Bridging quantum criticality via many-body scarring

Quantum dynamics in certain kinetically-constrained systems can display a strong sensitivity to the initial condition, wherein some initial states give rise to persistent quantum revivals-a type of weak ergodicity breaking known as quantum many-body scarring (QMBS). Recent work [Yao, Pan, Liu, and Zhai, Phys. Rev. B 105, 125123 (2022)] pointed out that QMBS gets destroyed by tuning the system to a quantum critical point, echoing the disappearance of long-range order in the system's ground state at equilibrium. Here we show that this picture can be much richer in systems that display QMBS dynamics from a continuous family of initial conditions: As the system is tuned across the critical point while at the same time deforming the initial state, the dynamical signatures of QMBS at intermediate times can undergo an apparently smooth evolution across the equilibrium phase transition point. We demonstrate this using the PXP model-a paradigmatic model of QMBS that has recently been realized in Rydberg atom arrays as well as ultracold bosonic atoms in a tilted optical lattice. Using exact diagonalization and matrix product state methods, we map out the dynamical phase diagram of the PXP model with the quenched chemical potential. We demonstrate the existence of a continuous family of initial states that give rise to QMBS and formulate a ramping protocol that can be used to prepare such states in experiment. Our results show the ubiquity of scarring in the PXP model and highlight its intriguing interplay with quantum criticality.

Automated summary

Recent work has shown that quantum many-body scarring (QMBS) can be destroyed by tuning a system to a quantum critical point. This study demonstrates that in systems displaying QMBS dynamics from a continuous family of initial conditions, the dynamical signatures of QMBS can undergo a smooth evolution across the equilibrium phase transition point. Using the PXP model, the researchers mapped out the dynamical phase diagram and formulated a ramping protocol to prepare QMBS states in experiments. These results highlight the ubiquity of scarring in the PXP model and its intriguing interplay with quantum criticality.