Nonequilibrium quantum relaxation across a localization-delocalization transition

Abstract

We consider the one-dimensional $XX$ model in a quasiperiodic transverse field described by the Harper potential, which is equivalent to a tight-binding model of spinless fermions with a quasiperiodic chemical potential. For weak transverse field (chemical potential), $h<{h}_{c}$, the excitations (fermions) are delocalized, but become localized for $h>{h}_{c}$. We study the nonequilibrium relaxation of the system by applying two protocols: a sudden change of $h$ (quench dynamics) and a slow change of $h$ in time (adiabatic dynamics). For a quench into the delocalized (localized) phase, the entanglement entropy grows linearly (saturates) and the order parameter decreases exponentially (has a finite limiting value). For a critical quench the entropy increases algebraically with time, whereas the order parameter decreases with a stretched exponential. The density of defects after an adiabatic field change through the critical point is shown to scale with a power of the rate of field change and a scaling relation for the exponent is derived.