Many body generalization of the Landau Zener problem

TL;DR

This paper develops a theoretical framework for a many-body extension of the Landau-Zener problem, revealing that such systems do not remain in their adiabatic ground state at slow driving, unlike single-particle cases.

Contribution

It introduces an approximate solution to a many-body Landau-Zener problem, highlighting a fundamental difference from the single-particle scenario and suggesting broader implications for driven quantum systems.

Findings

Many-body systems do not stay in the adiabatic ground state at slow driving.

The solution applies to two-level systems coupled to electromagnetic fields.

The results have implications for cavity QED experiments.

Abstract

We formulate and approximately solve a specific many-body generalization of the Landau-Zener problem. Unlike with the single particle Landau-Zener problem, our system does not abide in the adiabatic ground state, even at very slow driving rates. The structure of the theory suggests that this finding reflects a more general phenomenon in the physics of adiabatically driven many particle systems. Our solution can be used to understand, for example, the behavior of two-level systems coupled to an electromagnetic field, as realized in cavity QED experiments.