Ideal quantum glass transitions: many-body localization without quenched disorder

Understand

We explore the possibility for translationally invariant quantum many-body systems to undergo a dynamical glass transition, at which ergodicity and translational invariance break down spontaneously, driven entirely by quantum effects.

• In contrast to analogous classical systems, where the existence of such an ideal glass transition remains a controversial issue, a genuine phase transition is predicted in the quantum regime.
• This ideal quantum glass transition can be regarded as a many-body localization transition due to self-generated disorder.
• Despite their lack of thermalization, these disorder-free quantum glasses do not possess an extensive set of local conserved operators, unlike what is conjectured for many-body localized systems with strong quenched disorder.