Bath-Induced Zeno Localization in Driven Many-Body Quantum Systems
Thibaud Maimbourg, D. M. Basko, Markus Holzmann, Alberto Rosso
Abstract
We study a quantum interacting spin system subject to an external drive and coupled to a thermal bath of vibrational modes, uncorrelated for different spins, serving as a model for dynamic nuclear polarization protocols. We show that even when the many-body eigenstates of the system are ergodic, a sufficiently strong coupling to the bath may effectively localize the spins due to many-body quantum Zeno effect. Our results provide an explanation of the breakdown of the thermal mixing regime experimentally observed above 4-5 K in these protocols.
Topics & Concepts
Quantum Zeno effectSpinsPhysicsQuantumPolarization (electrochemistry)Ergodic theoryQuantum mechanicsQuantum systemThermalZeno's paradoxesCoupling (piping)Mixing (physics)Quantum decoherenceCondensed matter physicsChemistryMaterials scienceEpistemologyPhysical chemistryMeteorologyPhilosophyMathematicsMetallurgyMathematical analysisQuantum many-body systemsQuantum and electron transport phenomenaQuantum Information and Cryptography