Experimental study of many-body localization stability in two-dimensional optical lattices

Disordered quantum many-body systems challenge classical computation due to complex dynamics, with many-body localization (MBL) hypothesized to prevent thermalization under strong disorder. The stability of MBL in two dimensions remains debated, particularly given the thermal avalanche scenario where rare thermal regions may destabilize localization. In this talk, I will introduce our recent work that investigates MBL stability using ultracold atoms in optical lattices with system sizes up to 24×24 sites, comparing random and quasiperiodic disorder potentials. We observe that for random disorder, the MBL crossover shifts to higher disorder strength with increasing system size, indicating instability consistent with avalanches. Conversely, quasiperiodic disorder shows no system size dependence, suggesting a stable MBL phase. These findings provide insights into quantum thermalization processes and highlight how disorder type critically influences localization behavior in two-dimensional systems.