Quantum Thermalization beyond Non-Integrability and Quantum Scars in a Multispecies Bose-Josephson Junction

Abstract

The modern framework for quantum thermalization is grounded in the Eigenstate Thermalization Hypothesis (ETH), in which non-integrability and chaos are historically assumed as prerequisites. This work investigates this relationship in a three-species Bose-Josephson Junction (BJJ) with mutual interactions, experimentally achievable in current ultracold-atom platforms. After a thorough characterization of quantum chaos in this system, we examine the occurrence of thermal behavior expected when ETH holds. We identify three distinct regimes: chaotic, integrable, and separable. Remarkably, quantum thermalization occurs in both the chaotic and integrable regimes, while it breaks down in and near the separable limit - supporting that non-integrability is not a necessary condition for thermalization. Furthermore, since the system exhibits collective phenomena in the semiclassical limit, we identify ergodicity breaking phenomena such as athermal states in the chaotic regime classifiable as quantum scars, which show no signs of thermalization, consistently with a weak form of ETH.