Quantum BC Seminar Series – Dr. Malcolm Kennett

Quantum BC Seminar Series Tuesday, October 14, 2025 at 2pm BC Time

Speaker: Dr. Malcolm Kennett from Simon Fraser University

Join on Zoom: https://ubc.zoom.us/j/69443327772?pwd=TGhhTXFIQ3ZiUmNrN0pUa3FObTNydz09

Meeting ID: 694 4332 7772 Passcode: 996727

Join in Person At SFU Burnaby: SCP 8445.2

Seminar Title: Out of equilibrium dynamics and information spreading in the Bose Hubbard model

Seminar Abstract: The Bose-Hubbard model (BHM) is the simplest model of interacting bosons on a lattice and  can be realized with ultra-cold

atoms in an optical lattice.   As the ratio of interactions to hopping are tuned in the model there is a quantum phase transition

between a superfluid and an insulating phase that has been observed experimentally.  Out of equilibrium phenomena in the

BHM, such as the spreading of correlations, thermalization and many-body localization have attracted considerable interest in recent years.   While dynamics in one dimension can be solved essentially exactly, approximate methods are required in higher dimensions.  This has opened up the suggestion of using cold bosons in an optical lattice as a quantum simulator. We have developed a strong coupling approach that allows us to access out of equilibrium phenomena in dimensions higher than one.  I will survey results that we have obtained with this method which include: i) investigating the spreading of correlations in one, two and three dimensions and comparing to experimental results; ii) studying the effect of disorder on the BHM phase diagram and its implications for experimental claims of many body localization; and iii)

applying a machine learning approach to obtain quantitative improvements to our calculations of single particle correlations that may be generalizable to out of equilibrium dynamics in other quantum systems.

Short biography: Malcolm Kennett obtained his B.Sc and M.Sc degrees in Astrophysics from the University of Sydney, followed by a Ph.D in Condensed Matter Theory at Princeton University.  He was a postdoc in the Theory of Condensed Matter Group at the University of Cambridge before moving to SFU as a faculty member in 2005.  He currently works on out of equilibrium dynamics in strongly interacting quantum systems, with a focus on ultra-cold atoms, and on properties of quantum materials.