Energy diffusion in frustrated quantum spin chains exhibiting Gaussian orthogonal ensemble level statistics

TL;DR

This paper studies energy diffusion in frustrated quantum spin chains with GOE spectral statistics under periodic magnetic fields, revealing power-law behaviors and mechanisms influenced by frustration strength.

Contribution

It introduces an analysis of energy diffusion dynamics in frustrated quantum spin chains under periodic driving, highlighting the dependence on frustration and identifying oscillation mechanisms.

Findings

Diffusion coefficients follow power laws with field strength and frequency.

The regimes of linear response and non-perturbative behavior depend on frustration levels.

Oscillation mechanisms are elucidated for systems with weakened frustrations.

Abstract

Frustrated quantum $XXZ$ spin chains with the next-nearest-neighbor (NNN) couplings are typically deterministic many-body systems exhibiting Gaussian orthogonal ensemble (GOE) spectral statistics. We investigate energy diffusion for these spin chains in the presence of a periodically oscillating magnetic field. Diffusion coefficients are found to obey the power law with respect to both the field strength and driving frequency with its power varying depending on the linear response and non-perturbative regimes. The widths of the linear response and the non-perturbative regimes depend on the strength of frustrations. We have also elucidated a mechanism for oscillation of energy diffusion in the case of weakened frustrations.