Bruno Bertini

Quantum quench in the sine-Gordon model

We consider the time evolution in the repulsive sine-Gordon quantum field theory after the system is prepared in a particular class of initial states. We focus on the time dependence of the one-point function of the semi-local operator exp(iβΦ(x)/2). By using two different methods based on form-factor expansions, we show that this expectation value decays to zero exponentially and we determine the decay rate by analytical means. Our methods generalize to other correlation functions and integrable models.

Quantum quenches in the sinh-Gordon model: steady state and one point correlation functions

We consider quantum quenches to the sinh-Gordon integrable quantum field theory from a particular class of initial states. Our analysis includes the case of mass and interaction quenches starting from a non-interacting theory. By means of the recently developed quench action method, we fully characterize the stationary state reached at long times after the quench in terms of the corresponding rapidity distribution. We also provide exact results for the expectation values of arbitrary vertex operators in the post-quench stationary state by proposing a formula based on the analogy with the standard thermodynamic Bethe ansatz. Finally, we comment on the behavior of the post-quench stationary state under the mapping between the sinh-Gordon field theory and the one-dimensional Lieb-Liniger model.

Transport in out-of-equilibrium XXZ chains: Nonballistic behavior and correlation functions

We consider the nonequilibrium protocol where two semi-infinite gapped XXZ chains, initially prepared in different equilibrium states, are suddenly joint together. At large times, a generalized hydrodynamic description applies, according to which the system can locally be represented by space- and time- dependent stationary states. The magnetization displays an unusual behavior: depending on the initial state, its profile may exhibit abrupt jumps that can not be predicted directly from the standard hydrodynamic equations and which signal non-ballistic spin transport. We ascribe this phenomenon to the structure of the local conservation laws and make a prediction for the exact location of the jumps. We find that the jumps propagate at the velocities of the heaviest quasiparticles. By means of tDMRG simulations we show that our theory yields a complete description of the long-time steady profiles of conserved charges, currents, and local correlations.

Pre-relaxation in weakly interacting models

We consider time evolution in models close to integrable points with hidden symmetries that generate infinitely many local conservation laws that do not commute with one another. The system is expected to (locally) relax to a thermal ensemble if integrability is broken, or to a so-called generalised Gibbs ensemble if unbroken. In some circumstances expectation values exhibit quasi-stationary behaviour long before their typical relaxation time. For integrability-breaking perturbations, these are also called pre-thermalisation plateaux, and emerge e.g. in the strong coupling limit of the Bose-Hubbard model. As a result of the hidden symmetries, quasi-stationarity appears also in integrable models, for example in the Ising limit of the XXZ model. We investigate a weak coupling limit, identify a time window in which the effects of the perturbations become significant and solve the time evolution through a mean-field mapping. As an explicit example we study the XYZ spin-

Thermalization and light cones in a model with weak integrability breaking

\frac{1}{2}

Exact solution for the quench dynamics of a nested integrable system

chain with additional perturbations that break integrability. One of the most intriguing results of the analysis is the appearance of persistent oscillatory behaviour. To unravel its origin, we study in detail a toy model: the transverse-field Ising chain with an additional nonlocal interaction proportional to the square of the transverse spin per unit length [Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 197203 (2013)]. Despite being nonlocal, this belongs to a class of models that emerge as intermediate steps of the mean-field mapping and shares many dynamical properties with the weakly interacting models under consideration.

Low-temperature transport in out-of-equilibrium XXZ chains

We employ equation of motion techniques to study the non-equilibrium dynamics in a lattice model of weakly interacting spinless fermions. Our model provides a simple setting for analyzing the effects of weak integrability breaking perturbations on the time evolution after a quantum quench. We establish the accuracy of the method by comparing results at short and intermediate times to time-dependent density matrix renormalization group computations. For sufficiently weak integrability-breaking interactions we always observe prethermalization plateaux, where local observables relax to non-thermal values at intermediate time scales. At later times a crossover towards thermal behaviour sets in. We determine the associated time scale, which depends on the initial state, the band structure of the non-interacting theory, and the strength of the integrability breaking perturbation. Our method allows us to analyze in some detail the spreading of correlations and in particular the structure of the associated light cones in our model. We find that the interior and exterior of the light cone are separated by an intermediate region, the temporal width of which appears to scale with a universal power-law

Quantum quench in the infinitely repulsive Hubbard model: the stationary state

t^{1/3}

Entanglement and diagonal entropies after a quench with no pair structure

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Prethermalization and Thermalization in Models with Weak Integrability Breaking

Integrable models provide an exact description for a wide variety of physical phenomena. For example nested integrable systems contain different species of interacting particles with a rich phenomenology in their collective behavior, which is the origin of the unconventional phenomenon of spin-charge separation. So far, however, most of the theoretical work in the study of non-equilibrium dynamics of integrable systems has been focusing on models with an elementary (i.e., not nested) Bethe ansatz. In this work we explicitly investigate quantum quenches in nested integrable systems, by generalizing the application of the Quench Action approach. Specifically, we consider the spin-