Many-body quantum dynamics of initially trapped systems due to a stark potential: Thermalization versus Bloch oscillations

© 2020 authors. Published by the American Physical Society. We analyze the dynamics of an initially trapped cloud of interacting quantum particles on a lattice under a linear (Stark) potential. We reveal a dichotomy: Initially trapped interacting systems possess features typical of both many-body-localized and thermalizing systems. We consider both fermions (t-V model) and bosons (Bose-Hubbard model). For the zero and infinite interaction limits, both systems are integrable: We provide analytic solutions in terms of the moments of the initial cloud shape and clarify how the recurrent dynamics (many-body Bloch oscillations) depends on the initial state. Away from the integrable points, we identify and explain the timescale at which Bloch oscillations decohere.