Real-Time Dynamics of a Spin Chain with Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya Interactions: Spiral Formation and Quantum Spin Oscillations

Abstract: We studied the non-equilibrium short-time dynamics of a spin-1/2 chain with Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions after a sudden quench by a transverse field. We found that inhomogeneous spin-spirals with opposite chiralities propagate from the edges towards the center of the chain. This propagation is accompanied by quantum spin oscillations which decay asymptotically with time. A theoretical description of this phenomenon is given to a good accuracy with the help of numerical calculations with the adaptive time-dependent density matrix renormalization group algorithm.