Probing the relaxation towards equilibrium in an isolated strongly correlated one-dimensional Bose gas
- The problem of how complex quantum systems eventually come to rest lies at the heart of statistical mechanics. The maximum-entropy principle describes which quantum states can be expected in equilibrium, but not how closed quantum many-body systems dynamically equilibrate. Here, we report the experimental observation of the non-equilibrium dynamics of a density wave of ultracold bosonic atoms in an optical lattice in the regime of strong correlations. Using an optical superlattice, we follow its dynamics in terms of quasi-local densities, currents and coherences-all showing a fast relaxation towards equilibrium values. Numerical calculations based on matrix-product states are in an excellent quantitative agreement with the experimental data. The system fulfills the promise of being a dynamical quantum simulator, in that the controlled dynamics runs for longer times than present classical algorithms can keep track of.
Author details: | S. Trotzky, Y-A. Chen, A. Flesch, I. P. McCulloch, U. Schollwöck, J. Eisert, I. Bloch |
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DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1038/NPHYS2232 |
ISSN: | 1745-2473 |
Title of parent work (English): | Nature physics |
Publisher: | Nature Publ. Group |
Place of publishing: | London |
Publication type: | Article |
Language: | English |
Year of first publication: | 2012 |
Publication year: | 2012 |
Release date: | 2017/03/26 |
Volume: | 8 |
Issue: | 4 |
Number of pages: | 6 |
First page: | 325 |
Last Page: | 330 |
Funding institution: | Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft [FOR 635, FOR 801]; European Union (NAMEQUAM, QESSENCE, MINOS, COMPAS); European Young Investigator Awards (EURYI); Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Optical Lattice Emulator (OLE) |
Organizational units: | Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Physik und Astronomie |
Peer review: | Referiert |