This award supports theoretical research and education on quantum many-body systems far from equilibrium. There are three main research thrusts:
1. Transport properties of integrable and nonintegrable systems far from equilibrium: The PI will focus on the conditions under which ballistic and diffusive transport behaviors are established. Both will be considered, that of isolated systems and that of systems interacting with two heat baths at different temperatures.
2. The conditions for thermalization in isolated quantum many-body systems. It has been argued that thermal equilibrium is achieved when the eigenstates of the system become chaotic. However, open questions remain. The PI will investigate how the system relaxes to equilibrium, particularly when the factors that prevent thermalization are included. The PI also aims to develop a proper definition of entropy for systems out of equilibrium.
3. The development of new quantum control methods to induce a desired transport behavior. The PI aims to develop tools to achieve, through dynamical decoupling techniques, regimes and phases of interest for theoretical and experimental studies of nonequilibrium quantum many-body systems.
These three research lines will be developed in parallel being amplified by the synergies that result from the study of different aspects of similar systems. Experiments will motivate the choice of models that will be used. Among these are experiments on thermal transport in magnetic compounds; on thermalization and quantum phase transitions in ultracold atoms trapped in optical lattices; and on control of magnetization and information transfer in spin systems.
This award also supports education and outreach activities with the goals: to continue engaging female undergraduate students in research projects, in part through new projects inspired by the research; to modernize the curriculum at Stern College for Women of Yeshiva University with new courses that expose all science students to programming and to concepts of modern physics at an early stage of their undergraduate studies; to create a webpage for posting computer codes from courses and research projects together with their explanations, aiming at contributing to the integration of teaching and research at other institutions; and to offer research opportunities for high school students in the New York area.
NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY This award supports theoretical research and education on how heat, magnetism, and information propagate through systems of electrons, or more generally through systems of many interacting particles that are described by the laws of quantum mechanics. These systems are generally very far from the balanced state of equilibrium. The PI aims to advance understanding of nonequilibrium quantum physics which is far less understood than equilibrium quantum physics. The research is likely to have impact beyond the specific context and may have impact on other disciplines from physics, chemistry, and materials to biology and climate. Specific goals of this project include understanding how the behavior of systems that are far from equilibrium unfolds with time, how such systems eventually relax to reach equilibrium, and how can nonequilibrium systems be controlled and manipulated to produce a desired outcome.
From a technological perspective, understanding and controlling the transport of heat, magnetization, and information in quantum systems of interacting particles is vital. One of the most challenging aspects in the development of new electronic devices, such as microchips and hard disks, for instance, is the mitigation of local heating. At the level of magnetization currents, the understanding and control of magnetization transport are essential for spintronics, where the magnetic properties of the electron are exploited in addition to the electron charge for device operation. Quantum computation and quantum information processing, which may revolutionize computation capabilities and encryption technology for security, also require efficient methods for the transport of information.
This award also supports education and outreach activities with the goals: to continue engaging female undergraduate students in research projects, in part through new projects inspired by the research; to modernize the curriculum at Stern College for Women of Yeshiva University with new courses that expose all science students to programming and to concepts of modern physics at an early stage of their undergraduate studies; to create a webpage for posting computer codes from courses and research projects together with their explanations, aiming at contributing to the integration of teaching and research at other institutions; and to offer research opportunities for high school students in the New York area.
