Thermalization in a simple spin-chain model
Statistical Mechanics
2025-02-27 v1
Abstract
We consider the common spin-1/2 XX-model in one dimension with open boundary conditions and a large but finite number of spins. The system is in thermal equilibrium at times t<0, and is subject to a weak local perturbation (quantum quench) at t=0. Focusing mainly on single-spin perturbations and observables, we show that the system re-thermalizes for sufficiently large times t>0 without invoking any unproven assumptions besides the basic laws of quantum mechanics. Moreover, the time-dependent relaxation behavior is obtained in quantitative detail and is found to exhibit a wealth of interesting features.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2502.19228,
title = {Thermalization in a simple spin-chain model},
author = {Peter Reimann and Christian Eidecker-Dunkel},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2502.19228},
year = {2025}
}