Interaction quantum quenches in the one-dimensional Fermi-Hubbard model with spin imbalance

Using the time-dependent density matrix renormalization group method and exact diagonalization, we study the non-equilibrium dynamics of the one-dimensional Fermi-Hubbard model following a quantum quench or a ramp of the onsite interaction strength. For quenches from the non-interacting to the attractive regime, we investigate the dynamical emergence of Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) correlations, which at finite spin polarizations are the dominant two-body correlations in the ground state, and their signatures in the pair quasi-momentum distribution function. We observe that the post-quench double occupancy exhibits a maximum as the interaction strength becomes of the order of the bandwidth. Finally, we study quenches and ramps from attractive to repulsive interactions, which imprint FFLO correlations onto repulsively bound pairs. We show that a quite short ramp time is sufficient to wipe out the characteristic FFLO features in the post-quench pair momentum distribution functions.

Decoherence of an entangled state of a strongly-correlated double quantum dot structure through tunneling processes

We consider two quantum dots described by the Anderson-impurity model with one electron per dot. The goal of our work is to study the decay of a maximally entangled state between the two electrons localized in the dots. We prepare the system in a perfect singlet and then tunnel-couple one of the dots to leads, which induces the non-equilibrium dynamics. We identify two cases: if the leads are subject to a sufficiently large voltage and thus a finite current, then direct tunneling processes cause decoherence and the entanglement as well as spin correlations decay exponentially fast. At zero voltage or small voltages and beyond the mixed-valence regime, virtual tunneling processes dominate and lead to a slower loss of coherence. We analyze this problem by studying the real-time dynamics of the spin correlations and the concurrence using two techniques, namely the time-dependent density matrix renormalization group method and a master-equation method. The results from these two approaches are in excellent agreement in the direct-tunneling regime for the case in which the dot is weakly tunnel-coupled to the leads. We present a quantitative analysis of the decay rates of the spin correlations and the concurrence as a function of tunneling rate, interaction strength, and voltage.

Sudden expansion of Mott insulators in one dimension

We investigate the expansion of bosons and fermions in a homogeneous lattice after a sudden removal of the trapping potential using exact numerical methods. As a main result, we show that in one dimension, both bosonic and fermionic Mott insulators expand with the same velocity, irrespective of the interaction strength, provided the expansion starts from the ground state of the trapped gas. Furthermore, their density profiles become identical during the expansion: The asymptotic density dynamics is identical to that of initially localized, non-interacting particles, and the asymptotic velocity distribution is flat. The expansion velocity for initial correlated Mott insulating states is therefore independent of the interaction strength and particle statistics. Interestingly, this non-equilibrium dynamics is sensitive to the interaction driven quantum phase transition in the Bose-Hubbard model: While being constant in the Mott phase, the expansion velocity decreases in the superfluid phase and vanishes for large systems in the non-interacting limit. These results are compared to the set-up of a recent experiment [PRL 110, 205301 (2013)], where the trap opening was combined with an interaction quench from infinitely strong interactions to finite values. We carry out an analogous analysis for a two-component Fermi gas, with similar observations. In addition, we study the effect of breaking the integrability of hard-core bosons in different ways: While the fast ballistic expansion from the ground state of Mott insulators in one dimension remains unchanged for finite interactions, we observe strong deviations from this behavior on a two-leg ladder even in the hard-core case. This change in dynamics bares similarities with the dynamics in the dimensional crossover from one to two dimensions observed in the aformentioned experimental study.

Long-time behavior of the momentum distribution during the sudden expansion of a spin-imbalanced Fermi gas in one dimension

We study the sudden expansion of spin-imbalanced ultracold lattice fermions with attractive interactions in one dimension after turning off the longitudinal confining potential. We show that the momentum distribution functions of majority and minority fermions approach stationary values quickly due to a quantum distillation mechanism that results in a spatial separation of pairs and majority fermions. As a consequence, Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) correlations are lost during the expansion. Furthermore, we argue that the shape of the stationary momentum distribution functions can be understood by relating them to the integrals of motion in this integrable quantum system. We discuss our results in the context of proposals to observe FFLO correlations, related to recent experiments by Liao et al., Nature 467, 567 (2010).

Resonances in a dilute gas of magnons and metamagnetism of isotropic frustrated ferromagnetic spin chains

We show that spin-S chains with SU(2)-symmetric, ferromagnetic nearest-neighbor and frustrating antiferromagnetic next-nearest-neighbor exchange interactions exhibit metamagnetic behavior under the influence of an external magnetic field for small S, in the form of a first-order transition to the fully polarized state. The corresponding magnetization jump increases gradually starting from an S-dependent critical value of exchange couplings and takes a maximum in the vicinity of a ferromagnetic Lifshitz point. The metamagnetism results from resonances in the dilute magnon gas caused by an interplay between quantum fluctuations and frustration.

Non-equilibrium electronic transport in a one-dimensional Mott insulator

We calculate the non-equilibrium electronic transport properties of a one-dimensional interacting chain at half filling, coupled to non-interacting leads. The interacting chain is initially in a Mott insulator state that is driven out of equilibrium by applying a strong bias voltage between the leads. For bias voltages above a certain threshold we observe the breakdown of the Mott insulator state and the establishment of a steady-state electronic current through the system. Based on extensive time-dependent density matrix renormalization group simulations, we show that this steady-state current always has the same functional dependence on voltage, independent of the microscopic details of the model and relate the value of the threshold to the Lieb-Wu gap. We frame our results in terms of the Landau-Zener dielectric breakdown picture. Finally, we also discuss the real-time evolution of the current, and characterize the current-carrying state resulting from the breakdown of the Mott insulator by computing the double occupancy, the spin structure factor, and the entanglement entropy.

Phase separation of trapped spin-imbalanced Fermi gases in one-dimensional optical lattices

We calculate the density profiles of a trapped spin-imbalanced Fermi gas with attractive interactions in a one-dimensional optical lattice, using both the local density approximation (LDA) and density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) simulations. Based on the exact equation of state obtained by Bethe ansatz, LDA predicts that the gas phase-separates into shells with a partially polarized core and fully paired wings, where the latter occurs below a critical spin polarization. This behavior is also seen in numerically exact DMRG calculations at sufficiently large particle numbers. Unlike the continuum case, we show that the critical polarization is a non monotonic function of the interaction strength and vanishes in the limit of large interactions.

BCS-BEC crossover and the disappearance of FFLO-correlations in a spin-imbalanced, one-dimensional Fermi gas

We present a numerical study of the one-dimensional BCS-BEC crossover of a spin-imbalanced Fermi gas. The crossover is described by the Bose-Fermi resonance model in a real space representation. Our main interest is in the behavior of the pair correlations, which, in the BCS limit, are of the Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov type, while in the BEC limit, a superfluid of diatomic molecules forms that exhibits quasi-condensation at zero momentum. We use the density matrix renormalization group method to compute the phase diagram as a function of the detuning of the molecular level and the polarization. As a main result, we show that FFLO-like correlations disappear well below full polarization close to the resonance. The critical polarization depends on both the detuning and the filling.

Real-time simulations of nonequilibrium transport in the single-impurity Anderson model

One of the main open problems in the field of transport in strongly interacting nanostructures is the understanding of currents beyond the linear response regime. In this work, we consider the single-impurity Anderson model and use the adaptive time-dependent density matrix renormalization group (tDMRG) method to compute real-time currents out of equilibrium. We first focus on the particle-hole symmetric point where Kondo correlations are the strongest and then extend the study of the nonequilibrium transport to the mixed-valence regime. As a main result, we present accurate data for the current-voltage characteristics of this model.

Quantum distillation: dynamical generation of low-entropy states of strongly correlated fermions in an optical lattice

Correlations between particles can lead to subtle and sometimes counterintuitive phenomena. We analyze one such case, occurring during the sudden expansion of fermions in a lattice when the initial state has a strong admixture of double occupancies. We promote the notion of quantum distillation: during the expansion, and in the presence of strongly repulsive interactions, doublons group together, forming a nearly ideal band insulator, which is metastable with a low entropy. We propose that this effect could be used for cooling purposes in experiments with two-component Fermi gases.