Localization and delocalization in kicked quantum matter

ORAL  · Invited

Abstract

A sizable fraction of the vast field of condensed matter physics consists of the exploration of the effects of spatial periodicity on quantum mechanics. It is now widely recognized that the effects of temporal periodicity give rise to a related array of phenomena, and that the interplay of temporal and spatial periodicity with many-body interactions creates particularly rich new possibilities. In this talk I will describe some recent experiments on kicked quantum matter, including a study of many-body delocalization in an interacting ensemble of kicked quantum rotors, the first experimental observation of the recently-predicted "quantum boomerang effect," and realization of a kicked quasicrystal which exhibits an extended multifractal phase intermediate between localized and delocalized regimes. The results illuminate a variety of phenomena ranging from the interplay of ergodicity and localization to fractal wavefunctions to new techniques of quantum control.

*We acknowledge support from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (FA9550-20-1-0240), the Army Research Office (W911NF-20-1-0294), the National Science Foundation (CAREER 1555313), and the Eddleman Center for Quantum Innovation, and from the NSF QLCI program through grant number OMA-2016245. This material is based upon work supported in part by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, National Quantum Information Science Research Centers, Quantum Science Center.

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Publication: Observation of the quantum boomerang effect. R. Sajjad, J.L. Tanlimco, H. Mas, A. Cao, E. Nolasco-Martinez, E.Q. Simmons, F.L.N. Santos, P. Vignolo, T. Macrì, and D.M. Weld. arXiv:2109.00696 (2021).

Prethermal Dynamical Localization and the Emergence of Chaos in a Kicked Interacting Quantum Gas. A. Cao, R. Sajjad, H. Mas, E.Q. Simmons, J.L. Tanlimco, E. Nolasco-Martinez, T. Shimasaki, H.E. Kondakci, V. Galitski, and D.M. Weld. arXiv:2106.09698 (2021).

Presenters

  • David M Weld

    • University of California, Santa Barbara

Authors

  • David M Weld

    • University of California, Santa Barbara