How Does a Locally Constrained Quantum System Localize?

Chun Chen, Fiona Burnell, Anushya Chandran

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

32 Scopus citations

Abstract

At low energy, the dynamics of excitations of many physical systems are locally constrained. Examples include frustrated antiferromagnets, fractional quantum Hall fluids, and Rydberg atoms in the blockaded regime. Can such locally constrained systems be fully many-body localized? In this Letter, we answer this question affirmatively and elucidate the structure of the accompanying quasilocal integrals of motion. By studying disordered spin chains subject to a projection constraint in the z direction, we show that full many-body localization (MBL) is stable at strong z-field disorder and identify a new mechanism of localization through resonance at strong transverse disorder. However, MBL is not guaranteed; the constraints can "frustrate" the tendency of the spins to align with the transverse fields and lead to full thermalization or criticality. We further provide evidence that the transition is discontinuous in local observables with large sample-to-sample variations. Our dynamical phase diagram is accessible in current Rydberg atomic experiments which realize programmable constrained Ising Hamiltonians.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number085701
JournalPhysical review letters
Volume121
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 20 2018

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We are grateful to C. R. Laumann, S. L. Sondhi, and D. Huse for stimulating discussions and for a careful reading of the manuscript, and to P. Crowley and V. Khemani for helpful conversations. F. J. B. acknowledges the financial support of NSF DMR-1352271, and of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation FG-2015-65927.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 American Physical Society.

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