Central spin models describe a variety of quantum systems in which a spin-1/2 qubit interacts with a bath of surrounding spins, as realized in quantum dots and defect centers in diamond. We show that the fully anisotropic central spin Hamiltonian with (XX) Heisenberg interactions is integrable. Building on the class of integrable Richardson-Gaudin models, we derive an extensive set of conserved quantities and obtain the exact eigenstates using the Bethe ansatz. These states divide into two exponentially large classes: bright states, where the qubit is entangled with the bath, and dark states, where it is not. We discuss how dark states limit qubit-assisted spin bath polarization and provide a robust long-lived quantum memory for qubit states.
We address spin transport in the easy-axis Heisenberg spin chain subject to integrability-breaking perturbations. We find that spin transport is subdiffusive with dynamical exponent $z=4$ up to a timescale that is parametrically long in the anisotropy. In the limit of infinite anisotropy, transport is subdiffusive at all times; for large finite anisotropy, one eventually recovers diffusion at late times, but with a diffusion constant independent of the strength of the integrability breaking perturbation. We provide numerical evidence for these findings, and explain them by adapting the general…
We consider a Gaudin magnet (central spin model) with a time-dependent exchange couplings. We explicitly show that the Schrödinger equation is analytically solvable in terms of generalized hypergeometric functions for particular choices of the time dependence of the coupling constants. Our method establishes a new link between this system and the SU(2) Wess-Zumino-Witten model, and sheds new light on the implications of integrability in out-of-equilibrium quantum physics. As an application, a driven four-spin system is studied in detail.
A multiparametric extension of the anisotropic U model is discussed which maintains integrability. The R-matrix solving the Yang-Baxter equation is obtained through a twisting construction applied to the underlying Uq(sl(2|1)) superalgebraic structure which introduces the additional free parameters that arise in the model. Three forms of Bethe ansatz solution for the transfer matrix eigenvalues are given which we show to be equivalent.
We consider the out-of-equilibrium dynamics of the Heisenberg anisotropic quantum spin--$1/2$ chain threaded by a time-dependent magnetic flux. In the spirit of the recently developed generalized hydrodynamics (GHD), we exploit the integrability of the model for any flux values to derive an exact description of the dynamics in the limit of slowly varying flux: the state of the system is described at any time by a time-dependent generalized Gibbs ensemble. Two dynamical regimes emerge according to the value of the anisotropy $Δ$. For $|Δ| > 1$, reversibility is preserved: the initial state is a…
We study the fate of interacting quantum systems which are periodically driven by switching back and forth between two integrable Hamiltonians. This provides an unconventional and tunable way of breaking integrability, in the sense that the stroboscopic time evolution will generally be described by a Floquet Hamiltonian which progressively becomes less integrable as the driving frequency is reduced. Here, we exemplify this idea in spin chains subjected to periodic switching between two integrable anisotropic Heisenberg Hamiltonians. We distinguish the integrability-breaking effects of resonant…
Generic non-relativistic theories giving rise to non-integrable string solutions are classified. Our analysis boils down to a simple algebraic condition for the scaling parameters of the metric. Particular cases are the Lifshitz and the anisotropic Lifshitz spacetimes, for which we find that for trivial dilaton dependence the only integrable physical theory is that for z=1. For the hyperscaling violation theories we conclude that the vast majority of theories are non-integrable, while only for a small class of physical theories, where the Fermi surfaces belong to, integrability is not excluded…
We investigate the rate of thermalization of local operators in the one-dimensional anisotropic antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model with next-nearest neighbor interactions that break integrability. This is done by calculating the scaling of the difference of the diagonal and canonical thermal ensemble values as function of system size, and by directly calculating the time evolution of the expectation values of the operators with the Chebyshev polynomial expansion. Spatial and spin symmetry is exploited and the Hamiltonian is divided in subsectors according to their symmetry. The rate of thermal…
The longitudinal spin structure factor for the XXZ-chain at small wave-vector q is obtained using Bethe Ansatz, field theory methods and the Density Matrix Renormalization Group. It consists of a peak with peculiar, non-Lorentzian shape and a high-frequency tail. We show that the width of the peak is proportional to q^2 for finite magnetic field compared to q^3 for zero field. For the tail we derive an analytic formula without any adjustable parameters and demonstrate that the integrability of the model directly affects the lineshape.
We present an augmented parton mean-field theory which (i) reproduces the $exact$ ground state, spectrum, and dynamics of the quantum spin liquid phase of Kitaev's honeycomb model; and (ii) is amenable to the inclusion of integrability breaking terms, allowing a perturbation theory from a controlled starting point. Thus, we exemplarily study dynamical spin correlations of the honeycomb Kitaev quantum spin liquid within the $K-J-Γ$ model which includes Heisenberg and symmetric-anisotropic (pseudo-dipolar) interactions. This allows us to trace changes of the correlations in the regime of slowly …
Pumping a finite energy density into a quantum system typically leads to `melted' states characterized by exponentially-decaying correlations, as is the case for finite-temperature equilibrium situations. An important exception to this rule are states which, while being at high energy, maintain a low entropy. Such states can interestingly still display features of quantum criticality, especially in one dimension. Here, we consider high-energy states in anisotropic Heisenberg quantum spin chains obtained by splitting the ground state's magnon Fermi sea into separate pieces. Using methods based …
Long-lived dark states, in which an experimentally accessible qubit is not in thermal equilibrium with a surrounding spin bath, are pervasive in solid-state systems. We explain the ubiquity of dark states in a large class of inhomogenous central spin models using the proximity to integrable lines with exact dark eigenstates. At numerically accessible sizes, dark states persist as eigenstates at large deviations from integrability, and the qubit retains memory of its initial polarization at long times. Although the eigenstates of the system are chaotic, exhibiting exponential sensitivity to sma…
The ground state phase diagram is obtained for an antiferromagnetic spin-1 anisotropic biquadratic model. With the help of symmetry and duality transformations, three symmetry-protected trivial phases and one dimerized symmetry breaking phase are found. Local and nonlocal order parameters are identified to characterize these phases. Quantum phase transitions between the symmetry-protected trivial phases belong to the Gaussian universality class with central charge c = 1, and quantum phase transitions from the symmetry-protected trivial phases to the dimerized phase belong to the Ising universa…
In this note we investigate the anomalous breaking of anisotropic scaling symmetry in a non-relativistic field theory with dynamical exponent z=2. On general grounds, one can show that there exist two possible "central charges" which characterize the breaking of scale invariance. Using heat kernel methods, we compute these two central charges in the quantum Lifshitz model, a free field theory which is second order in time and fourth order in spatial derivatives. We find that one of the two central charges vanishes. Interestingly, this is also true for strongly coupled non-relativistic field th…
We show that, when a finite anisotropic Heisenberg spin-1/2 chain in the gapped regime is driven far from equilibrium, oppositely polarized ferromagnetic domains build up at the edges of the chain, thus suppressing quantum spin transport. As a consequence, a negative differential conductivity regime arises, where increasing the driving decreases the current. The above results are explained in terms of magnon localization and are shown to be structurally stable against breaking of integrability.
Inelastic neutron scattering experiments are commonly used to unveil how excitations on Heisenberg spin models play a role in dynamical correlations functions. For a certain class of materials, like CsCoCl$_3$ or CsCoBr$_3$ salts, it turns out that their magnetic properties are fairly well approximated by quasi-one dimensional XXZ models, which enjoy the property of quantum integrability. In these instances, one can in principle use their underlying algebraic structure to describe very precisely how excitations, the so-called spinons, participate in dynamical correlations functions. Even thoug…
Adiabatically varying the driving frequency of a periodically-driven many-body quantum system can induce controlled transitions between resonant eigenstates of the time-averaged Hamiltonian, corresponding to adiabatic transitions in the Floquet spectrum and presenting a general tool in quantum many-body control. Using the central spin model as an application, we show how such controlled driving processes can lead to a polarization-based decoupling of the central spin from its decoherence-inducing environment at resonance. While it is generally impossible to obtain the exact Floquet Hamiltonian…
