Recursion method for out-of-equilibrium many-body dynamics: strengths and limitations

The recursion method, which solves coupled Heisenberg equations in a Lanczos operator basis, has recently emerged as a powerful nonperturbative tool for computing dynamical correlation functions in strongly correlated two- and three-dimensional quantum many-body systems. Motivated by this success, we investigate whether the method can be extended to expectation values of observables following a quantum quench. We find that such an extension encounters an obstacle absent in the computation of dynamical correlation functions. The latter are fully determined by the Lanczos coefficients $b_n$, which in generic systems exhibit universal behavior, enabling reliable extrapolation from the first few dozens of explicitly computed coefficients. In contrast, quench dynamics additionally requires "quench coefficients" $c_n$, defined as overlaps of Lanczos basis operators with the initial state. We show that, unlike the Lanczos coefficients, the quench coefficients display no universal structure and cannot be reliably extrapolated, thereby limiting the time up to which the method yields accurate results. The behavior of quench coefficients is highly state-dependent, ranging from decaying to irregular or even growing sequences; typically, the less regular the sequence $c_n$, the shorter the accessible timescale. Nevertheless, for favorable initial states, the method remains competitive with state-of-the-art approaches.