Nonequilibrium quantum dynamics of many-body systems

Abstract: We review our results for the dynamics of isolated many-body quantum systems described by one-dimensional spin-1/2 models. We explain how the evolution of these systems depends on the initial state and the strength of the perturbation that takes them out of equilibrium; on the Hamiltonian, whether it is integrable or chaotic; and on the onset of multifractal eigenstates that occurs in the vicinity of the transition to a many-body localized phase. We unveil different behaviors at different time scales. We also discuss how information about the spectrum of a many-body quantum system can be extracted by the sole analysis of its time evolution, giving particular attention to the so-called correlation hole. This approach is useful for experiments that routinely study dynamics, but have limited or no direct access to spectroscopy, as experiments with cold atoms and trapped ions.