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Updated: Jun 19, 2026
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Characterization of Thermal Transport in One-dimensional Solid Materials
Published on: January 26, 2014
Breakdown of thermalization in finite one-dimensional systems
1Department of Physics, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057, USA.
Physical Review Letters
|October 2, 2009
Summary
Quantum quenches reveal that hard core bosons in finite lattices thermalize when far from integrability. Thermalization breaks down smoothly as systems approach integrability, impacting statistical mechanics predictions.
Area of Science:
- Quantum physics
- Condensed matter physics
Background:
- Understanding thermalization in quantum many-body systems is crucial.
- Hard core bosons in one-dimensional lattices provide a key model system.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the dynamics and thermalization of hard core bosons.
- Explore the breakdown of thermalization near integrable points.
- Connect thermalization to the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis.
Main Methods:
- Utilized quantum quenches to initiate dynamics.
- Performed exact diagonalizations for precise analysis.
- Studied few-body observables and their thermalization properties.
Main Results:
- Observed thermalization of few-body observables away from integrability.
- Characterized the smooth breakdown of thermalization approaching integrability.
- Demonstrated that statistical mechanics predictions degrade as integrability is approached.
Conclusions:
- Established a direct link between thermalization and the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis.
- Showcased the continuous worsening of statistical mechanics predictions near integrability.
- Provided insights into the fundamental mechanisms of thermalization in quantum systems.
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