Out-of-equilibrium quantum dynamics of fermionic gases in the presence of localized particle loss

Abstract

We address the effects of dissipative defects giving rise to a localized particle loss, in one-dimensional non-interacting lattice fermionic gases confined within a region of size $\ell$. We consider homogeneous systems within hard walls and inhomogeneous systems where the particles are trapped by space-dependent external potentials, such as harmonic traps. We model the dissipative particle-decay mechanism by Lindblad master equations governing the time evolution of the density matrix. The resulting quantum dynamics is analyzed in protocols starting from the ground state of the Hamiltonian for $N_0$ particles, then evolving under the effect of one dissipative particle-loss defect, for example at the center of the system. We study the interplay between time, size $\ell$ and the number $N_0$ of initial particles, considering two different situations: (i) fixed number $N_0$ of initial particles; (ii) fixed ratio $N_0/\ell$, corresponding to the thermodynamic limit of the initial equilibrium state. We show that the quantum evolutions of the particle number and density develop various asymptotic and intermediate dynamic regimes, and nontrivial large-time states when the dissipative mechanism acts at the center of the system.