A basic result on the dynamics of spinless quantum systems is that the Maryland model exhibits dynamical localization in any dimension. Here we implement mathematical spectral theory and numerical experiments to show that this result does not hold when the two-dimensional Maryland model is endowed with spin 1/2—hereafter dubbed spin-Maryland (SM) model. Instead, in a family of SM models, tuning the (effective) Planck constant drives dynamical localization-delocalization transitions of topological nature. These transitions are triggered by the self-duality, a symmetry generated by some transformation in the parameter—the inverse Planck constant—space. This provides significant insights into new dynamical phenomena such as what occur in the spinful quantum kicked rotor.

• Received 6 May 2020
• Revised 11 July 2020
• Accepted 14 July 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.102.045433