Localized Fock space cages in kinetically constrained models
Abstract
We investigate a mechanism for nonergodic behavior arising from destructive interference in Fock space, leading to (FSCs)—exact zero-energy eigenstates localized on O ( 1 ) to O ( L p ) configurations within an exponentially large connected Krylov sector. Unlike many-body localization or Hilbert space fragmentation, FSCs emerge from graph-theoretic interference cancellations in disorder-free kinetically constrained systems with chiral symmetry. We develop systematic algorithms that enable explicit construction of these cages in four representative models, revealing this as a universal mechanism for kinetically constrained systems with chiral symmetry. Dynamically, FSCs produce persistent plateaus in the Loschmidt echo and magnetization: return probabilities scale as L − 2 for O ( L ) cages and remain O ( 1 ) for ultralocal ones, while the magnetization saturates to O ( 1 ) instead of decaying to zero. This may provide new routes for engineering long-lived nonthermal states in quantum simulation platforms.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Quantum many-body systems
Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates
Topological Materials and Phenomena
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Physical review. B./Physical review. B
- Publisher
- American Physical Society (APS)
- Volume
- 113
- Issue
- 13
- Publication date
- 9 April 2026
- Language
- EN