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Fractionalized prethermalization in the one-dimensional Hubbard model

Anton Romen1,2, Johannes Knolle1,2,3, and Michael Knap1,2

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Phys. Rev. B 112, 195124 – Published 20 November, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/qlky-lzx6

Abstract

Prethermalization phenomena in driven systems are generally understood via a local Floquet Hamiltonian obtained from a high-frequency expansion. Remarkably, recently it has been shown that a driven Kitaev spin liquid with fractionalized excitations can realize a quasistationary state that is not captured by this paradigm. Instead distinct types of fractionalized excitations are characterized by vastly different temperatures—a phenomenon dubbed fractionalized prethermalization. In our work, we analyze fractionalized prethermalization in a driven one-dimensional Hubbard model at strong coupling which hosts spin-charge fractionalization. At intermediate frequencies quasisteady states emerge which are characterized by a low spin and high charge temperature with lifetimes set by two competing processes: the lifetime of the quasiparticles determined by Fermi's Golden rule and the exponentially long lifetime of a Floquet prethermal plateau. We classify drives into three categories, each giving rise to distinct (fractional) prethermalization dynamics. Resorting to a time-dependent variant of the Schrieffer-Wolff transformation, we systematically analyze how these drive categories are linked to the underlying driven Hubbard model, thereby providing a general understanding of the emergent thermalization dynamics. We discuss routes toward an experimental realization of this phenomenon in quantum simulation platforms.

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Phys. Rev. B 112, 195124– Published 20 November, 2025
  • Received 13 February 2025
  • Revised 13 October 2025
  • Accepted 15 October 2025
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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