Many-body localization due to random interactions

TL;DR

This paper explores how random interactions in a one-dimensional ultracold atom system can lead to many-body localization, characterized by non-thermalization, suppressed transport, and slow entanglement growth, highlighting a genuine interaction-driven localization phenomenon.

Contribution

It demonstrates that random interactions alone can induce many-body localization in a clean system, distinct from disorder-induced localization.

Findings

Localization due to interactions observed in ultracold atoms

Lack of thermalization and suppressed transport confirmed

Logarithmic entanglement growth indicates many-body localization

Abstract

The possibility of observing many body localization of ultracold atoms in a one dimensional optical lattice is discussed for random interactions. In the non-interacting limit, such a system reduces to single-particle physics in the absence of disorder, i.e. to extended states. In effect the observed localization is inherently due to interactions and is thus a genuine many-body effect. In the system studied, many-body localization manifests itself in a lack of thermalization visible in temporal propagation of a specially prepared initial state, in transport properties, in the logarithmic growth of entanglement entropy as well as in statistical properties of energy levels.