Quantum many-body scars in spin-1 Kitaev chain with uniaxial single-ion anisotropy

Abstract

To establish a solid-state-based framework for the coexistence of quantum many-body scars and quantum criticality, we investigate the spin-1 Kitaev chain with uniaxial single-ion anisotropy (SIA). In the subspace with uniform $\mathbb{Z}_2$ gauge fields, this model can be exactly mapped to the spin-1/2 effective detuned PXP Hamiltonian, where the SIA plays a role of the static detuning term. The quench dynamics starting from the product states is symmetric between positive and negative values of the SIA, while a quantum phase transition from the Kitaev spin liquid to the dimer phase only occurs at the critical point with a negative $D_c$, implying the spontaneous breaking of the translational symmetry. We find that the coherent oscillations of quantum fidelity and certain local observables are sustained against small SIA perturbations in a quantum quench from special initial states. While the oscillation amplitudes of these observables decay with time as the SIA strength is increased, the system completely thermalizes upon approaching the critical point. In contrast, the initial polarized state, which shows an absence of revivals of quantum fidelity, will exhibit long revivals for $D<D_c$. Finally, we investigate the evolution of phase boundaries of the Kitaev spin liquid and dimer phase by introducing Heisenberg interactions, which spoil the $\mathbb{Z}_2$ gauge fields. A complete phase diagram is given by the infinite time-evolving block decimation method and the ground state properties of each phase are accurately captured by various spin correlations. Our work opens the door to understanding exotic connections between many-body scars and quantum criticality in systems with higher spins.