Quantum Many-Body Scarring in a Non-Abelian Lattice Gauge Theory

Abstract

Quantum many-body scarring (QMBS) is an intriguing mechanism of ergodicity breaking that has recently spurred significant attention. Particularly prominent in Abelian lattice gauge theories (LGTs), an open question is whether QMBS nontrivially arises in non-Abelian LGTs. Here, we present evidence of robust QMBS in a non-Abelian SU(2) LGT with dynamical matter. Starting in product states that require little experimental overhead, we show that prominent QMBS arises for certain quenches, facilitated through meson and baryon-antibaryon excitations, highlighting its non-Abelian nature. The uncovered scarred dynamics manifests as long-lived coherent oscillations in experimentally accessible local observables as well as prominent revivals in the state fidelity. Our findings bring QMBS to the realm of non-Abelian LGTs, highlighting the intimate connection between scarring and gauge symmetry, and are amenable for observation in a recently proposed trapped-ion qudit quantum computer.