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FLOQUET PRETHERMALIZATION

The quick drive to pseudo-equilibrium

Nature Physics volume 17, pages 429–430 (2021)Cite this article

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A clever application of nuclear magnetic resonance techniques offers a glimpse at a quantum system driven at high frequency, resulting in Floquet prethermalization — a quasi-steady state that persists for a very long time.

Applying a time-dependent perturbation to a quantum system can drastically modify its dynamics. A good example is the use of external oscillating fields to probe the energy levels of atoms and molecules that are otherwise inaccessible with stationary Hamiltonians. The possibilities under non-equilibrium conditions are very exciting: kicking a system before it has had a chance to thermalize can bring about the appearance of new phases of matter1,2,3,4 and induce phenomena that are either non-existent or difficult to achieve at equilibrium5,6. Now, writing in Nature Physics, Pai Peng and colleagues report that they have observed one such phenomenon — known as Floquet prethermalization — by exploiting the power of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques in a system made of nuclear spins7.

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Fig. 1: Floquet driving of spin chains and the prethermalization behaviour of observable A.

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  1. Department of Physics, Yeshiva University, New York, NY, USA

    Lea F. Santos

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  1. Lea F. Santos
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Correspondence to Lea F. Santos.

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Santos, L.F. The quick drive to pseudo-equilibrium. Nat. Phys. 17, 429–430 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-020-01117-8

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