Relaxation in dipolar spin ladders: from pair production to false-vacuum decay

• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2311.18091
• Publication Date: 2023-01-01
• Authors: G. A. Domínguez‐C...; Thomas Bilitewski; David Wellnitz; Ana María Rey; L. Santos
• Keywords: Metastability; Magnetism

Ultracold dipolar particles pinned in optical lattices or tweezers provide an excellent platform for studying out-of-equilibrium quantum magnetism with dipole-mediated couplings. Starting initial state spins of opposite orientation each the legs a ladder lattice, we show that spin relaxation displays unexpected dependence on inter-leg distance and dipole orientation. This intricate dependence, stemming from interplay between intra- interactions, results three distinct dynamical regimes: (i) ergodic, characterized by fast towards equilibrium correlated pairs excitations generated at exponentially rates state; (ii) metastable, which is quasi-localized only decays exceedingly long timescales, resembling false vacuum decay; and, surprisingly, (iii) partially-relaxed, coexisting partial very long-lived quasi-localization. Realizing these intriguing dynamics within reach current state-of-the-art experiments gases.