Time Evolution of Local Observables After Quenching to an Integrable Model

We consider quantum quenches in integrable models. We argue that the behavior of local observables at late times after the quench is given by their expectation values with respect to a single representative Hamiltonian eigenstate. This can be viewed as a generalization of the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis to quantum integrable models. We present a method for constructing this representative state by means of a generalized thermodynamic Bethe ansatz (GTBA). Going further, we introduce a framework for calculating the time dependence of local observables as they evolve towards their stationary values. As an explicit example we consider quantum quenches in the transverse-field Ising chain and show that…

• NS
  National Science Foundation

  Awards: PHY11-25915, NSF PHY11-25915, 25915
• NO
  Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek
• EA
  Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

  Awards: EP/I032487/1, EP/J014885/1, EP/I032487/1
• KI
  Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara

  Awards: NSF PHY11-25915, PHY11-25915