Diffusion and Ballistic Transport in One-Dimensional Quantum Systems
Abstract
It has been conjectured that transport in integrable one-dimensional systems is necessarily ballistic. The large diffusive response seen experimentally in nearly ideal realizations of the S=1/2 1D Heisenberg model is therefore puzzling and has not been explained so far. Here, we show that, contrary to common belief, diffusion is universally present in interacting 1D systems subject to a periodic lattice potential. We present a parameter-free formula for the spin-lattice relaxation rate which is in excellent agreement with experiment. Furthermore, we calculate the current decay directly in the thermodynamic limit using a time-dependent density matrix renormalization group algorithm and show that an anomalously large time scale exists even at high temperatures.
- Publication:
-
Physical Review Letters
- Pub Date:
- November 2009
- DOI:
- 10.1103/PhysRevLett.103.216602
- arXiv:
- arXiv:0906.1978
- Bibcode:
- 2009PhRvL.103u6602S
- Keywords:
-
- 72.10.-d;
- 05.10.Cc;
- 05.60.Gg;
- 75.40.Gb;
- Theory of electronic transport;
- scattering mechanisms;
- Renormalization group methods;
- Quantum transport;
- Dynamic properties;
- Condensed Matter - Strongly Correlated Electrons
- E-Print:
- 4 pages, published version