Logarithmically Slow Relaxation in Quasiperiodically Driven Random Spin Chains

• Published in: Physical review letters Vol. 120; no. 7; p. 070602
• Main Authors: Dumitrescu, Philipp T, Vasseur, Romain, Potter, Andrew C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 16.02.2018
• ISSN: 1079-7114
• DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.070602

We simulate the dynamics of a disordered interacting spin chain subject to a quasiperiodic time-dependent drive, corresponding to a stroboscopic Fibonacci sequence of two distinct Hamiltonians. Exploiting the recursive drive structure, we can efficiently simulate exponentially long times. After an initial transient, the system exhibits a long-lived glassy regime characterized by a logarithmically slow growth of entanglement and decay of correlations analogous to the dynamics at the many-body delocalization transition. Ultimately, at long time scales, which diverge exponentially for weak or rapid drives, the system thermalizes to infinite temperature. The slow relaxation enables metastable dynamical phases, exemplified by a "time quasicrystal" in which spins exhibit persistent oscillations with a distinct quasiperiodic pattern from that of the drive. We show that in contrast with Floquet systems, a high-frequency expansion strictly breaks down above fourth order, and fails to produce an effective static Hamiltonian that would capture the prethermal glassy relaxation.