Classical and quantum systems: transport due to rare events

We review possible mechanisms for energy transfer based on 'rare' or 'non-perturbative' effects, in physical systems that present a many-body localized phenomenology. The main focus is on classical systems, with or without quenched disorder. For non-quantum systems, the breakdown of localization is usually not regarded as an issue, and we thus aim at identifying the fastest channels for transport. Next, we contemplate the possibility of applying the same mechanisms in quantum systems, including disorder free systems (e.g. Bose-Hubbard chain), disordered many-body localized systems with mobility edges at energies below the edge, and strongly disordered lattice systems in $d>1$. For quantum mechanical systems, the relevance of these considerations for transport is currently a matter of debate.Comment: Review paper. To appear on the special issue on Many-body Localization in Annalen der Physi

Random walk driven by the simple exclusion process

We prove a strong law of large numbers and an annealed invariance principle for a random walk in a one-dimensional dynamic random environment evolving as the simple exclusion process with jump parameter $\gamma$. First, we establish that if the asymptotic velocity of the walker is non-zero in the limiting case "$\gamma = \infty$", where the environment gets fully refreshed between each step of the walker, then, for $\gamma$ large enough, the walker still has a non-zero asymptotic velocity in the same direction. Second, we establish that if the walker is transient in the limiting case $\gamma = 0$, then, for $\gamma$ small enough but positive, the walker has a non-zero asymptotic velocity in the direction of the transience. These two limiting velocities can sometimes be of opposite sign. In all cases, we show that the fluctuations are normal.Comment: v2 -> v3: Figures and heuristic comments added. Various typos correcte

Asymptotic quantum many-body localization from thermal disorder

We consider a quantum lattice system with infinite-dimensional on-site Hilbert space, very similar to the Bose-Hubbard model. We investigate many-body localization in this model, induced by thermal fluctuations rather than disorder in the Hamiltonian. We provide evidence that the Green-Kubo conductivity $\kappa(\beta)$, defined as the time-integrated current autocorrelation function, decays faster than any polynomial in the inverse temperature $\beta$ as $\beta \to 0$. More precisely, we define approximations $\kappa_{\tau}(\beta)$ to $\kappa(\beta)$ by integrating the current-current autocorrelation function up to a large but finite time $\tau$ and we rigorously show that $\beta^{-n}\kappa_{\beta^{-m}}(\beta)$ vanishes as $\beta \to 0$, for any $n,m \in \mathbb{N}$ such that $m-n$ is sufficiently large.Comment: 53 pages, v1-->v2, revised version accepted in Comm.Math.Phys. We added an extensive outline of proofs, a glossary of symbols and more explanations in Section

Glassy dynamics in strongly anharmonic chains of oscillators

We review the mechanism for transport in strongly anharmonic chains of oscillators near the atomic limit where all oscillators are decoupled. In this regime, the motion of most oscillators remains close to integrable, i.e. quasi-periodic, on very long time scales, while a few chaotic spots move very slowly and redistribute the energy across the system. The material acquires several characteristic properties of dynamical glasses: intermittency, jamming and a drastic reduction of the mobility as a function of the thermodynamical parameters. We consider both classical and quantum systems, though with more emphasis on the former, and we discuss also the connections with quenched disordered systems, which display a similar physics to a large extent.Comment: Review paper. Invited submission to the CRAS (special issue on Fourier's legacy). 16 pages, 3 figure

Asymptotic localization of energy in non-disordered oscillator chains

We study two popular one-dimensional chains of classical anharmonic oscillators: the rotor chain and a version of the discrete non-linear Schr\"odinger chain. We assume that the interaction between neighboring oscillators, controlled by the parameter $\epsilon >0$, is small. We rigorously establish that the thermal conductivity of the chains has a non-perturbative origin, with respect to the coupling constant $\epsilon$, and we provide strong evidence that it decays faster than any power law in $\epsilon$ as $\epsilon \rightarrow 0$. The weak coupling regime also translates into a high temperature regime, suggesting that the conductivity vanishes faster than any power of the inverse temperature.Comment: v1 -> v2: minor corrections, references added. 33 pages, 1 figure. To appear in Comm. Pure Appl. Mat

Energy fluctuations in simple conduction models

We introduce a class of stochastic weakly coupled map lattices, as models for studying heat conduction in solids. Each particle on the lattice evolves according to an internal dynamics that depends on its energy, and exchanges energy with its neighboors at a rate that depends on its internal state. We study energy fluctuations at equilibrium in a diffusive scaling. In some cases, we derive the hydordynamic limit of the fluctuation field.Comment: 18 pages, some formulas and misprints correcte

Exponentially slow heating in periodically driven many-body systems

We derive general bounds on the linear response energy absorption rates of periodically driven many-body systems of spins or fermions on a lattice. We show that for systems with local interactions, energy absorption rate decays exponentially as a function of driving frequency in any number of spatial dimensions. These results imply that topological many-body states in periodically driven systems, although generally metastable, can have very long lifetimes. We discuss applications to other problems, including decay of highly energetic excitations in cold atomic and solid-state systems.Comment: v1 to v2: several typos corrected. 5 page