We find that for a sufficiently local perturbation the quasi-conserved quantities indeed exist, and we construct an explicit form for the first few of them.
We study the nodes of the wavefunction overlap between ground states of a parameter-dependent Hamiltonian. These nodes are topological, and we can use them to analyze in a unifying way both equilibrium and dynamical quantum phase transitions in multi
-band systems. We define the Loschmidt index as the number of nodes in this overlap and discuss the relationship between this index and the wrapping number of a closed auxiliary hypersurface. This relationship allows us to compute this index systematically, using an integral representation of the wrapping number. We comment on the relationship between the Loschmidt index and other well-established topological numbers. As an example, we classify the equilibrium and dynamical quantum phase transitions of the XY model by counting the nodes in the wavefunction overlaps.
Random matrix models provide a phenomenological description of a vast variety of physical phenomena. Prominent examples include the eigenvalue statistics of quantum (chaotic) systems, which are conveniently characterized using the spectral form facto
r (SFF). Here, we calculate the SFF of unitary matrix ensembles of infinite order with the weight function satisfying the assumptions of Szegos limit theorem. We then consider a parameter-dependent critical ensemble which has intermediate statistics characteristic of ergodic-to-nonergodic transitions such as the Anderson localization transition. This same ensemble is the matrix model of $U(N)$ Chern-Simons theory on $S^3$, and the SFF of this ensemble is proportional to the HOMFLY invariant of $(2n,2)$-torus links with one component in the fundamental and one in the antifundamental representation. This is one of a large class of ensembles arising from topological field and string theories which exhibit intermediate statistics. Indeed, the absence of a local order parameter suggests that it is natural to characterize ergodic-to-nonergodic transitions using topological tools, such as we have done here.
The spectral form factor is a dynamical probe for level statistics of quantum systems. The early-time behaviour is commonly interpreted as a characterization of two-point correlations at large separation. We argue that this interpretation can be too
restrictive by indicating that the self-correlation imposes a constraint on the spectral form factor integrated over time. More generally, we indicate that each expansion coefficient of the two-point correlation function imposes a constraint on the properly weighted time-integrated spectral form factor. We discuss how these constraints can affect the interpretation of the spectral form factor as a probe for ergodicity. We propose a new probe, which eliminates the effect of the constraint imposed by the self-correlation. The use of this probe is demonstrated for a model of randomly incomplete spectra and a Floquet model supporting many-body localization.
We study the Killing vectors of the quantum ground-state manifold of a parameter-dependent Hamiltonian. We find that the manifold may have symmetries that are not visible at the level of the Hamiltonian and that different quantum phases of matter exh
ibit different symmetries. We propose a Bianchi-based classification of the various ground-state manifolds using the Lie algebra of the Killing vector fields. Moreover, we explain how to exploit these symmetries to find geodesics and explore their behaviour when crossing critical lines. We briefly discuss the relation between geodesics, energy fluctuations and adiabatic preparation protocols. Our primary example is the anisotropic transverse-field Ising model. We also analyze the Ising limit and find analytic solutions to the geodesic equations for both cases.
We consider the isotropic spin-1/2 Heisenberg spin chain weakly perturbed by a local translationally- and SU(2)-invariant perturbation. Starting from the local integrals of motion of the unperturbed model, we modify them in order to obtain quasi-cons
erved integrals of motion (charges) for the perturbed model. Such quasi-conserved quantities are believed to be responsible for the existence of the prethermalization phase at intermediate timescales. We find that for a sufficiently local perturbation only the first few integrals of motion can be promoted to the quasi-conserved charges, whereas higher-order integrals of motion do not survive.
In this work, we consider a model of a subsystem interacting with a reservoir and study dynamics of entanglement assuming that the overall time-evolution is governed by non-integrable Hamiltonians. We also compare to an ensemble of Integrable Hamilto
nians. To do this, we make use of unitary invariant ensembles of random matrices with either Wigner-Dyson or Poissonian distributions of energy. Using the theory of Weingarten functions, we derive universal average time evolution of the reduced density matrix and the purity and compare these results with several physical Hamiltonians: randomiz
An entanglement spectrum encodes statistics beyond the entanglement entropy, of which several have been studied in the context of many-body localization. We numerically study the extreme value statistics of entanglement spectra of many-body localized
eigenstates. The physical information encoded in these spectra is almost fully carried by the few smallest elements, suggesting the extreme value statistics to have physical significance. We report the surprising observation of Gumbel statistics. Our result provides an analytical, parameter-free characterization of many-body localized eigenstates.
We numerically study the level statistics of the Gaussian $beta$ ensemble. These statistics generalize Wigner-Dyson level statistics from the discrete set of Dyson indices $beta = 1,2,4$ to the continuous range $0 < beta < infty$. The Gaussian $beta$
ensemble covers Poissonian level statistics for $beta to 0$, and provides a smooth interpolation between Poissonian and Wigner-Dyson level statistics. We establish the physical relevance of the level statistics of the Gaussian $beta$ ensemble by showing near-perfect agreement with the level statistics of a paradigmatic model in studies on many-body localization over the entire crossover range from the thermal to the many-body localized phase. In addition, we show similar agreement for a related Hamiltonian with broken time-reversal symmetry.
We study the eigenstates of a paradigmatic model of many-body localization in the Fock basis constructed out of the natural orbitals. By numerically studying the participation ratio, we identify a sharp crossover between different phases at a disorde
r strength close to the disorder strength at which subdiffusive behaviour sets in, significantly below the many-body localization transition. We repeat the analysis in the conventionally used computational basis, and show that many-body localized eigenstates are much stronger localized in the Fock basis constructed out of the natural orbitals than in the computational basis.
