Observation of Many-Body Localization in a One-Dimensional System with a Single-Particle Mobility Edge

 

September 28, 2018

Phys. Rev. Lett. 122, 170403

A single-particle mobility edge marks a critical energy separating extended from localized states and characterizes the single-particle intermediate phase of our one-dimensional non-interacting quantum system with a weak quasiperiodic potential. Here, we investigate the corresponding interacting system, where the existence of many-body localization (MBL) and a many-body intermediate phase (MBIP) are still open and heavily debated questions. We measure the time evolution of an initial charge density wave after a quench and analyze the corresponding relaxation exponents. We find clear signatures of MBL, when the corresponding noninteracting model is deep in the localized phase. We also critically compare and contrast our results with those from a tight-binding Aubry-André model, which does not exhibit a single-particle intermediate phase, in order to identify signatures of a potential MBIP.

To view the full publication visit: Phys. Rev. Lett. 122, 170403 (2019)

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