Thermalization in a 1D Rydberg gas: validity of the microcanonical ensemble hypothesis

We question the microcanonical hypothesis, often made to account for the thermalization of complex closed quantum systems, on the specific example of a chain of two-level atoms optically driven by a resonant laser beam and strongly interacting via Rydberg-Rydberg dipole-dipole interactions. Along it...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inarXiv.org
Main Authors Cohen, Ruben Y, Brion, Etienne, Grosshans, Frédéric
Format Paper Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Ithaca Cornell University Library, arXiv.org 04.02.2016
Subjects
Chains
Computer simulation
Dipole interactions
Excitation
Hypotheses
Laser beams
Mathematical analysis
Physics - Atomic Physics
Physics - Quantum Gases
Physics - Quantum Physics
Thermalization (energy absorption)
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Summary:We question the microcanonical hypothesis, often made to account for the thermalization of complex closed quantum systems, on the specific example of a chain of two-level atoms optically driven by a resonant laser beam and strongly interacting via Rydberg-Rydberg dipole-dipole interactions. Along its (necessarily unitary) evolution, this system is indeed expected to thermalize, i.e. observables, such as the number of excitations, stop oscillating and reach equilibrium-like expectation values. The latter are often calculated through assuming the system can be effectively described by a thermal-like microcanonical state. Here, we compare the distribution of excitations in the chain calculated either according to the microcanonical assumption or through direct exact numerical simulation. This allows us to show the limitations of the thermal equilibrium hypothesis and precise its applicability conditions.
ISSN:2331-8422
DOI:10.48550/arxiv.1601.01554