Quantum thermalization in a dimerized J1-J2 model

TL;DR

This study investigates how dimerization and next-nearest-neighbor interactions influence thermalization in a frustrated quantum spin chain, revealing that intermediate dimerization and J2 promote ETH compliance, while certain phases tend to violate it.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of ETH behavior in a dimerized J1-J2 model, highlighting the effects of competing interactions and symmetry sectors on thermalization.

Findings

ETH is most satisfied at intermediate dimerization and J2 values.

Gapless N'eel phase shows more ETH violation.

Large dimerization and small J2 lead to localization.

Abstract

We revisit the J1-J2 frustrated Heisenberg spin-1/2 chain with dimerization ({\delta}) or modulation in the nearest-neighbor couplings to investigate its thermalization behavior. While the dimerization tends to induce localization, the next-nearest-neighbor interaction J2 generally favors thermalization, making the assessment of the model's compliance with the Eigenstate Thermalization Hypothesis (ETH) particularly subtle. The challenge is further compounded by the model's SU(2) symmetry; the study of ETH compliance is necessarily done for each symmetry sector but separating different sectors of this symmetry is known to be a computationally demanding task. The current study is driven by two main motivations: first, to explore whether the well-known ground-state phases of the model have any bearing on its thermalization properties; and second, to understand how the interplay between two competing factors, namely, the non-uniformity (via {\delta}) and the beyond-nearest-neighbor interactions (via J2) governs the system's approach to thermal equilibrium. A systematic analysis shows that the ETH is most strongly satisfied for intermediate values of {\delta} (~ 0.5) with J2 ranging from intermediate (~ 0.5) to large (~ 1)- a parameter regime falls within the spiral ground-state phase. It is also found that when the system is in the gapless ground-state phase (which falls within the N'eel phase), the ETH is more prone to violation. In the regime of large {\delta} and small J2, the system is seen to enter a localized phase (characterized here by modulation in density-of-states; assessing ETH compliance is less meaningful for this phase.