01525nas a2200181 4500008004100000245006100041210006100102260001500163300001100178490000600189520101100195100001601206700001801222700001701240700002401257700002501281856003701306 2020 eng d00aCircuit Complexity across a Topological Phase Transition0 aCircuit Complexity across a Topological Phase Transition c03/16/2020 a0133230 v23 a

We use Nielsen's approach to quantify the circuit complexity in the one-dimensional Kitaev model. In equilibrium, we find that the circuit complexity of ground states exhibits a divergent derivative at the critical point, signaling the presence of a topological phase transition. Out of equilibrium, we study the complexity dynamics after a sudden quench, and find that the steady-state complexity exhibits nonanalytical behavior when quenched across critical points. We generalize our results to the long-range interacting case, and demonstrate that the circuit complexity correctly predicts the critical point between regions with different semi-integer topological numbers. Our results establish a connection between circuit complexity and quantum phase transitions both in and out of equilibrium, and can be easily generalized to topological phase transitions in higher dimensions. Our study opens a new avenue to using circuit complexity as a novel quantity to understand many-body systems.

1 aLiu, Fangli1 aLundgren, Rex1 aTitum, Paraj1 aGarrison, James, R.1 aGorshkov, Alexey, V. uhttps://arxiv.org/abs/1902.1072001383nas a2200157 4500008004100000245005600041210005500097260001400152490000800166520093200174100002001106700001601126700002501142700002101167856003701188 2020 eng d00aHilbert-Space Fragmentation from Strict Confinement0 aHilbertSpace Fragmentation from Strict Confinement c5/22/20200 v1243 a

We study one-dimensional spin-1/2 models in which strict confinement of Ising domain walls leads to the fragmentation of Hilbert space into exponentially many disconnected subspaces. Whereas most of the previous works emphasize dipole moment conservation as an essential ingredient for such fragmentation, we instead require two commuting U(1) conserved quantities associated with the total domain-wall number and the total magnetization. The latter arises naturally from the confinement of domain walls. Remarkably, while some connected components of the Hilbert space thermalize, others are integrable by Bethe ansatz. We further demonstrate how this Hilbert-space fragmentation pattern arises perturbatively in the confining limit of Z2 gauge theory coupled to fermionic matter, leading to a hierarchy of time scales for motion of the fermions. This model can be realized experimentally in two complementary settings.

1 aYang, Zhi-Cheng1 aLiu, Fangli1 aGorshkov, Alexey, V.1 aIadecola, Thomas uhttps://arxiv.org/abs/1912.0430001427nas a2200157 4500008004100000245007300041210006900114260001400183520092900197100001601126700002001142700002401162700002101186700002501207856003701232 2020 eng d00aLocalization and criticality in antiblockaded 2D Rydberg atom arrays0 aLocalization and criticality in antiblockaded 2D Rydberg atom ar c12/7/20203 a

Controllable Rydberg atom arrays have provided new insights into fundamental properties of quantum matter both in and out of equilibrium. In this work, we study the effect of experimentally relevant positional disorder on Rydberg atoms trapped in a 2D square lattice under anti-blockade (facilitation) conditions. We show that the facilitation conditions lead the connectivity graph of a particular subspace of the full Hilbert space to form a 2D Lieb lattice, which features a singular flat band. Remarkably, we find three distinct regimes as the disorder strength is varied: a critical regime, a delocalized but nonergodic regime, and a regime with a disorder-induced flat band. The critical regime's existence depends crucially upon the singular flat band in our model, and is absent in any 1D array or ladder system. We propose to use quench dynamics to probe the three different regimes experimentally. 

1 aLiu, Fangli1 aYang, Zhi-Cheng1 aBienias, Przemyslaw1 aIadecola, Thomas1 aGorshkov, Alexey, V. uhttps://arxiv.org/abs/2012.0394601634nas a2200157 4500008004100000245007000041210006900111260001400180520114300194100001601337700001901353700002401372700001801396700002501414856003701439 2020 eng d00aRealizing and Probing Baryonic Excitations in Rydberg Atom Arrays0 aRealizing and Probing Baryonic Excitations in Rydberg Atom Array c7/14/20203 a

We propose a realization of mesonic and baryonic quasiparticle excitations in Rydberg atom arrays with programmable interactions. Recent experiments have shown that such systems possess a Z3-ordered crystalline phase whose low-energy quasiparticles are defects in the crystalline order. By engineering a Z3-translational-symmetry breaking field on top of the Rydberg-blockaded Hamiltonian, we show that different types of defects experience confinement, and as a consequence form mesonic or baryonic quasiparticle excitations. We illustrate the formation of these quasiparticles by studying a quantum chiral clock model related to the Rydberg Hamiltonian. We then propose an experimental protocol involving out-of-equilibrium dynamics to directly probe the spectrum of the confined excitations. We show that the confined quasiparticle spectrum can limit quantum information spreading in this system. This proposal is readily applicable to current Rydberg experiments, and the method can be easily generalized to more complex confined excitations (e.g. `tetraquarks', `pentaquarks') in phases with Zq order for q>3. 

1 aLiu, Fangli1 aWhitsitt, Seth1 aBienias, Przemyslaw1 aLundgren, Rex1 aGorshkov, Alexey, V. uhttps://arxiv.org/abs/2007.0725801746nas a2200193 4500008004100000245006800041210006700109260001500176490000900191520117800200100001601378700001801394700001701412700001801429700001901447700002401466700002501490856003701515 2019 eng d00aConfined Dynamics in Long-Range Interacting Quantum Spin Chains0 aConfined Dynamics in LongRange Interacting Quantum Spin Chains c04/17/20190 v122 3 a

We study the quasiparticle excitation and quench dynamics of the one-dimensional transverse-field Ising model with power-law (1/rα) interactions. We find that long-range interactions give rise to a confining potential, which couples pairs of domain walls (kinks) into bound quasiparticles, analogous to mesonic bound states in high-energy physics. We show that these bound states have dramatic consequences for the non-equilibrium dynamics following a global quantum quench, such as suppressed spreading of quantum information and oscillations of order parameters. The masses of these bound states can be read out from the Fourier spectrum of these oscillating order parameters. We then use a two-kink model to qualitatively explain the phenomenon of long-range-interaction-induced confinement. The masses of the bound states predicted by this model are in good quantitative agreement with exact diagonalization results. Moreover, we illustrate that these bound states lead to weak thermalization of local observables for initial states with energy near the bottom of the many-body energy spectrum. Our work is readily applicable to current trapped-ion experiments.

1 aLiu, Fangli1 aLundgren, Rex1 aTitum, Paraj1 aPagano, Guido1 aZhang, Jiehang1 aMonroe, Christopher1 aGorshkov, Alexey, V. uhttps://arxiv.org/abs/1810.0236501470nas a2200145 4500008004100000245009500041210006900136260001400205520099100219100001801210700001601228700002001244700002301264856003701287 2019 eng d00aMomentum-space entanglement after a quench in one-dimensional disordered fermionic systems0 aMomentumspace entanglement after a quench in onedimensional diso c9/11/20193 a

We numerically investigate the momentum-space entanglement entropy and entanglement spectrum of the random-dimer model and its generalizations, which circumvent Anderson localization, after a quench in the Hamiltonian parameters. The type of dynamics that occurs depends on whether or not the Fermi level of the initial state is near the energy of the delocalized states present in these models. If the Fermi level of the initial state is near the energy of the delocalized states, we observe an interesting slow logarithmic-like growth of the momentum-space entanglement entropy followed by an eventual saturation. Otherwise, the momentum-space entanglement entropy is found to rapidly saturate. We also find that the momentum-space entanglement spectrum reveals the presence of delocalized states in these models for long times after the quench and the many-body entanglement gap decays logarithmically in time when the Fermi level is near the energy of the delocalized states.

1 aLundgren, Rex1 aLiu, Fangli1 aLaurell, Pontus1 aFiete, Gregory, A. uhttps://arxiv.org/abs/1909.0514001837nas a2200157 4500008004100000245006500041210006400106260001500170520136000185100002001545700001601565700001901581700002501600700001701625856003701642 2019 eng d00aReal-time dynamics of string breaking in quantum spin chains0 aRealtime dynamics of string breaking in quantum spin chains c2019/11/263 a

String breaking is a central dynamical process in theories featuring confinement, where a string connecting two charges decays at the expense of the creation of new particle-antiparticle pairs. Here, we show that this process can also be observed in quantum Ising chains where domain walls get confined either by a symmetry-breaking field or by long-range interactions. We find that string breaking occurs, in general, as a two-stage process: First, the initial charges remain essentially static and stable. The connecting string, however, can become a dynamical object. We develop an effective description of this motion, which we find is strongly constrained. In the second stage, which can be severely delayed due to these dynamical constraints, the string finally breaks. We observe that the associated time scale can depend crucially on the initial separation between domain walls and can grow by orders of magnitude by changing the distance by just a few lattice sites. We discuss how our results generalize to one-dimensional confining gauge theories and how they can be made accessible in quantum simulator experiments such as Rydberg atoms or trapped ions.

1 aVerdel, Roberto1 aLiu, Fangli1 aWhitsitt, Seth1 aGorshkov, Alexey, V.1 aHeyl, Markus uhttps://arxiv.org/abs/1911.1138201449nas a2200169 4500008004100000245008800041210006900129260001500198490000800213520091700221100001601138700002401154700002001178700001901198700002501217856003701242 2018 eng d00aAsymmetric Particle Transport and Light-Cone Dynamics Induced by Anyonic Statistics0 aAsymmetric Particle Transport and LightCone Dynamics Induced by  c2018/12/200 v1213 a

We study the non-equilibrium dynamics of Abelian anyons in a one-dimensional system. We find that the interplay of anyonic statistics and interactions gives rise to spatially asymmetric particle transport together with a novel dynamical symmetry that depends on the anyonic statistical angle and the sign of interactions. Moreover, we show that anyonic statistics induces asymmetric spreading of quantum information, characterized by asymmetric light cones of out-of-time-ordered correlators. Such asymmetric dynamics is in sharp contrast with the dynamics of conventional fermions or bosons, where both the transport and information dynamics are spatially symmetric. We further discuss experiments with cold atoms where the predicted phenomena can be observed using state-of-the-art technologies. Our results pave the way toward experimentally probing anyonic statistics through non-equilibrium dynamics.

1 aLiu, Fangli1 aGarrison, James, R.1 aDeng, Dong-Ling1 aGong, Zhe-Xuan1 aGorshkov, Alexey, V. uhttps://arxiv.org/abs/1809.02614