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I am a condensed matter theorist working primarily on various aspects of quantum dynamics. Most of my work lies at the interface of non-equilibrium condensed matter physics, statistical mechanics and quantum information. Some of my recent research interests include: thermalization, hydrodynamics, non-equilibrium steady states, anomalous transport, quantum entanglement, tensor networks, measurement-induced transitions, open quantum systems, many-body localization, disordered and quasiperiodic systems, driven quantum systems,  topological phases of matter and topological phase transitions.

For more details, please have a look at my research interests and publications. If you are interested in working with me, see my contact information below.

I am an Associate Professor in the Physics Department at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Prior to this, I was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Lawrence Berkeley National laboratory (2013-2017), working in the Condensed Matter Theory Center at the University of California, Berkeley in Joel Moore’s group.  I obtained my PhD at IPhT (CEA, Saclay) and LPTENS (ENS, Paris) under the supervision of Hubert Saleur and Jesper Jacobsen.

NEWS

2024

  • Experimental study led by Utkarsh and Javier of measurement-induced  “charge sharpening” transitions in a trapped ions quantum processor published in PRX! Read here.  
  • Experimental collaboration with Monika Aidelsburger and Immanuel Bloch’s groups on the emergence of fluctuating hydrodynamics in many-body quantum systems published in Nature Physics! Read here. 
  • I am co-organizing a Simons Center for Geometry and Physics conference in December, on quantum information dynamics and non-equilibrium quantum matter, together with Meng Cheng, Chao-Ming Jian, Nathanan Tantivasadakarn and Dominic Williamson!  
  • I am co-organizing a KITP workshop on “Learning the fine structure of quantum dynamics in programmable quantum matter“, together with Wen Wei Ho, Matteo Ippoliti, and Joaquin Rodriguez Nieva, to be held in October 2025. Please apply if you’re interested!   
  • Hans’s work on tuning superdiffusion in integrable spin chains using correlated initial states published in PRL, read here!
  • Catherine’s first paper on the slow crossover to diffusion in isotropic spin chains out on arxiv!
  • Please apply to the Les Houches workshop novel emergent phenomena in quantum many-body dynamics that I am co-organizing with Jacopo De Nardis, Jérôme Dubai and Katja Klobas! 
  • Abhishek’s first paper on the boundary spectrum of measurement-induced phase transitions out in PRB, read here!

2023

  • Our semiclassical theory of nonlinear response published in PRL, read here. 
  • Ewan’s paper on full counting statistics of charge in many-body quantum systems published in PRL, read here!
  • Nonlinear fluctuating hydrodynamics for KPZ scaling in isotropic spin chains published in PRL, read here.
  • Observing quantum measurement collapse as a learnability phase transition in a trapped-ion quantum processor out on arxiv!  
  • Abhishek’s first paper in the group on the boundary spectrum of measurement-induced phase transitions, read here! 
  • I am giving lectures on measurement-induced phase transitions at the Boulder Summer school on non equilibrium quantum dynamics this week! Check out the lecture notes and videos here.
  • New paper probing how fluctuating hydrodynamics emerges using quantum microscopy posted on arXiv! 
  • Javier’s work on noisy hard rods published in PRL (see here)!
  • Congratulations to Catherine on being awarded an NSF graduate research fellowship! 
  • Can many-body quantum systems have a Drude peak at finite frequency? See Hans’ work in PRL here! 

2022

  • How much information about the global charge of a system does an observer learn from local charge measurements? Utkarsh and Fergus’s work on learnability transitions published in PRL! read here. 
  • Utkarsh and collaborators’ work on charge-sharpening transition published in PRX! read here. 
  • Book chapter on “Entanglement dynamics in hybrid quantum circuits” with Drew Potter (UBC) published in book “Entanglement in spin chains, from theory to quantum technology applications“. 
  • Effective field theory approach to measurement-induced charge-sharpening phase transitions (with Fergus and Utkarsh) published in PRL. Read here. 
  • Congratulations to Utkarsh for graduating and for joining KITP as a postdoctoral fellow! (See Utkarsh’s interview here.)
  • Our paper with Brayden on Subdiffusive hydrodynamics in near-integrable anisotropic spin chains published in PNAS!  Read here. 
  • Dynamical topological phase realized in trapped-ion quantum simulator published in Nature, read here! In collaboration with A.C. Potter’s group at UBC, Philipp Dumitrescu and the Quantinuum team. 
  • Our 2015 paper on the MBL transition was highlighted in a Physics article “PRX — Ten years after“
  • Operator spectrum and multifractality of measurement-induced transitions published in PRL and highlighted as a PRL editors’ suggestion! Read here. 
  • Special issue of JSTAT on emergent hydrodynamics in integrable many-body systems: see here

2021

  • Hans, Brayden and Aaron’s paper on subdiffusion and chaos with constraints published in PRL! Read here. 
  • ESI Workshop: I am co-organizing a workshop on “Topology, Disorder and Hydrodynamics in Non-equilibrium Quantum Matter” at the Erwin Shrödinger Institute in Vienna, from Nov 29 to Dec 23, 2021, together with Maksym Serbyn (IST Austria) and Jörg Schmiedmayer (TU Vienna), moved to an online event due to covid. 
  • Joint work with Sid Parameswaran’s group in Oxford on Hydrodynamic nonlinear response of integrable systems published in PNAS! (read here)
  • Brayden has moved to NIST/JQI at the University of Maryland. Fergus Barratt joined the group as a new postdoc! 
  • Paper with Brayden and collaborators on the stability of superdiffusion published in PRL and selected as a PRL editors’ suggestion! (read here)
  • Our paper with Brayden on superuniversality of superdiffusion published in PRX! (read here)
  • New collaborative NSF grant with Sarang Gopalakrishnan (Penn State) on “Quantum criticality, localization and dynamics in quasiperiodic systems“!
  • Hans’ first paper on the quasiperiodic MBL transition out in PRB! (read here)
  • Paper from Carlos (previously UMass grad student working primarily on soft matter problems, now postdoc in Dresden) et al selected as PRB editors’ suggestion. (read here)
  • Javier and Brayden’s paper on the hydrodynamics of non-integrable systems from a relaxation time approximation was selected as PRB editors’ suggestion. (read here)
  • Hans’ first paper on the quasiperiodic many-body localization transition out on arXiv!
  • Brayden and I wrote a New & Views piece in Nature Physics on dynamical transitions induced by competing quantum measurements, highlighting this very nice paper from Maissam Barkeshli’s group. (read here)

2020

  • Utkarsh’s work on 2D quasiperiodic quantum critical points published in PRL! (read here)
  • I was awarded a AFOSR Young Investigator Program (YIP) grant! (see UMass press release here)
  • Superdiffusion in the Hubbard model selected as a PRB editors’ suggestion. (link)
  • Our work on superdiffusive transport from emergent classical soft solitons was published in PRL (read here)
  • MPIPKS Virtual Workshop: I am co-organizing a virtual workshop on “Dynamics, criticality and universality in random quantum circuits” hosted by the Max Planck institute in Dresden, from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2, 2020; together with Michael Gullans (Princeton), Jed Pixley (Rutgers) and Justin Wilson (Rutgers). Apply here! Download the poster here.
  • Utkarsh and Brayden’s paper on anomalous low-frequency conductivity in XXZ spin chains selected as PRB editors’ suggestion. (link)
  • Javier’s paper on the hydrodynamics of integrability breaking on arxiv!
  • ICTP Virtual Conference: I am co-organizing a virtual conference on “Emergent Hydrodynamics in Integrable Quantum Many-body Systems and Beyond” at ICTP Trieste, on June 8, 10 and 12, 2020, together with Bruno Bertini (University of Ljubljana), Benjamin Doyon (King’s College London) and Marcello Dalmonte (local organizer). Apply here! Download the poster here.
  • Utkarsh’s paper on quantum criticality in quasiperiodic spin chains published in Nature Communications! (link)
  • Javier’s first paper with Brayden and I on entanglement transitions posted on arxiv!
  • Measurement-induced entanglement transition highlighted as a PRB editors’ suggestion. (link)
  • ESI Workshop: I am co-organizing a workshop on “Topology, Disorder and Hydrodynamics in Non-equilibrium Quantum Matter” at the Erwin Shrödinger Institute in Vienna, from April 20 to 24, 2020, together with Maksym Serbyn (IST Austria) and Jörg Schmiedmayer (TU Vienna).  Download the poster here! (Cancelled/postponed due to Covid-19 pandemic)

2019

  • Aaron’s paper on exactly solvable interacting Floquet-Thouless pumps in published in PRL! (link)
  • Entanglement transitions at the “holographic” boundary of random tensor networks highlighted as a PRB editors’ suggestion. (link)
  • Theory of the measurement-induced entanglement transition in chaotic 1d quantum systems: read here.
  • Utkarsh’s work providing a general RG approach to quasiperiodic spin chains posted on arxiv (link)
  • Brayden’s paper with Sarang Gopalakrishnan and I on the high temperature spin structure factor of XXZ spin chains in PNAS! (link)
  • Topologically protected long edge coherence times in symmetry-broken phases published in PRL (link)
  • Congratulations to Javier on getting a distinguished teaching award! (link)
  • My paper with Sarang Gopalakrishnan on spin diffusion and superdiffusion in XXZ spin chains published in PRL! (link)
  • Utkarsh’s first paper at UMass on hydrodynamics and anomalous relaxation in integrable random spin chains posted on arxiv! (link)
  • I got a Sloan Research Fellowship! See press releases here and there.
  • KT-like renormalization group scaling theory of the many-body localization published in PRL (link)

2018

  • I was awarded a DOE Early Career Award! See the press releases here and there.
  • Our paper on Floquet Quantum Criticality accepted at PNAS! (read here)
  • KITP program: I am co-organizing a KITP program on the Dynamics of Quantum Information in Summer/Fall 2018, together with Rahul Nandkishore (CU Boulder), Sid Parameswaran (Oxford), and Marcos Rigol (Penn State). Watch the talks online here.
  • Our paper on gapless symmetry-protected topological order was published in PRX! (link)

Contact info:

Department of Physics, Hasbrouck Laboratory University of Massachusetts Amherst, MA 01003-9337 USA Office: 405A Hasbrouck email: rvasseur [at] umass [dot] edu

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