arXiv subjects

S. Flach

Publications and source records attributed to S. Flach.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2023

The egg steamer paradox

Why do we need to pour less water in an egg steamer to prepare more eggs to the same degree of doneness? We discuss the physical processes at work in the electric egg steamer and resolve this seeming paradox. We demonstrate that the main heat transfer mechanism from steam to egg is due to latent heat through condensation. This not only explains the paradox, but also allows us to estimate the amount of water reduction. Comparing the preparation time to the one for traditional boiling, we estimate the eggshell temperature during steaming. We also describe the device design and provide further theoretical estimates and experimental kitchen measurement data for this appealing kitchen experiment that can be easily accomplished at home.

physics.ed-ph↗

arXiv2023

Conductance transition with interacting bosons in an Aharonov-Bohm cage

We study transport of interacting bosons through an Aharonov-Bohm cage - a building block of flat band networks - with coherent pump and sink leads. In the absence of interactions the cage is insulating due to destructive interference. We find that the cage stays insulating up to a critical value of the pump strength in the presence of mean field interactions, while the quantum regime induces particle pair transport and weak conductance below the critical pump strength. A swift crossover from quantum into the classical regime upon further pump strength increase is observed. We solve the time dependent master equations for the density matrix of the many body problem both in the classical, pure quantum, and pseudoclassical regimes. We start with an empty cage and switch on driving. We characterize the transient dynamics, and the complexity of the resulting steady states and attractors. Our results can be readily realized using experimental platforms involving interacting ultracold atoms and photons on finetuned optical lattices.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Heat percolation in many-body flatband localizing systems

Translationally invariant finetuned single-particle lattice Hamiltonians host flat bands only. Suitable short-range many-body interactions result in complete suppression of particle transport due to local constraints and Many-Body Flatband Localization. Heat can still flow between spatially locked charges. We show that heat transport is forbidden in dimension one. In higher dimensions heat transport can be unlocked by tuning filling fractions across a percolation transition for suitable lattice geometries. Transport in percolation clusters is additionally affected by effective bulk disorder and edge scattering induced by the local constraints, which work in favor of arresting the heat flow. We discuss explicit examples in one and two dimensions.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2020

Time molecules with periodically driven interacting qubits

We provide numerical evidence for a temporal quantum-mechanical interference phenomenon: time molecules (TM). A variety of such stroboscopic states are observed in the dynamics of two interacting qubits subject to a periodic sequence of $\pi$-pulses with the period $T$. The TMs appear periodically in time and have a large duration, $\delta t_\mathrm{TM} \gg T$. All TMs demonstrate an almost zero value of the total polarization and a strong enhancement of the entanglement entropy $S$ up to the maximum value $S=\ln 2$ of a corresponding Bell state. The TMs are generated by the commensurability of the Floquet eigenvalues and the presence of maximally entangled Floquet eigenstates. The TMs remain stable with detuned system parameters and with an increased number of qubits. The TMs can be observed in microwave experiments with an array of superconducting qubits.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2020

Spectral Magnetization Ratchets with Discrete Time Quantum Walks

We predict and theoretically study in detail the ratchet effect for the spectral magnetization of periodic discrete time quantum walks (DTQWs) --- a repetition of a sequence of $m$ different DTQWs. These generalized DTQWs are achieved by varying the corresponding coin operator parameters periodically with discrete time. We consider periods $m=1,2,3$. The dynamics of $m$-periodic DTQWs is characterized by a two-band dispersion relation $\omega^{(m)}_{\pm}(k)$, where $k$ is the wave vector. We identify a generalized parity symmetry of $m$-periodic DTQWs. The symmetry can be broken for $m=2,3$ by proper choices of the coin operator parameters. The obtained symmetry breaking results in a ratchet effect, i.e. the appearance of a nonzero spectral magnetization $M_s(\omega)$. This ratchet effect can be observed in the framework of continuous quantum measurements of the time-dependent correlation function of periodic DTQWs.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

Almost compact moving breathers with fine-tuned discrete time quantum walks

Discrete time quantum walks are unitary maps defined on the Hilbert space of coupled two-level systems. We study the dynamics of excitations in a nonlinear discrete time quantum walk, whose fine-tuned linear counterpart has a flat band structure. The linear counterpart is, therefore, lacking transport, with exact solutions being compactly localized. A solitary entity of the nonlinear walk moving at velocity $v$ would therefore not suffer from resonances with small amplitude plane waves with identical phase velocity, due to the absence of the latter. That solitary excitation would also have to be localized stronger than exponential, due to the absence of a linear dispersion. We report on the existence of a set of stationary and moving breathers with almost compact superexponential spatial tails. At the limit of the largest velocity $v=1$ the moving breather turns into a completely compact bullet.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2018

Excitation of localized condensates in the flat band of exciton-polariton Lieb lattice

We propose a way to directly excite compact localized condensates in a nearly flat band of the exciton-polariton Lieb lattice by short Laguerre-Gaussian pulses and investigate the dynamics of these condensates in the presence of repulsive polariton-polariton interaction and distributed losses in the lattice. The evolution of a low-density compact polariton condensate shows fast Rabi oscillations between its excitonic and photonic components, with slow beatings of the Rabi oscillation amplitude. Both oscillations and beatings are suppressed at higher condensate densities due to polariton-polariton repulsion and distributed losses in the lattice. A background incoherent pumping can be used to increase the lifetime and stability of compact localized states

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2018

Compact Discrete Breathers on Flat Band Networks

Linear wave equations on flat band networks host compact localized eigenstates (CLS). Nonlinear wave equations on translationally invariant flat band networks can host compact discrete breathers - time periodic and spatially compact localized solutions. Such solutions can appear as one-parameter families of continued linear compact eigenstates, or as discrete sets on families of non-compact discrete breathers, or even on purely dispersive networks with fine-tuned nonlinear dispersion. In all cases, their existence relies on destructive interference. We use CLS amplitude distribution properties and orthogonality conditions to derive existence criteria and stability properties for compact discrete breathers as continued CLS.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2017

Signatures of many-body localization in steady states of open quantum systems

Many-body localization (MBL) is a result of the balance between interference-based Anderson localization and many-body interactions in an ultra-high dimensional Fock space. It is usually expected that dissipation is blurring interference and destroying that balance so that the asymptotic state of a system with an MBL Hamiltonian does not bear localization signatures. We demonstrate, within the framework of the Lindblad formalism, that the system can be brought into a steady state with non-vanishing MBL signatures. We use a set of dissipative operators acting on pairs of connected sites (or spins), and show that the difference between ergodic and MBL Hamiltonians is encoded in the imbalance, entanglement entropy, and level spacing characteristics of the density operator. An MBL system which is exposed to the combined impact of local dephasing and pairwise dissipation evinces localization signatures hitherto absent in the dephasing-outshaped steady state.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2017

Anderson localization in generalized discrete time quantum walks

We study Anderson localization in a generalized discrete time quantum walk - a unitary map related to a Floquet driven quantum lattice. It is controlled by a quantum coin matrix which depends on four angles with the meaning of potential and kinetic energy, and external and internal synthetic flux. Such quantum coins can be engineered with microwave pulses in qubit chains. The ordered case yields a two-band eigenvalue structure on the unit circle which becomes completely flat in the limit of vanishing kinetic energy. Disorder in the external magnetic field does not impact localization. Disorder in all the remaining angles yields Anderson localization. In particular, kinetic energy disorder leads to logarithmic divergence of the localization length at spectral symmetry points. Strong disorder in potential and internal magnetic field energies allows to obtain analytical expressions for spectrally independent localization length which is highly useful for various applications.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2016

Quantum subdiffusion with two- and three-body interactions

We study the dynamics of a few-quantum-particle cloud in the presence of two- and three-body interactions in weakly disordered one-dimensional lattices. The interaction is dramatically enhancing the Anderson localization length $\xi_1$ of noninteracting particles. We launch compact wave packets and show that few-body interactions lead to transient subdiffusion of wave packets, $m_2 \sim t^{\alpha}$, $\alpha<1$, on length scales beyond $\xi_1$. The subdiffusion exponent is independent of the number of particles. Two-body interactions yield $\alpha\approx0.5$ for two and three particles, while three-body interactions decrease it to $\alpha\approx0.2$. The tails of expanding wave packets exhibit exponential localization with a slowly decreasing exponent. We relate our results to subdiffusion in nonlinear random lattices, and to results on restricted diffusion in high-dimensional spaces like e.g. on comb lattices.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2016

Intermittent many-body dynamics at equilibrium

The equilibrium value of an observable defines a manifold in the phase space of an ergodic and equipartitioned many-body system. A typical trajectory pierces that manifold infinitely often as time goes to infinity. We use these piercings to measure both the relaxation time of the lowest frequency eigenmode of the Fermi-Pasta-Ulam chain (FPU), as well as the fluctuations of the subsequent dynamics in equilibrium. The dynamics in equilibrium is characterized by a power-law distribution of excursion times far off equilibrium, with diverging variance. Long excursions arise from sticky dynamics close to q-breathers localized in normal mode space. Measuring the exponent allows to predict the transition into nonergodic dynamics. We generalize our method to Klein-Gordon lattices (KG) where the sticky dynamics is due to discrete breathers localized in real space.

nlin.CD↗

arXiv2016

Nonlinear localized flatband modes with spin-orbit coupling

We report the coexistence and properties of stable compact localized states (CLSs) and discrete solitons (DSs) for nonlinear spinor waves on a flatband network with spin-orbit coupling (SOC). The system can be implemented by means of a binary Bose-Einstein condensate loaded in the corresponding optical lattice. In the linear limit, the SOC opens a minigap between flat and dispersive bands in the system's bandgap structure, and preserves the existence of CLSs at the flatband frequency, simultaneously lowering their symmetry. Adding onsite cubic nonlinearity, the CLSs persist and remain available in an exact analytical form, with frequencies which are smoothly tuned into the minigap. Inside of the minigap, the CLS and DS families are stable in narrow areas adjacent to the FB. Deep inside the semi-infinite gap, both the CLSs and DSs are stable too.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2016

Quasiperiodic driving of Anderson localized waves in one dimension

We consider a quantum particle in a one-dimensional disordered lattice with Anderson localization, in the presence of multi-frequency perturbations of the onsite energies. Using the Floquet representation, we transform the eigenvalue problem into a Wannier-Stark basis. Each frequency component contributes either to a single channel or a multi-channel connectivity along the lattice, depending on the control parameters. The single channel regime is essentially equivalent to the undriven case. The multi-channel driving substantially increases the localization length for slow driving, showing two different scaling regimes of weak and strong driving, yet the localization length stays finite for a finite number of frequency components.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2015

Frequency combs with weakly lasing exciton-polariton condensates

We predict the spontaneous modulated emission from a pair of exciton-polariton condensates due to coherent (Josephson) and dissipative coupling. We show that strong polariton-polariton inter- action generates complex dynamics in the weak-lasing domain way beyond Hopf bifurcations. As a result, the exciton-polariton condensates exhibit self-induced oscillations and emit an equidistant frequency comb light spectrum. A plethora of possible emission spectra with asymmetric peak dis- tributions appears due to spontaneously broken time-reversal symmetry. The lasing dynamics is affected by the shot noise arising from the influx of polaritons. That results in a complex inhomo- geneous line broadening.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2014

Nonlinear lattice waves in heterogeneous media

We review recent progress in the dynamics of nonlinear lattice waves in heterogeneous media, which enforce complete wave localization in the linear wave equation limit, especially Anderson localization for random potentials, and Aubry-Andre localization for quasiperiodic potentials. Additional nonlinear terms in the wave equations can either preserve the phase-coherent localization of waves, or destroy it through nonintegrability and deterministic chaos. Spreading wave packets are observed to show universal features in their dynamics which are related to properties of nonlinear diffusion equations.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2014

Interaction-induced connectivity of disordered two-particle states

We study the interaction-induced connectivity in the Fock space of two particles in a disordered one-dimensional potential. Recent computational studies showed that the largest localization length $ξ_2$ of two interacting particles in a weakly random tight binding chain is increasing unexpectedly slow relative to the single particle localization length $ξ_1$, questioning previous scaling estimates. We show this to be a consequence of the approximate restoring of momentum conservation of weakly localized single particle eigenstates, and disorder-induced phase shifts for partially overlapping states. The leading resonant links appear among states which share the same energy and momentum. We substantiate our analytical approach by computational studies for up to $ξ_1 = 1000$. A potential nontrivial scaling regime sets in for $ ξ_1 \approx 400$, way beyond all previous numerical attacks.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2014

Approximating Metal-Insulator Transitions

We consider quantum wave propagation in one-dimensional quasiperiodic lattices. We propose an iterative construction of quasiperiodic potentials from sequences of potentials with increasing spatial period. At each finite iteration step the eigenstates reflect the properties of the limiting quasiperiodic potential properties up to a controlled maximum system size. We then observe approximate metal-insulator transitions (MIT) at the finite iteration steps. We also report evidence on mobility edges which are at variance to the celebrated Aubry-Andre model. The dynamics near the MIT shows a critical slowing down of the ballistic group velocity in the metallic phase similar to the divergence of the localization length in the insulating phase.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗