Theoretical Physics Seminar: Andrew James (UCL)

Rare states and non-thermal behaviour due to confinement in 1D and 2D

It is generally expected that an out-of-equilibrium quantum system will `thermalise' after some length of time, unless it is integrable (i.e. possesses infinitely many conserved charges). However it is known that rare states in a model's spectrum can exist, that defy this tendency, yielding non-thermal behaviour and anomalous dynamics. I will describe how confinement in the quantum Ising model in 1D and 2D can lead to such rare states - which extend far into the spectrum - and the implications for thermalisation and dynamics.