Dephasing-induced diffusive transport in the anisotropic Heisenberg model

Abstract

In this work, we study the transport properties of the anisotropic Heisenberg model in a disordered magnetic field and in the presence of dephasing due to external degrees of freedom. Without dephasing, the model can display, depending on parameter values, the whole range of possible transport regimes: ideal ballistic conduction, diffusive, or ideal insulating behavior. We show that the presence of dephasing induces normal diffusive transport in a wide range of parameters. We also analyze the dependence of spin conductivity on the dephasing strength. In addition, by analyzing the decay of the spin-spin correlation function, we find a long-range order for finite chain sizes. All our results for a one-dimensional spin chain at infinite temperature can be equivalently rephrased for strongly interacting disordered spinless fermions. © IOP Publishing Ltd and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft.