Logarithmic spreading of out-of-time-ordered correlators without many-body localization
File(s)1812.07981v4.pdf (2.17 MB)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Smith, Adam
ICnolle, Johannes
Moessner, Roderich
Kovrizhin, Dmitry L
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Out-of-time-ordered correlators (OTOCs) describe information scrambling under unitary time evolution, and provide a useful probe of the emergence of quantum chaos. Here we calculate OTOCs for a model of disorder-free localization whose exact solubility allows us to study long-time behavior in large systems. Remarkably, we observe logarithmic spreading of correlations, qualitatively different to both thermalizing and Anderson localized systems. Rather, such behavior is normally taken as a signature of many-body localization, so that our findings for an essentially noninteracting model are surprising. We provide an explanation for this unusual behavior, and suggest a novel Loschmidt echo protocol as a probe of correlation spreading. We show that the logarithmic spreading of correlations probed by this protocol is a generic feature of localized systems, with or without interactions.
Date Issued
2019-08-23
Date Acceptance
2019-08-01
Citation
Physical Review Letters, 2019, 123 (8), pp.086602-1-086602-6
ISSN
0031-9007
Publisher
American Physical Society
Start Page
086602-1
End Page
086602-6
Journal / Book Title
Physical Review Letters
Volume
123
Issue
8
Copyright Statement
© 2019 American Physical Society
Identifier
http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000482452700010&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
Subjects
Science & Technology
Physical Sciences
Physics, Multidisciplinary
Physics
QUANTUM
MODEL
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
ARTN 086602
Date Publish Online
2019-08-23