Quantum thermalization through entanglement in an isolated many-body system
Abstract
Intuition tells us that an isolated physical system subjected to a sudden change (i.e., quenching) will evolve in a way that maximizes its entropy. If the system is in a pure, zero-entropy quantum state, it is expected to remain so even after quenching. How do we then reconcile statistical mechanics with quantum laws? To address this question, Kaufman et al. used their quantum microscope to study strings of six rubidium atoms confined in the wells of an optical lattice (see the Perspective by Polkovnikov and Sels). When tunneling along the strings was suddenly switched on, the strings as a whole remained in a pure state, but smaller subsets of two or three atoms conformed to a thermal distribution. The force driving the thermalization was quantum entanglement.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Aug 19, 2016
- Source ID
- 10.1126/science.aaf6725
Entities
People
- Adam M. Kaufman
- Alexander Lukin
- M. Eric Tai
- Markus Greiner
- Matthew Rispoli
- Philipp M. Preiss
- Robert Schittko
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- Army Research Office
- Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
- Harvard University
- National Science Foundation