Localized Fock space cages in kinetically constrained models

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Authors: Cheryne Jonay, Frank Pollmann
Cited by: 4
References: 43

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