Coherent Backscattering in Fock Space: a Signature of Quantum Many-Body Interference in Interacting Bosonic Systems

TL;DR

This paper predicts a quantum interference effect in interacting bosonic systems that enhances the probability of returning to initial states in Fock space, serving as a signature of many-body quantum interference beyond mean-field theories.

Contribution

It introduces a novel prediction of coherent backscattering in Fock space as a signature of many-body quantum interference, supported by semiclassical calculations and exact quantum simulations.

Findings

Robust enhancement of return probability due to quantum interference

Dependence of backscattering peak on gauge fields breaking time-reversal symmetry

Confirmation of predictions through Bose-Hubbard model simulations

Abstract

We predict a generic manifestation of quantum interference in many-body bosonic systems resulting in a coherent enhancement of the average return probability in Fock space. This enhancement is both robust with respect to variations of external parameters and genuinely quantum insofar as it cannot be described within mean-field approaches. As a direct manifestation of the superposition principle in Fock space, it arises when many-body equilibration due to interactions sets in. Using a semiclassical approach based on interfering paths in Fock space, we calculate the magnitude of the backscattering peak and its dependence on gauge fields that break time-reversal invariance. We confirm our predictions by comparing them to exact quantum evolution probabilities in Bose-Hubbard models, and discuss the relevance of our findings in the context of many-body thermalization.