Quantum Quenches across the Bose-glass Transition

Abstract

Due to their intrinsic interplay between long-range order and quasi-disorder, quasicrystalline systems provide a rich platform for investigating novel quantum phenomena. Here we study the non-equilibrium dynamics following quantum quenches across the superfluid to Bose-glass transition using ultracold bosons in an optical quasicrystal. Fast quenches into the Bose glass regime induce a quantum walk in momentum space that spreads over increasingly higher momentum orders. Conversely, quenches into the superfluid regime initiate a real-space quantum walk of initially localized atoms, forming a light-cone-like structure bounded by Lieb-Robinson limits. Characteristic timescales reveal strong links to the underlying Hamiltonian and are governed primarily by quasi-disorder strength in the Bose glass phase, and by tunneling strength in the superfluid phase. Finally, we analyze slower quenches into deeper lattices and observe the decay of coherence across the phase transition.