Stationary behaviour of observables after a quantum quench in the spin-1/2 Heisenberg XXZ chain

TL;DR

This paper investigates the long-time behavior of local observables in a spin-1/2 Heisenberg XXZ chain after a quantum quench, using a quantum transfer matrix approach to determine correlation functions within the generalized Gibbs ensemble.

Contribution

It introduces a method to compute short-range correlations in the generalized Gibbs ensemble for certain initial states after a quantum quench.

Findings

Expectation values approach time-independent limits

Correlation functions can be determined using the quantum transfer matrix approach

Provides insights into stationary states after quantum quenches in integrable models

Abstract

We consider a quantum quench in the spin-1/2 Heisenberg XXZ chain. At late times after the quench it is believed that the expectation values of local operators approach time-independent values, that are described by a generalized Gibbs ensemble. Employing a quantum transfer matrix approach we show how to determine short-range correlation functions in such generalized Gibbs ensembles for a class of initial states.