Analytic results for a quantum quench from free to hard-core one dimensional bosons

Abstract: It is widely believed that the stationary properties after a quantum quench in integrable systems can be described by a generalized Gibbs ensemble (GGE), even if all the analytical evidence is based on free theories in which the pre- and post-quench modes are linearly related. In contrast, we consider the experimentally relevant quench of the one-dimensional Bose gas from zero to infinite interaction, in which the relation between modes is nonlinear, and consequently Wick's theorem does not hold. We provide exact analytical results for the time evolution of the dynamical density-density correlation function at any time after the quench and we prove that its stationary value is described by a GGE in which Wick's theorem is restored.