Matteo Marcuzzi
Inspired by previous works on epidemic-like processes in open quantum systems, we derive an elementary quantum epidemic model that is simple enough to be studied via Quantum Jump Monte Carlo simulations at reasonably large system sizes. We…
We consider a model arising in facilitated Rydberg chains with positional disorder which features a Hilbert space with the topology of a $d$-dimensional hypercube. This allows for a straightforward interpretation of the many-body dynamics…
Spin-boson models can describe a variety of physical systems, such as atoms in a cavity or vibrating ion chains. In equilibrium these systems often feature a radical change in their behavior when switching from weak to strong spin-boson…
Spin-boson Hamiltonians are an effective description for numerous quantum many-body systems such as atoms coupled to cavity modes, quantum electrodynamics in circuits and trapped ion systems. While reaching the limit of strong coupling is…
We study a class of spin-$1/2$ quantum ladder models with generalised plaquette interactions in the presence of a transverse field. We show that in certain parameter regimes these models have strong zero modes responsible for the long…
Quantum many-body systems with kinetic constraints exhibit intriguing relaxation dynamics. Recent experimental progress in the field of cold atomic gases offers a handle for probing collective behavior of such systems, in particular for…
We explore the question as to whether quantum effects can yield a speedup of the non-equilibrium evolution of spin systems towards a classical thermal state. In our approach we exploit the fact that the thermal state of a spin system can be…
The most recent manifestation of cold Rydberg atom quantum simulators that employs tailored optical tweezer arrays enables the study of many-body dynamics under so-called facilitation conditions. We show how the facilitation mechanism…
Motivated by recent progress in the experimental manipulation of cold atoms in optical lattices, we study three different protocols for non-adiabatic quantum state preparation and state transport in chains of Rydberg atoms. The protocols we…
Understanding and probing phase transitions in non-equilibrium systems is an ongoing challenge in physics. A particular instance are phase transitions that occur between a non-fluctuating absorbing phase, e.g., an extinct population, and…
We explore the non-equilibrium evolution and stationary states of an open many-body system which displays epidemic spreading dynamics in a classical and a quantum regime. Our study is motivated by recent experiments conducted in strongly…
There are few demonstrated examples of phase transitions that may be driven directly by terahertz-frequency electric fields, and those that are known require field strengths exceeding 1 MVcm$^{-1}$. Here we report a room-temperature phase…
Disordered systems provide paradigmatic instances of ergodicity breaking and localization phenomena. Here we explore the dynamics of excitations in a system of Rydberg atoms held in optical tweezers. The finite temperature produces an…
Phase transitions to absorbing states are among the simplest examples of critical phenomena out of equilibrium. The characteristic feature of these models is the presence of a fluctuationless configuration which the dynamics cannot leave,…
The theory of continuous phase transitions predicts the universal collective properties of a physical system near a critical point, which for instance manifest in characteristic power-law behaviours of physical observables. The…
Recent breakthroughs in the experimental manipulation of strongly interacting atomic Rydberg gases in lattice potentials have opened a new avenue for the study of many-body phenomena. Considerable efforts are currently being undertaken to…
We revisit here the problem of the collective non-equilibrium dynamics of a classical statistical system at a critical point and in the presence of surfaces. The effects of breaking separately space- and time-translational invariance are…
The response of physical systems to external perturbations can be used to probe both their equilibrium and non-equilibrium dynamics. While response and correlation functions are related in equilibrium by fluctuation-dissipation theorems,…
We study the dynamics of a quantum Ising chain after the sudden introduction of a non-integrable long-range interaction. Via an exact mapping onto a fully-connected lattice of hard-core bosons, we show that a pre-thermal state emerges and…
Symmetries represent a fundamental constraint for physical systems and relevant new phenomena often emerge as a consequence of their breaking. An important example is provided by space- and time-translational invariance in statistical…