title: Thermalization of a strongly interacting closed spin system: from coherent many-body dynamics to a Fokker-Planck equation.
abstract: Thermalization has been shown to occur in a number of closed quantum many-body systems, but the description of the actual thermalization dynamics is prohibitively complex. Here, we present a model-in one and two dimensions-for which we can analytically show that the evolution into thermal equilibrium is governed by a Fokker-Planck equation derived from the underlying quantum dynamics. Our approach does not rely on a formal distinction of weakly coupled bath and system degrees of freedom. The results show that transitions within narrow energy shells lead to a dynamics which is dominated by entropy and establishes detailed balance conditions that determine both the eventual equilibrium state and the nonequilibrium relaxation to it.
authors.affiliation: School of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ates
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Garrahan
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Lesanovsky