Identifying Many-Body Localization in Realistic Dot Arrays

TL;DR

This paper investigates the feasibility of detecting many-body localization in current quantum dot arrays by analyzing an extended Fermi-Hubbard model and evaluating experimental signatures, highlighting challenges in distinguishing true localization.

Contribution

It demonstrates that many-body localization can potentially be identified in existing quantum dot systems and discusses limitations of common experimental indicators.

Findings

Many-body localization detectable with current quantum dot technology

Imbalance may not reliably distinguish localization from strong interactions

Strong interactions can mimic localization signatures

Abstract

We determine whether or not it is possible to identify many-body localization in quantum dot arrays, given their current technological capacities. We analyze the phase diagram of an extended Fermi-Hubbard model - a theoretical system that quantum dot arrays are known to simulate - using several quantities of varying experimental accessibility. By deriving the parameters of our model from our experimental system, we find that many-body localization can potentially be detected in current-generation quantum dot arrays. A pitfall that we identify is that the freezing of a system due to strong interactions yields signatures similar to conventional localization. We find that the most widely-used experimental signature of localization - the imbalance - is not sensitive to this fact, and may be unsuitable as the lone identifier of the many-body localized regime.