Quantum Transport in Disordered Spin Networks: Emergent Timescales and Competing Pathways

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Nevo, Roi, Min, Brett, Lawrence, Maggie, Segal, Dvira, Bar-Gill, Nir
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Nevo, Roi
Min, Brett
Lawrence, Maggie
Segal, Dvira
Bar-Gill, Nir
author_facet Nevo, Roi
Min, Brett
Lawrence, Maggie
Segal, Dvira
Bar-Gill, Nir
contents Quantum transport in disordered systems poses intriguing fundamental questions about the interplay of disorder, interactions, and decoherence, with important implications for nanoscale energy transfer and quantum information transfer. Here, we investigate the emergence of multiple transport timescales in the dissipative dynamics of a spin impurity coupled to a small, spatially disordered network of spins. Using a two-dimensional tight-binding model with dipolar interactions and local dephasing, we demonstrate that geometric heterogeneity leads to hierarchical coupling strengths and pronounced separation of dynamical timescales. By analyzing different metrics for dynamics, we identify distinct relaxation timescales associated with cluster-level equilibration and global equilibration. A minimal three-site model reveals the physical origin of the longest timescale: strong internal hybridization generates an effective detuning that suppresses transfer to other weakly coupled sites, yielding a parametrically enhanced relaxation time in the weak-dephasing regime. We corroborate this picture with nonequilibrium steady-state transport calculations and simulations of disordered spin configurations, demonstrating orders-of-magnitude slowing of relaxation when hierarchical couplings are present. Our results highlight the central role of geometry and connectivity in spin networks and open quantum systems in general, and provide experimentally relevant predictions for relaxation times in small spin baths.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_08918
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Quantum Transport in Disordered Spin Networks: Emergent Timescales and Competing Pathways
Nevo, Roi
Min, Brett
Lawrence, Maggie
Segal, Dvira
Bar-Gill, Nir
Quantum Physics
Quantum transport in disordered systems poses intriguing fundamental questions about the interplay of disorder, interactions, and decoherence, with important implications for nanoscale energy transfer and quantum information transfer. Here, we investigate the emergence of multiple transport timescales in the dissipative dynamics of a spin impurity coupled to a small, spatially disordered network of spins. Using a two-dimensional tight-binding model with dipolar interactions and local dephasing, we demonstrate that geometric heterogeneity leads to hierarchical coupling strengths and pronounced separation of dynamical timescales. By analyzing different metrics for dynamics, we identify distinct relaxation timescales associated with cluster-level equilibration and global equilibration. A minimal three-site model reveals the physical origin of the longest timescale: strong internal hybridization generates an effective detuning that suppresses transfer to other weakly coupled sites, yielding a parametrically enhanced relaxation time in the weak-dephasing regime. We corroborate this picture with nonequilibrium steady-state transport calculations and simulations of disordered spin configurations, demonstrating orders-of-magnitude slowing of relaxation when hierarchical couplings are present. Our results highlight the central role of geometry and connectivity in spin networks and open quantum systems in general, and provide experimentally relevant predictions for relaxation times in small spin baths.
title Quantum Transport in Disordered Spin Networks: Emergent Timescales and Competing Pathways
topic Quantum Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.08918