Colloquium: Nonequilibrium dynamics of closed interacting quantum systems

Anatoli Polkovnikov, Krishnendu Sengupta, Alessandro Silva, and Mukund Vengalattore
Rev. Mod. Phys. 83, 863 – Published 15 August 2011

Abstract

This Colloquium gives an overview of recent theoretical and experimental progress in the area of nonequilibrium dynamics of isolated quantum systems. There is particularly a focus on quantum quenches: the temporal evolution following a sudden or slow change of the coupling constants of the system Hamiltonian. Several aspects of the slow dynamics in driven systems are discussed and the universality of such dynamics in gapless systems with specific focus on dynamics near continuous quantum phase transitions is emphasized. Recent progress on understanding thermalization in closed systems through the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis is also reviewed and relaxation in integrable systems is discussed. Finally key experiments probing quantum dynamics in cold atom systems are overviewed and put into the context of our current theoretical understanding.

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  • Received 29 July 2010

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/RevModPhys.83.863

© 2011 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Anatoli Polkovnikov

  • Department of Physics, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA

Krishnendu Sengupta

  • Theoretical Physics Department, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Jadavpur, Kolkata 700 032, India

Alessandro Silva

  • The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Strada Costiera 11, 34151 Trieste, Italy

Mukund Vengalattore

  • Department of Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA

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Issue

Vol. 83, Iss. 3 — July - September 2011

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