Near-frozen non-equilibrium state at high energy in an integrable system

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that high-energy electrons in an integrable quantum Hall system can form a long-lived, non-thermalized state, challenging expectations of thermalization in ergodic many-body systems.

Contribution

It reveals a novel near-frozen non-equilibrium state at high energy in an integrable system, contrasting with prior observations of relaxation or thermalization.

Findings

High-energy electrons stabilize in a long-lived non-thermal state.

The non-equilibrium distribution features a peak near the injection energy.

Transient components decay quickly, leaving a nearly frozen distribution.

Abstract

Ergodic many-body systems are expected to reach quasi-thermal equilibrium. Here we demonstrate that, surprisingly, high-energy electrons, which are injected into a quantum Hall edge mode with finite range interactions, stabilize at a far-from-thermalized state over a long time scale. To detect this non-equilibrium state, one positions an energy-resolved detector downstream of the point of injection. So far, non-equilibrium distributions in integrable systems were either found not to display relaxation at all, or generically relax to near-thermal asymptotic states. In stark contrast, the here-obtained many-body state comprises fast-decaying transient components, followed by a nearly frozen distribution with a peak near the injection energy.