Quantum Quenches: a probe of many-body quantum dynamics

Abstract:

In a quantum quench, a system is prepared in some state (typically the ground state of an initial hamiltonian) and then evolved coherently with a different hamiltonian, e.g. by instantaneously changing a parameter. Such protocols in many-body systems have recently become
experimentally achievable with ultracold atoms. I shall discuss some of the theoretical approaches to this problem, and in particular discuss whether, and in what sense, such systems thermalize.