arXiv subjects

Roderich Moessner

Publications and source records attributed to Roderich Moessner.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2026

Floquet Many-Body Cages

Many-body cages have very recently emerged as a general route for nonergodic behaviour in quantum matter. Here, we show that new types of many-body cages can be engineered in Floquet circuits with the potential to realize novel nonequilibrium quantum states. For that purpose, we first identify an explicit, general construction of Floquet circuits capable of hosting many-body cages. We then present a generic strategy to engineer and structure Floquet many-body cages. We demonstrate the developed scheme for the quantum hard disk model as a generic constrained model system, realizable for instance in Rydberg atom arrays. We construct Floquet circuits yielding Floquet many-body cages with topological properties and $\pi$-quasienergy modes, implying `time crystalline' spatiotemporal order. Our results can be directly extended to general quantum circuits, thus providing a new tool to engineer nonequilibrium behaviour in driven systems.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Protecting Quantum Simulations of Lattice Gauge Theories through Engineered Emergent Hierarchical Symmetries

We present a strategy for the quantum simulation of many-body lattice models with constrained Hilbert spaces. We focus on lattice gauge theories (LGTs), which underlie a wide range of phenomena in particle physics, condensed matter, and quantum information. In present-day quantum computing platforms, perfect restrictions of the Hilbert space to the desired gauge sectors are beyond reach: for LGTs, violations of the local constraint are unavoidable, posing a formidable challenge for the emulation of the underlying physics. Here, we develop a Floquet-engineering framework that restructures departures from a target sector such that a series of emergent local symmetries occurs hierarchically in time and in a controllable way. This leads to a set of approximate dynamical selection rules that strongly restrict inter-sector couplings, resulting in a pronounced, symmetry-controlled hierarchy of lifetimes for the state population to spread among sectors. Concretely, this protects $U(1)$ LGTs against violations of the {defining} local symmetry. While some sectors remain very long-lived, others are destabilized on shorter timescales. We numerically verify our theory for the one-dimensional $U(1)$ quantum link model. In addition, we reveal that `defects', whose movement accounts for violations of the gauge constraint, are kinetically constrained, becoming mobile only through the assistance of intra-sector dynamics, which we describe using an effective quantum marble model. Our results can thus be used to extend the lifetime, in the spirit of passive error correction, of quantum simulations of complex many-body problems when emergent or desired local symmetries are only implemented approximately.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Proximate quantum spin liquids and Majorana continua in magnetically ordered Kitaev magnets

We study the spin excitation spectra in magnetically ordered phases proximate to the Kitaev quantum spin liquid (KQSL). Although the low-energy universal features should be governed by the magnetic orders, the $\textit{non-universal}$ high-energy features of the KQSL and adjacent phases can be remarkably similar. Therefore, we study the extended Kitaev model within a Stoner-like theory using Majorana partons, and compute the inelastic neutron scattering (INS) intensities in the random phase approximation. First, we benchmark against the antiferromagnetic (AFM) Heisenberg model and recover the AFM order with linear Goldstone modes. We then explore the phase diagram which agrees qualitatively with previous numerical results. In particular, the Majorana parton theory accurately captures Order-by-Disorder effects in the Kitaev-Heisenberg limit. We also find large INS intensities near the associated high-symmetry Brillouin zone (BZ) points of the magnetic orders. At intermediate and high energies, broad multi-spinon continua emerge across the BZ, providing a distinct mechanism for magnon decay and spectral broadening beyond the conventional multi-magnon decay scenario. Finally, we study the model Hamiltonian of candidate Kitaev material $\alpha$-RuCl$_3$. The zigzag ground state agrees qualitatively with experiments, its stability under external magnetic field also exhibits strong anisotropy in the field directions, and broad scattering continua are recovered similar to those observed experimentally.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2026

Semiclassical picture of the Heisenberg spin glass in two dimensions: from weak localization to hydrodynamics

The two-dimensional Heisenberg spin-glass model is investigated by means of a semiclassical expansion around classical states. At leading order, we obtain an effective quadratic spin-wave Hamiltonian and study the localization properties of its spectrum and eigenfunctions. We find that the nature of the spin-wave excitations, whether they are hydrodynamic or localized modes, depends crucially on the relevance/irrelevance -- in the renormalization group sense -- of the correlations induced by the underlying classical order in the spin-wave Hamiltonian matrix elements: low-energy excitations around magnetically ordered states are delocalized, whereas those around spin-glass ordered states are localized, albeit weakly. We interpret this phenomenology by relating the spontaneous breaking of spin-rotation symmetry in the original Heisenberg model to the symmetry and universality class of the resulting quadratic spin-wave Hamiltonian. We conjecture that the hydrodynamic picture can be recovered through the inclusion of interactions among the spin-wave excitations at higher order in the semiclassical expansion, favoring the onset of ergodic behavior.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2026

Boundary Floquet Control of Bulk non-Hermitian Systems

Boundary perturbations are generally irrelevant for bulk properties in the thermodynamic limit, as they are edge-confined and subextensive. We show that this expectation breaks down in boundary-driven systems exhibiting the non-Hermitian skin effect, where arbitrarily weak boundary Floquet driving reconstructs bulk quasienergy spectra and dynamics. We develop a Floquet non-Bloch band theory that extends generalized Brillouin-zone methods to boundary-driven systems at arbitrary driving frequencies, overcoming the lack of a general framework beyond high-frequency approximations. With representative single- and two-band models, we demonstrate that the boundary driving frequency tunes non-Bloch parity-time symmetry breaking, while its amplitude acts as a finite-size control parameter. Our work establishes boundary Floquet control as a general route for manipulating bulk properties, opening a new avenue for dynamical engineering in driven open systems.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Directed Polymer Transfer Matrices as a Unified Generator of Distinct One-Point Fluctuation Laws

We numerically revisit the transfer-matrix formulation of directed polymers in random media and show that a common finite-dimensional framework organizes the canonical one-point fluctuation laws in $(1+1)$ dimensions. For a fixed realization of the bulk disorder, full-space partition functions are obtained from the same time-ordered product $W(t)$ through endpoint contractions or a Brownian-weighted initial vector, while the half-space construction modifies only the transfer rule at the absorbing boundary. These choices yield distributions consistent with the standard KPZ subclasses: Tracy--Widom GUE for point-to-point geometry, Tracy--Widom GOE for point-to-line geometry, Tracy--Widom GSE for half-space point-to-point geometry, and Baik--Rains for the stationary line-to-point construction. In all four cases, the free-energy fluctuations grow as $t^{1/3}$, and the low-order cumulants approach the corresponding universal benchmarks. The matrix-product formulation also provides access to intrinsic spectral observables. For the leading eigenvalue $\lambda_1(t)$, the fluctuations of $\ln\lambda_1(t)$ exhibit an intermediate $t^{1/3}$ regime, while the standardized distribution remains distinct from the canonical benchmark laws over the studied time range.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2026

Classical Kitaev model in a magnetic field

Motivated by experiments on spin-orbit coupled magnets with Kitaev exchange in magnetic fields, we present an analysis of the classical Kitaev honeycomb model in the presence of a magnetic field. We show that there is a spin liquid regime that exists within a finite window of fields from zero up to a finite threshold before transitioning into the polarized paramagnet. We uncover constraints that spins need to satisfy in the ground state and show that they determine the exact limiting zero temperature behavior of the heat capacity and magnetic susceptibility within the spin liquid as a function of field. When the field is finite, both the two-point spin and the quadrupolar correlations are short-ranged, in contrast to the zero-field case. We rationalize an effective mass for the quadrupolar correlations in terms of a coarse-grained theory with fluctuating effective charge degrees of freedom. Finally, we show that weak site-dilution does not change the magnetization within the spin liquid -- a kind of "perfect" compensation of the site dilution.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2026

q-Gaussian Crossover in Overlap Spectra towards 3D Edwards-Anderson Criticality

We introduce a spectral approach to characterizing the three-dimensional Edwards-Anderson spin glass. By analyzing the eigenvalue statistics of overlap matrices constructed from two-dimensional cross-sections, we identify a crossover from the Wigner semicircle law at high temperatures towards a Gaussian distribution, which is consistently attained near the spin-glass critical point. Visible for different distributions of the random coupling, the Gaussian distribution can potentially serve as a robust spectral indicator of criticality. Remarkably, the spectral density is well-described by Tsallis statistics, with the entropic index $q$ evolving from $q = -1$ (semicircle, $T=\infty$) to $q = 1$ (Gaussian) at $T_c$, revealing a statistical structure inside the paramagnetic phase. We find $q\le 1$ within numerical precision. While the local level statistics remain consistent with GOE statistics, reflecting standard level repulsion, the temperature dependence appears mainly in the global spectral density. Our results present spectral statistics as a computationally efficient complement to multi-replica correlator methods and provide a new perspective on cooperative and critical phenomena in disordered systems.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2026

Arrested Relaxation in a Disorder-Free Coulomb Spin Liquid

We investigate Coulomb spin liquids in classical spin-3/2 ice and show that the enlarged on-site Hilbert space gives rise to a qualitatively new class of such phases. Beyond the conventional magnetic monopoles of spin-1/2 ice, the system hosts additional low-energy crystal-field excitations, whose interplay with monopoles significantly modifies both equilibrium and non-equilibrium properties. Following a thermal quench, we find a pronounced dynamical arrest manifested in an exponentially long-lived {athermal} plateau in spin autocorrelations. This constitutes a rare example of dynamical arrest in a short-range interacting, disorder-free system. We demonstrate that the arrested dynamics originate from novel composite excitation structures unique to spin-3/2 ice and from kinetically constrained relaxation pathways that require activated processes. Our results establish higher-spin ice as a fertile platform for realising unconventional Coulomb spin liquids and dynamical arrest without quenched disorder.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2026

$q$-state Potts ice

Classical and quantum spin ice arguably provide the simplest route towards spin liquids and their emergent gauge fields. $q-$state Potts ice models have been constructed that generalize spin ice, hosting multiple emergent $\text{U}(1)$ gauge fields and excitations charged under non-trivial combinations of these fields. We present a general treatment of classical $q-$state Potts ices relating their properties to the $\mathfrak{su}(q)$ Lie algebras, and demonstrate how the properties of charged excitations in the classical model can be related to this symmetry group. We also introduce quantum generalizations of the Potts ice models, and demonstrate how charge flavor changing interactions unique to $q>2$ models dominate their low energy physics. We further show how symmetries inherited from the $\mathfrak{su}(q)$ can lead to flux vacuum frustration, greatly modifying the dynamical properties of charged excitations.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2026

How many-body chaos emerges in the presence of quasiparticles

Many-body chaos is a default property of many-body systems; at the same time, near-integrable behaviour due to weakly interacting quasiparticles is ubiquitous throughout condensed matter at low temperature. There must therefore be a, possibly generic, crossover between these very different regimes. Here, we develop a theory encapsulating the notion of a cascade of lightcones seeded by sequences of scattering of weakly interacting harmonic modes as witnessed by a suitably defined chaos diagnostic (classical decorrelator) that measures the spatiotemporal profile of many-body chaos. Our numerics deals with the concrete case of a classical Heisenberg chain, for either sign of the interaction, at low temperatures where the short-time dynamics are well captured in terms of non-interacting spin waves. To model low-temperature dynamics, we use ensembles of initial states with randomly embedded point defects in an otherwise ordered background, which provides a controlled setting for studying the scattering events. The decorrelator exhibits a short-time integrable regime followed by an intermediate `scarred' regime of the cascade of lightcones in progress; these then overlap, leading to an avalanche of scattering events which finally yields the standard long-time signature of many-body chaos.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2025

Hearing the light: stray-field noise from the emergent photon in quantum spin ice

Decisive experimental confirmation of the $U(1)$ quantum spin liquid phase in quantum spin ice remains an outstanding challenge. In this work, we propose stray-field magnetometry as a direct probe of the emergent photons -- the gapless excitation of the emergent electrodynamics in quantum spin ice. The emergent photons are transverse magnetization waves, which, in a finite sample, form discrete modes governed by one of two sets of natural boundary conditions: ``insulating'' or ``superconducting''. Considering cavity and thin film geometries, we find that the spectrum and spatial structure of the stray magnetic noise provide a sharp qualitative signature of the underlying electrodynamics. The predicted stray-field noise power lies comfortably within the detection range of present-day solid-state defect magnetometry.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2025

Floquet Superheating

Periodically driven many-body systems generally heat towards a featureless 'infinite-temperature' state. As an alternative to uniform heating in a clean system, here we establish a Floquet superheating regime, where fast heating nucleates at ''hot spots" generated by rare fluctuations in the local energy with respect to an appropriate effective Hamiltonian. Striking macroscopic consequences include exceptionally long-lived prethermalization and non-ergodic bimodal distributions of macroscopic observables. Superheating is predicated on a heating rate depending strongly on the local fluctuation; in our example, this is supplied by a sharp state-selective spin-echo, where the energy absorption is strongly suppressed for low-energy states, while thermal fluctuations open up excessive heating channels. A simple phenomenological theory is developed to show the existence of a critical droplet size, which incorporates heating by the driving field as well as the heat current out of the droplet. Our results shine light on a new heating mechanism and suggest new routes towards stabilizing non-equilibrium phases of matter in driven systems.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2025

Spinon band flattening by its emergent gauge field in quantum kagome ice

Fractional excitations provide a key to identifying sought-after topological quantum spin liquid states in realistic materials. Their single-particle dynamics already presents a challenging many-body problem on account of the coupling to their emergent gauge field. Here, we study the spinon excitations of kagome ice, realized at the $2/3$ magnetization plateau of spin ice, by combining up-to-$63$-site exact diagonalization with an analytical state graph mapping. We find a macroscopically degenerate mode in the spinon spectrum. It originates from the destructive interference due to the interaction with surrounding gauge fields, a form of many-body caging. We explicitly construct, and count, the concomitant many-body wave functions. Finally, we discuss the possible role of these flat modes in the magnetization process of kagome antiferromagnets, in particular with regard to the asymmetric termination of the kagome ice magnetisation plateau.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2025

Kinetically constrained cavity QED: from blockaded ferromagnetism to long-range quantum scars

Rydberg-cavity systems are emerging as promising platforms for quantum simulation and quantum information processing. These hybrid architectures combine two complementary interaction mechanisms: cavity photons mediate collective long-range couplings, while Rydberg excitations generate strong short-range interactions. Together, they offer a setting for engineering many-body phases characterized by a hierarchy of interactions across widely different length scales. In this work, we introduce a minimal and scalable model for such systems. Focusing on the strong Rydberg blockade regime, we restrict the Hilbert space to the subspace enforced by the blockade, yielding a kinetically constrained long-range model in one spatial dimension. This approach both captures the physics of Rydberg-cavity experiments in the regime of strong Rydberg interactions and provides a conceptually transparent framework for studying the interplay of long-range and short-range interactions. At equilibrium, in addition to paramagnetic and N\'eel-ordered phases, the system supports a blockaded ferromagnetic/superradiant phase, distinct from the conventional superradiant phase. Out of equilibrium, we identify long-range quantum many-body scars, which are atypical nonthermal eigenstates that evade the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis, and giving rise to slow entanglement growth. In contrast to the linear-in-time entanglement growth characteristic of short-range scarred models, these long-range scars exhibit logarithmic entanglement dynamics. Our results establish a minimal yet versatile framework for Rydberg-cavity systems, and provide a stepping stone for future theoretical and experimental studies of this frontier platform in quantum many-body physics.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Spectral Functions of an Extended Antiferromagnetic $S=1/2$ Heisenberg Model on the Triangular Lattice

We study an extended spin-$1/2$ antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model on the triangular lattice, which includes both nearest- and next-nearest-neighbor interactions, as well as a scalar chiral term. This model exhibits a rich phase diagram featuring several competing phases: different quantum spin liquids and various magnetically ordered states, including coplanar $120^\circ$ order, stripe order, and non-coplanar tetrahedral order. We employ large-scale matrix product state simulations optimized for GPUs to obtain high-resolution dynamical responses. Our calculations reveal the spectral features across both ordered and liquid regimes of the phase diagram, which we analyze in comparison with analytical predictions and field-theoretical approaches. We identify unique signatures of the ordered phases in the form of gapless Goldstone modes at the ordering wave vectors. Our results in the $J_1-J_2$ quantum spin-liquid regime are indicative of a $U(1)$ Dirac spin liquid. In the chiral spin-liquid phase, we find signatures of spinons as the fractional excitations of the underlying theory, manifested as the onset of a two-spinon continuum that agrees with predictions from the Kalmeyer-Laughlin ansatz for the ground-state wave function, and collective modes that can be viewed as spinon bound states. We discuss finite-size effects, their consistency with the presumptions from field-theory, and review the dynamical structure factor with regard to experimentally relevant features such as the occurrence of highly dispersive signals and the global distribution of spectral weight.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2025

Phases of Interacting Fibonacci Anyons on a Ladder at Half-Filling

Two-dimensional many-body quantum systems can exhibit topological order and support collective excitations with anyonic statistics different from the usual fermionic or bosonic ones. With the emergence of these exotic point-like particles, it is natural to ask what phases can arise in interacting many-anyon systems. To study this topic, we consider the particular case of Fibonacci anyons subject to an anyonic tight-binding model with nearest-neighbor repulsion on a two-leg ladder. Focusing on the case of half-filling, for low interaction strengths an ``anyonic'' metal is found, whereas for strong repulsion, the anyons form an insulating charge-density wave. Within the latter regime, we introduce an effective one-dimensional model up to sixth order in perturbation theory arising from anyonic superexchange processes. We numerically identify four distinct phases of the effective model, which we characterize using matrix product state methods. These include both the ferro- and antiferromagnetic golden chain phases, as well as phases with $\mathbb{Z}_2$ and incommensurate correlations.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2025

Symmetry re-breaking in an effective theory of quantum coarsening

We present a simple theory accounting for two central observations in a recent experiment on quantum coarsening and collective dynamics on a programmable quantum simulator [T. Manovitz et al., Nature \textbf{638}, 86 (2025)]: an apparent speeding up of the coarsening process as the phase transition is approached; and persistent oscillations of the order parameter after quenches within the ordered phase. Our theory, based on the Hamiltonian structure of the equations of motion in the classical limit of the quantum model, finds a speeding up already deep within the ordered phase, with subsequent slowing down as the domain wall tension vanishes upon approaching the critical line. Further, the oscillations are captured within a mean-field treatment of the order parameter field. For quenches within the ordered phase, small spatially-varying fluctuations in the initial mean-field lead to a remarkable long-time effect, wherein the system dynamically destroys its long-range order and has to coarsen to re-establish it. We term this phenomenon \emph{symmetry re-breaking}, as the resulting late-time magnetization can have a sign opposite to the initial magnetization.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗