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Genuine quantum scars in many-body spin systems

Author

Listed:
  • Andrea Pizzi

    (University of Cambridge
    Harvard University, Cambridge)

  • Long-Hei Kwan

    (University of Cambridge)

  • Bertrand Evrard

    (Université Paris Cité)

  • Ceren B. Dag

    (Harvard University, Cambridge
    Indiana University, Bloomington
    Harvard & Smithsonian, Cambridge)

  • Johannes Knolle

    (Technische Universität München TQM
    Munich Center for Quantum Science and Technology (MCQST)
    Imperial College London)

Abstract

Chaos makes isolated systems of many interacting particles quickly thermalize and forget about their past. Here, we show that quantum mechanics hinders chaos in many-body systems: although the quantum eigenstates are thermal and strongly entangled, exponentially many of them are scarred, that is, have an enlarged weight along underlying classical unstable periodic orbits. Scarring makes the system more likely to be found on an orbit it was initialized on, retaining a memory of its past and thus weakly breaking ergodicity, even at long times and despite the system being fully thermal and the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis fulfilled. We demonstrate the ubiquity of quantum scarring in many-body systems by considering a large family of spin models, including some of the most popular ones from condensed matter physics. Our findings, at hand for modern quantum simulators, prove structure in spite of chaos in many-body quantum systems.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrea Pizzi & Long-Hei Kwan & Bertrand Evrard & Ceren B. Dag & Johannes Knolle, 2025. "Genuine quantum scars in many-body spin systems," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-7, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-61765-3
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-61765-3
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