Abstract
We study a quantum quench in a system of two coupled one-dimensional tubes of interacting atoms. After the quench the system is out of equilibrium and oscillates between the tubes with a frequency determined by microscopic parameters. Despite the high energy at which the system is prepared we find an emergent long time scale responsible for the dephasing of the oscillations and a transition at which this time scale diverges. We show that the universal properties of the dephasing and the transition arise from an infrared orthogonality catastrophe. Furthermore, we show how this universal behavior is realized in a realistic model of fermions with attractive interactions.
- Received 3 July 2009
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.103.160402
©2009 American Physical Society