Ergodicity, Entanglement and Many-Body Quantum Dynamics in Localization - a podcast by Michael Haack

Do quantum many-body systems necessarily come to thermal equilibrium
after a long enough time evolution? The conventional wisdomhas long been that they do and that, in the process, any quantum
information encoded in the initial state is lost irretrievably. Thus thedynamics of many-interacting particles becomes effectively classical.
But these ingrained notions of thermalization and ergodicity haverecently been called into question. In this talk I will discuss how
ergodicity can break down in disordered quantum systems throughthe phenomenon of many-body localization. In contrast to thermalizing
fluids, quantum correlations can persist through time evolutionof the localized state even at high energy densities. Thus, investigating
the many-body localization transition offers a concrete routeto address fundamental unsolved questions concerning the boundary
between classical and quantum physics in the macroscopic world. Iwill emphasize the important role that quantum entanglement plays
in current attempts to understand this fascinating dynamical phasetransition. Finally I will present recent progress in confronting the
emerging theoretical understanding of many-body localization withexperimental tests using systems of ultra-cold atoms.

Further episodes of Sommerfeld Theory Colloquium (ASC)

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Website of Michael Haack