We show that quantum confinement can induce spatial quasi-localization of excitations and slow dynamics even in the absence of quenched disorder. By means of numerical computations based on matrix product states and exact diagonalization, we study the nonequilibrium evolution in quantum Ising chains with longitudinal fields, in long-range quantum Ising chains, and in U(1) lattice gauge theories in one dimension. We demonstrate the emergence of regimes characterized by quasi-many-body localization and long-lived excitations at high energy. We capture these anomalous nonequilibrium dynamics via effective analytical descriptions or via exact mappings to models exhibiting weak ergodicity breaking. These phenomena can be tested in quantum simulators with trapped ions and Rydberg atoms.

References: arXiv:1806.09674, arXiv:1811.05513, and work in preparation (Feb 2019).