Critically Slow Hilbert-Space Ergodicity in Quantum Morphic Drives
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The maximum entropy principle is foundational for statistical analyses of complex dynamics. This principle has been challenged by the findings of a previous work [Phys. Rev. X 7, 031034 (2017)PRXHAE2160-330810.1103/PhysRevX.7.031034], where it was argued that a quantum system driven in time by a certain aperiodic sequence without any explicit symmetries, dubbed the Thue-Morse drive, gives rise to emergent nonergodic steady states which are underpinned by effective conserved quantities. Here, we resolve this apparent tension. We rigorously prove that the Thue-Morse drive achieves a very strong notion of quantum ergodicity in the long-time limit: The time evolution of any initial state uniformly visits every corner of its Hilbert space. On the other hand, we find the dynamics also approximates a Floquet drive for arbitrarily long, albeit finite periods of time with no characteristic timescale, resulting in a scale-free ergodic dynamics we call critically slow complete Hilbert-space ergodicity. Furthermore, numerical studies reveal that critically slow complete Hilbert-space ergodicity is not specific to the Thue-Morse drive and is, in fact, exhibited by many other aperiodic drives derived from morphic sequences, i.e., words derived from repeatedly applying substitution rules on basic characters. Our Letter presents a new class of dynamics in time-dependent quantum systems where full ergodicity is eventually attained but only after astronomically long times.
Source: Physical Review Letters
DOI: 10.1103/dmfd-lgcq
Language: English
Topic: Quantum many-body systems
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,750
OpenAlex ID: W4414596244