Many-body quantum dynamics of initially trapped systems due to a Stark potential --- thermalization vs. Bloch oscillations

Abstract

We analyze the dynamics of an initially trapped cloud of interacting quantum particles on a lattice under a linear (Stark) potential. We reveal a dichotomy: initially trapped interacting systems possess features typical of both many-body-localized and self-thermalizing systems. We consider both fermions ($t$-$V$ model) and bosons (Bose-Hubbard model). For the zero and infinite interaction limits, both systems are integrable: we provide analytic solutions in terms of the moments of the initial cloud shape, and clarify how the recurrent dynamics (many-body Bloch oscillations) depends on the initial state. Away from the integrable points, we identify and explain the time scale at which Bloch oscillations decohere.