From Bloch oscillations to many-body localization in clean interacting systems.

In this work we demonstrate that nonrandom mechanisms that lead to single-particle localization may also lead to many-body localization, even in the absence of disorder. In particular, we consider interacting spins and fermions in the presence of a linear potential. In the noninteracting limit, these models show the well-known Wannier-Stark localization. We analyze the fate of this localization in the presence of interactions. Remarkably, we find that beyond a critical value of the potential gradient these models exhibit nonergodic behavior as indicated by their spectral and dynamical properties. These models, therefore, constitute a class of generic nonrandom models that fail to thermalize. As such, they suggest new directions for experimentally exploring and understanding the phenomena of many-body localization. We supplement our work by showing that by using machine-learning techniques the level statistics of a system may be calculated without generating and diagonalizing the Hamiltonian, which allows a generation of large statistics.

Setting Boundaries with Memory: Generation of Topological Boundary States in Floquet-Induced Synthetic Crystals.

When a d-dimensional quantum system is subjected to a periodic drive, it may be treated as a (d+1)-dimensional system, where the extra dimension is a synthetic one. This approach, however, affords only a limited level of control of the effective potential along the synthetic direction. In this work, we introduce a new mean for controlling the Floquet synthetic dimension. We show that arbitrary potentials, as well as edges in the synthetic dimension, could be introduced using a memory component in the system's dynamics. We demonstrate this principle by exploring topological edge states propagating normal to synthetic dimensions. Such systems may act as an optical isolator which allows the transmission of light in a directional way. Also, we suggest an experimental realization of the memory effect in spins coupled to nanofabricated Weyl semimetal surface states.

Coexisting edge states and gapless bulk in topological states of matter.

We consider two-dimensional systems in which edge states coexist with a gapless bulk. Such systems may be constructed, for example, by coupling a gapped two-dimensional state of matter that carries edge states to a gapless two-dimensional system in which the spectrum is composed of a number of Dirac cones. We find that, in the absence of disorder, the edge states could be protected even when the two systems are coupled, due to momentum and energy conservation. We distinguish between weak and strong edge states by the level of their mixing with the bulk. In the presence of disorder, the edge states may be stabilized when the bulk is localized or destabilized when the bulk is metallic. We analyze the conditions under which these two cases occur. Finally, we propose a concrete physical realization for one of our models based on bilayer Hg(Cd)Te quantum wells.

Nonequilibrated counterpropagating edge modes in the fractional quantum Hall regime.

It is well established that density reconstruction at the edge of a two-dimensional electron gas takes place for hole-conjugate states in the fractional quantum Hall effect (such as v=2/3, 3/5, etc.). Such reconstruction leads, after equilibration between counterpropagating edge channels, to a downstream chiral current edge mode accompanied by upstream chiral neutral modes (carrying energy without net charge). Short equilibration length prevented thus far observation of the counterpropagating current channels-the hallmark of density reconstruction. Here, we provide evidence for such nonequilibrated counterpropagating current channels, in short regions (l=4 µm and l=0.4 µm) of fractional filling v=2/3 and, unexpectedly, v=1/3, sandwiched between two regions of integer filling v=1. Rather than a two-terminal fractional conductance, the conductance exhibited a significant ascension towards unity quantum conductance (GQ=e(2)/h) at or near the fractional plateaus. We attribute this conductance rise to the presence of a nonequilibrated channel in the fractional short regions.