Fracton hydrodynamics

Abstract

We introduce new classes of hydrodynamic theories inspired by the recently discovered fracton phases of quantum matter. Fracton phases are characterized by elementary excitations (fractons) with restricted mobility. The hydrodynamic theories we introduce describe thermalization in systems with fractonlike mobility constraints, including fluids where charge and dipole moment are both locally conserved, and fluids where charge is conserved along every line or plane of a lattice. Each of these fluids is subdiffusive and constitutes a new universality class of hydrodynamic behavior. There are infinitely many such classes, each with distinct subdiffusive exponents, all of which are captured by our formalism. Our framework naturally explains recent results on dynamics with constrained quantum circuits, as well as recent experiments with ultracold atoms in tilted optical lattices. We identify crisp experimental signatures of these novel hydrodynamics and explain how they may be realized in near term ultracold atom experiments.