Quantum Glassiness

TL;DR

This paper introduces solvable quantum many-body models that exhibit glassy dynamics and fail to reach their ground states at zero temperature, challenging traditional thermalization paradigms in quantum systems.

Contribution

It provides explicit, disorder-free, local interaction models with topological order and slow dynamics, illustrating quantum glassiness beyond existing theories.

Findings

Models lack thermal equilibration at zero temperature.

Systems exhibit slow relaxation similar to classical glasses.

Ground states are topologically ordered but dynamically inaccessible.

Abstract

Describing matter at near absolute zero temperature requires understanding a system's quantum ground state and the low energy excitations around it, the quasiparticles, which are thermally populated by the system's contact to a heat bath. However, this paradigm breaks down if thermal equilibration is obstructed. This paper presents solvable examples of quantum many-body Hamiltonians of systems that are unable to reach their ground states as the environment temperature is lowered to absolute zero. These examples, three dimensional generalizations of quantum Hamiltonians proposed for topological quantum computing, 1) have no quenched disorder, 2) have solely local interactions, 3) have an exactly solvable spectrum, 4) have topologically ordered ground states, and 5) have slow dynamical relaxation rates akin to those of strong structural glasses.