Generation and propagation of correlations in non-equilibrium many-body systems

Theory Seminars

Speaker: Jean-Sebastien Bernier, University of British Columbia
Date & Time: November 25, 2013 12:00 - 13:00
Location: UBC, Hennings 318
Local Contact: Fei Zhou
Intended Audience: Graduate

Recent advances in the development of fast probing and control techniques applicable to correlated systems have opened up the possibility to dynamically prepare complex quantum many-body states. Experimentally, effective phase transitions have been induced through the application of external driving fields, and states have been realized using tailored environments. On the theoretical side, despite tremendous progress in recent years, many of the basic concepts behind the dynamical generation of states still remain to be understood. In this talk, I will focus on two aspects. I will first demonstrate that quantum coherence can be generated by the interplay of coupling to an incoherent environment and kinetic processes. I will show that this joint effect even occurs in a repulsively interacting fermionic system initially prepared in an incoherent Mott insulating state [1]. I will then show that in two paradigmatic one-dimensional interacting models, the Lieb-Liniger and Bose-Hubbard models, a generalized Lieb-Robinson bound describes the evolution of single-particle correlations during a slow parameter quench [2].

[1] J.-S. Bernier et al., Phys. Rev. A 87, 063608 (2013).

[2] J.-S. Bernier et al., arXiv:1308.4699.