---
_id: '980'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: Many-body localized (MBL) systems are characterized by the absence of transport
    and thermalization and, therefore, cannot be described by conventional statistical
    mechanics. In this paper, using analytic arguments and numerical simulations,
    we study the behavior of local observables in an isolated MBL system following
    a quantum quench. For the case of a global quench, we find that the local observables
    reach stationary, highly nonthermal values at long times as a result of slow dephasing
    characteristic of the MBL phase. These stationary values retain the local memory
    of the initial state due to the existence of local integrals of motion in the
    MBL phase. The temporal fluctuations around stationary values exhibit universal
    power-law decay in time, with an exponent set by the localization length and the
    diagonal entropy of the initial state. Such a power-law decay holds for any local
    observable and is related to the logarithmic in time growth of entanglement in
    the MBL phase. This behavior distinguishes the MBL phase from both the Anderson
    insulator (where no stationary state is reached) and from the ergodic phase (where
    relaxation is expected to be exponential). For the case of a local quench, we
    also find a power-law approach of local observables to their stationary values
    when the system is prepared in a mixed state. Quench protocols considered in this
    paper can be naturally implemented in systems of ultracold atoms in disordered
    optical lattices, and the behavior of local observables provides a direct experimental
    signature of many-body localization.
acknowledgement: Research at Perimeter Institute is supported by the Government of
  Canada through Industry Canada and by the Province of Ontario through the Ministry
  of Economic Development & Innovation. We acknowledge support by NSERC Discovery
  Grant (D.A.).
author:
- first_name: Maksym
  full_name: Maksym Serbyn
  id: 47809E7E-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
  last_name: Serbyn
  orcid: 0000-0002-2399-5827
- first_name: Zlatko
  full_name: Papić, Zlatko
  last_name: Papić
- first_name: Dmitry
  full_name: Abanin, Dmitry A
  last_name: Abanin
citation:
  ama: Serbyn M, Papić Z, Abanin D. Quantum quenches in the many-body localized phase.
    <i>Physical Review B - Condensed Matter and Materials Physics</i>. 2014;90(17).
    doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.90.174302">10.1103/PhysRevB.90.174302</a>
  apa: Serbyn, M., Papić, Z., &#38; Abanin, D. (2014). Quantum quenches in the many-body
    localized phase. <i>Physical Review B - Condensed Matter and Materials Physics</i>.
    American Physical Society. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.90.174302">https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.90.174302</a>
  chicago: Serbyn, Maksym, Zlatko Papić, and Dmitry Abanin. “Quantum Quenches in the
    Many-Body Localized Phase.” <i>Physical Review B - Condensed Matter and Materials
    Physics</i>. American Physical Society, 2014. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.90.174302">https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.90.174302</a>.
  ieee: M. Serbyn, Z. Papić, and D. Abanin, “Quantum quenches in the many-body localized
    phase,” <i>Physical Review B - Condensed Matter and Materials Physics</i>, vol.
    90, no. 17. American Physical Society, 2014.
  ista: Serbyn M, Papić Z, Abanin D. 2014. Quantum quenches in the many-body localized
    phase. Physical Review B - Condensed Matter and Materials Physics. 90(17).
  mla: Serbyn, Maksym, et al. “Quantum Quenches in the Many-Body Localized Phase.”
    <i>Physical Review B - Condensed Matter and Materials Physics</i>, vol. 90, no.
    17, American Physical Society, 2014, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.90.174302">10.1103/PhysRevB.90.174302</a>.
  short: M. Serbyn, Z. Papić, D. Abanin, Physical Review B - Condensed Matter and
    Materials Physics 90 (2014).
date_created: 2018-12-11T11:49:31Z
date_published: 2014-11-06T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2021-01-12T08:22:24Z
day: '06'
doi: 10.1103/PhysRevB.90.174302
extern: 1
intvolume: '        90'
issue: '17'
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
  url: https://arxiv.org/abs/1408.4105
month: '11'
oa: 1
publication: Physical Review B - Condensed Matter and Materials Physics
publication_status: published
publisher: American Physical Society
publist_id: '6420'
quality_controlled: 0
status: public
title: Quantum quenches in the many-body localized phase
type: journal_article
volume: 90
year: '2014'
...