Quench-induced delocalization

Abstract

We consider the evolution of an initially localized wave packet after a sudden change in the Hamiltonian, i.e.\ a quench. When both bound and scattering eigenstates exist in the post-quench Hamiltonian, one might expect partial delocalization of the wave packet to ensue. Here we show that if the quench consists of a sudden switching-off of short-range inter-particle interactions, then Tan's universal relations guarantee delocalization through the high-momentum tail of the momentum distribution. Furthermore, we consider the influence of the range of the interaction and show how a finite range alters the coupling to highly excited states. We illustrate our results using numerical simulations of externally trapped particles in one dimension. If the external potential is both disordered and correlated, then the interaction quench leads to transport via delocalized states, showing that localization in disordered systems is sensitive to non-adiabatic changes in the interactions between particles.