Chaos, thermalization and breakdown of quantum-classical correspondence in a collective many-body system

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Corps, Ángel L., Gómez, Sebastián, Stránský, Pavel, Relaño, Armando, Cejnar, Pavel
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Corps, Ángel L.
Gómez, Sebastián
Stránský, Pavel
Relaño, Armando
Cejnar, Pavel
author_facet Corps, Ángel L.
Gómez, Sebastián
Stránský, Pavel
Relaño, Armando
Cejnar, Pavel
contents We investigate thermalization and the quantum-classical correspondence in the collective Bose-Hubbard model, focusing on the four-site case. Our analysis of the classical phase-space structure and its excited-state quantum phase transitions leads us to three dynamical regimes: symmetry-breaking low-energy states, an intermediate region where quantum and classical equilibrium states markedly disagree, and a high-energy regime with restored correspondence. The observed classical intermittency above the first excited-state quantum phase transition contrasts with quantum dynamics, which remains trapped in symmetry-breaking sectors despite the existence of a classically connected phase. This mismatch originates from the population of imbalance-carrying eigenstates and persists even for relatively large number of particles. Our results reveal unexpectedly slow convergence to the classical limit, signaling robust finite-size effects in collective many-body dynamics.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_05627
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Chaos, thermalization and breakdown of quantum-classical correspondence in a collective many-body system
Corps, Ángel L.
Gómez, Sebastián
Stránský, Pavel
Relaño, Armando
Cejnar, Pavel
Quantum Physics
Statistical Mechanics
We investigate thermalization and the quantum-classical correspondence in the collective Bose-Hubbard model, focusing on the four-site case. Our analysis of the classical phase-space structure and its excited-state quantum phase transitions leads us to three dynamical regimes: symmetry-breaking low-energy states, an intermediate region where quantum and classical equilibrium states markedly disagree, and a high-energy regime with restored correspondence. The observed classical intermittency above the first excited-state quantum phase transition contrasts with quantum dynamics, which remains trapped in symmetry-breaking sectors despite the existence of a classically connected phase. This mismatch originates from the population of imbalance-carrying eigenstates and persists even for relatively large number of particles. Our results reveal unexpectedly slow convergence to the classical limit, signaling robust finite-size effects in collective many-body dynamics.
title Chaos, thermalization and breakdown of quantum-classical correspondence in a collective many-body system
topic Quantum Physics
Statistical Mechanics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.05627