Coupling Identical 1D Many-Body Localized Systems

TL;DR

This study experimentally investigates how coupling identical 1D many-body localized systems affects their localization properties, revealing that interactions cause delocalization when systems are coupled, unlike in non-interacting Anderson localization.

Contribution

It demonstrates experimentally that coupling identical MBL systems with interactions leads to delocalization, contrasting with the localized behavior in non-interacting Anderson systems.

Findings

Coupling induces delocalization in interacting MBL systems.

Non-interacting Anderson localized systems remain localized despite coupling.

Interactions are crucial for delocalization in coupled 1D systems.

Abstract

We experimentally study the effects of coupling one-dimensional Many-Body Localized (MBL) systems with identical disorder. Using a gas of ultracold fermions in an optical lattice, we artifically prepare an initial charge density wave in an array of 1D tubes with quasi-random onsite disorder and monitor the subsequent dynamics over several thousand tunneling times. We find a strikingly different behavior between MBL and Anderson Localization. While the non-interacting Anderson case remains localized, in the interacting case any coupling between the tubes leads to a delocalization of the entire system.