Condensed Matter Seminar:Resonant Thermalization in Periodically Driven Strongly Correlated Electrons

Abstract:

We study the dynamics of the fermionic Hubbard model under a periodic modulation of the interaction around a finite positive value. Using nonequilibrium Dynamical Mean Field Theory we find, for moderate interactions, clear evidence of thermalization of local observables to a genuine infinite temperature state with no residual oscillations. 

Quite differently, in the strongly correlated Mott regime the system remains trapped in a quasistationary state which is syncrhonized with the drive and extremely long lived. The nature of this Floquet prethermal state dramatically changes upon tuning the drive frequency. In particular we show the existence of critical frequency at which the system rapidly thermalize despite the strong interactions, an example of a dynamical transition with drive-assisted thermalization. 

Interestingly for drive frequencies above the critical one prethermalization emerges again, but the system effective thermalize to a negative temperature and a population inversion takes place. We provide analtycal understanding of these rich DMFT results using a Floquet Schrieffer-Wolff transformation.

Event Organizer: Prof. Eran Sela