Discovery of Quantum Many-Body Scars in High-Spin Gauge Theories

Recent research has identified the presence of Quantum Many-Body Scars in 2+1D Abelian gauge theories, specifically for systems with arbitrary integer spin. These quantum scars are significant because they prevent thermalization from certain initial states over time, a phenomenon that has been observed in various quantum many-body systems, including spin-1/2 quantum link models.

The authors, Thea Budde, Marina Krstić Marinković, and Joao C. Pinto Barros, conducted a systematic investigation into pure gauge theories with large integer spin, denoted as $S$. Their findings indicate that the electric field in these systems is limited to $2S+1$ states per link. Through both analytic construction and numerical confirmation, they demonstrated that the existence of scars is widespread in these gauge theories.

The study highlights that existing numerical methods, which typically rely on exact diagonalization, are inadequate for exploring high-spin gauge theories. The authors' analytic approach allows for the identification of scars in regimes that were previously inaccessible, suggesting potential applications in quantum simulation experiments. These findings could guide future research into non-equilibrium phenomena that are otherwise difficult to explore.

This research was documented in the paper titled "Quantum Many-Body Scars for Arbitrary Integer Spin in 2+1D Abelian Gauge Theories," which can be accessed here.