Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:1503.08161 · Journal of High Energy Physics

Scrambling time from local perturbations of the eternal BTZ black hole

Pawel Caputa, Joan Simón, Andrius Štikonas, Tadashi Takayanagi, Kento Watanabe

Published Aug 1, 2015• 76 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We compute the mutual information between finite intervals in two non-compact 2d CFTs in the thermofield double formulation after one of them has been locally perturbed by a primary operator at some time tω in the large c limit. We determine the time scale, called the scrambling time, at which the mutual information vanishes and the original entanglement between the thermofield double gets destroyed by the perturbation. We provide a holographic description in terms of a free falling particle in the eternal BTZ black hole that exactly matches our CFT calculations. Our results hold for any time tω . In particular, when the latter is large, they reproduce the bulk shock-wave propagation along the BTZ horizon description.

DOI
10.1007/jhep08(2015)011

Related papers

Scrambling time from local perturbations of the rotating BTZ black hole

Andrius Štikonas

Abstract In this paper, we investigate the entanglement entropy of the rotating BTZ black hole perturbed by a massive back-reacting free falling particle. Then, mutual information between two finite intervals in two asymptotic regions of rotating BTZ is derived. It allows us to find the scrambling time, the time scale in which mutual information vanishes. We give a dual large c CFT description in terms of a thermofield double state with different temperatures for left and right moving modes that is perturbed by a local operator. Exact matching between gravity and CFT results is obtained.

arXiv:1810.06110•Journal of High Energy Physics•Feb 1, 2019•23 citations

Entanglement entropy of locally perturbed thermal systems

Andrius Štikonas

In this thesis we study the time evolution of Rényi and entanglement entropies of thermal states in Conformal Field Theory (CFT). These quantities are usually hard to compute but Ryu-Takayanagi (RT) and Hubeny-Rangamani-Takayanagi (HRT) proposals allow us to find the same quantities using calculations in general relativity. We will introduce main concepts of holography, quantum information and conformal field theory that will be used to derive the results of this thesis. In the first part of the thesis, we explicitly compute entanglement entropy of the rotating BTZ black hole by directly applying HRT proposal and finding lengths of spacelike geodesics. Rényi entropy of thermal state perturbed by a local quantum quench is computed by mapping correlators on two glued cylinders to the plane for field theory containing a single free boson and for 2d CFTs in the large c limit. We consider Thermofield Double State (TFD) which is an entangled state in direct product of two 2D CFTs. It is conjectured to be holographically equivalent to the eternal BTZ black hole. TFD state is perturbed by a local quench in one CFT and mutual information between two intervals in two CFTs is computed. We find when mutual information vanishes and interpret this as scrambling time, i.e. time scale required for the system to thermalize. This field theory result is modelled with a massive free falling particle in the BTZ black hole. We have computed the back-reaction of the particle on the metric of BTZ and used RT proposal to find holographic entanglement entropy. Finally, we generalize this calculation to the case of rotating BTZ with inner and outer horizons. It is dual to the CFT with different temperatures for left and right moving modes. We calculate mutual information and scrambling time and find exact agreement between results in the gravity and those in the CFT.

•Nov 30, 2017•0 citations

Scrambling time for analogue black holes embedded in AdS space

Qing-Bing Wang, Ming-Hui Yu, Xian-Hui Ge

Abstract We propose a gedanken experiment on realizing thermofield double state (TFD) by using analog black holes and provide an approach to test the scrambling time. Through this approach, we demonstrate clearly how shock wave changes the TFD state as time evolves. As the whole system evolves forward in time, the perturbation of space-time geometry will increase exponentially. Finally, it will destroy the entanglement between the two states of the thermal field, and the mutual information between them is reduced to zero in the time scale of scrambling. The results show that for perturbations of analogue black holes embedded in AdS space, the scale of the scrambling time is closely related to the logarithm of entropy of the black hole. The results provide further theoretical argument for the scrambling time, which can be further falsified in experiments.

arXiv:2203.07914•The European Physical Journal C•May 1, 2022•11 citations

Entanglement revivals and scrambling for evaporating black holes

Levy Do Nascimento Batista, Nicolò Bragagnolo, Prem Kumar

We investigate the spreading of entanglement, and entanglement memory effects, in two-dimensional conformal field theory (CFT) propagating on evaporating black hole backgrounds.Memory effects leading to late-time spikes in mutual information for widely separated intervals are well known in CFTs admitting a quasiparticle description.In this work we examine the effect of black hole scrambling on late time mutual information spikes for disjoint intervals in free fermion CFT prepared in a thermofield double state.Latetime entanglement revival is driven by island-induced purification of modes in the union of the intervals.We show across two distinct 2D gravity models, Jackiw-Teitelboim (JT) gravity and the Russo-Susskind-Thorlacius (RST) model, that parametrically dialing up black hole scrambling time smooths out and suppresses entanglement spikes until they disappear at a critical scale, interpolating between free quasiparticle and maximal scrambling pictures.At the critical point, the interval lengths are exponential in black hole scrambling time.We further find a very closely related effect manifest as an entanglement dip for a single interval in a single-sided evaporating RST black hole.

•Jan 1, 2026•0 citations

Entanglement revivals and scrambling for evaporating black holes

Levy B. N. Batista, Nicolò Bragagnolo, Rhys Holmes +1 more

We investigate the spreading of entanglement, and entanglement memory effects, in two-dimensional conformal field theory (CFT) propagating on evaporating black hole backgrounds. Memory effects leading to late-time spikes in mutual information for widely separated intervals are well known in CFTs admitting a quasiparticle description. In this work we examine the effect of black hole scrambling on late time mutual information spikes for disjoint intervals in free fermion CFT prepared in a thermofield double state. Late-time entanglement revival is driven by island-induced purification of modes in the union of the intervals. We show across two distinct 2D gravity models, Jackiw-Teitelboim (JT) gravity and the Russo-Susskind-Thorlacius (RST) model, that parametrically dialing up black hole scrambling time smooths out and suppresses entanglement spikes until they disappear at a critical scale, interpolating between free quasiparticle and maximal scrambling pictures. At the critical point, the interval lengths are exponential in black hole scrambling time. We further find a very closely related effect manifest as an entanglement dip for a single interval in a single-sided evaporating RST black hole.

arXiv:2604.26600•Physical review. D/Physical review. D.•Jul 14, 2026•0 citations

Multiple shocks

Stephen H. Shenker, Douglas Stanford

Using gauge/gravity duality, we explore a class of states of two CFTs with a large degree of entanglement, but with very weak local two-sided correlation. These states are constructed by perturbing the thermofield double state with thermal-scale operators that are local at different times. Acting on the dual black hole geometry, these perturbations create an intersecting network of shock waves, supporting a very long wormhole. Chaotic CFT dynamics and the associated fast scrambling time play an essential role in determining the qualitative features of the resulting geometries.

arXiv:1312.3296•Journal of High Energy Physics•Dec 1, 2014•478 citations
We compute the mutual information between finite intervals in two non-compact 2d CFTs in the thermofield double formulation after one of them has been locally perturbed by a primary operator at some time tω in the large c limit. We determine the time scale, called the scrambling time, at which the mutual information vanishes and the original entanglement between the thermofield double gets destroyed by the perturbation. We provide a holographic description in terms of a free falling particle in the eternal BTZ black hole that exactly matches our CFT calculations. Our results hold for any time tω . In particular, when the latter is large, they reproduce the bulk shock-wave propagation along the BTZ horizon description.
Abstract In this paper, we investigate the entanglement entropy of the rotating BTZ black hole perturbed by a massive back-reacting free falling particle. Then, mutual information between two finite intervals in two asymptotic regions of rotating BTZ is derived. It allows us to find the scrambling time, the time scale in which mutual information vanishes. We give a dual large c CFT description in terms of a thermofield double state with different temperatures for left and right moving modes that is perturbed by a local operator. Exact matching between gravity and CFT results is obtained.
In this thesis we study the time evolution of Rényi and entanglement entropies of thermal states in Conformal Field Theory (CFT). These quantities are usually hard to compute but Ryu-Takayanagi (RT) and Hubeny-Rangamani-Takayanagi (HRT) proposals allow us to find the same quantities using calculations in general relativity. We will introduce main concepts of holography, quantum information and conformal field theory that will be used to derive the results of this thesis. In the first part of the thesis, we explicitly compute entanglement entropy of the rotating BTZ black hole by directly applying HRT proposal and finding lengths of spacelike geodesics. Rényi entropy of thermal state perturbed by a local quantum quench is computed by mapping correlators on two glued cylinders to the plane for field theory containing a single free boson and for 2d CFTs in the large c limit. We consider Thermofield Double State (TFD) which is an entangled state in direct product of two 2D CFTs. It is conjectured to be holographically equivalent to the eternal BTZ black hole. TFD state is perturbed by a local quench in one CFT and mutual information between two intervals in two CFTs is computed. We find when mutual information vanishes and interpret this as scrambling time, i.e. time scale required for the system to thermalize. This field theory result is modelled with a massive free falling particle in the BTZ black hole. We have computed the back-reaction of the particle on the metric of BTZ and used RT proposal to find holographic entanglement entropy. Finally, we generalize this calculation to the case of rotating BTZ with inner and outer horizons. It is dual to the CFT with different temperatures for left and right moving modes. We calculate mutual information and scrambling time and find exact agreement between results in the gravity and those in the CFT.
Abstract We propose a gedanken experiment on realizing thermofield double state (TFD) by using analog black holes and provide an approach to test the scrambling time. Through this approach, we demonstrate clearly how shock wave changes the TFD state as time evolves. As the whole system evolves forward in time, the perturbation of space-time geometry will increase exponentially. Finally, it will destroy the entanglement between the two states of the thermal field, and the mutual information between them is reduced to zero in the time scale of scrambling. The results show that for perturbations of analogue black holes embedded in AdS space, the scale of the scrambling time is closely related to the logarithm of entropy of the black hole. The results provide further theoretical argument for the scrambling time, which can be further falsified in experiments.
We investigate the spreading of entanglement, and entanglement memory effects, in two-dimensional conformal field theory (CFT) propagating on evaporating black hole backgrounds.Memory effects leading to late-time spikes in mutual information for widely separated intervals are well known in CFTs admitting a quasiparticle description.In this work we examine the effect of black hole scrambling on late time mutual information spikes for disjoint intervals in free fermion CFT prepared in a thermofield double state.Latetime entanglement revival is driven by island-induced purification of modes in the union of the intervals.We show across two distinct 2D gravity models, Jackiw-Teitelboim (JT) gravity and the Russo-Susskind-Thorlacius (RST) model, that parametrically dialing up black hole scrambling time smooths out and suppresses entanglement spikes until they disappear at a critical scale, interpolating between free quasiparticle and maximal scrambling pictures.At the critical point, the interval lengths are exponential in black hole scrambling time.We further find a very closely related effect manifest as an entanglement dip for a single interval in a single-sided evaporating RST black hole.
We investigate the spreading of entanglement, and entanglement memory effects, in two-dimensional conformal field theory (CFT) propagating on evaporating black hole backgrounds. Memory effects leading to late-time spikes in mutual information for widely separated intervals are well known in CFTs admitting a quasiparticle description. In this work we examine the effect of black hole scrambling on late time mutual information spikes for disjoint intervals in free fermion CFT prepared in a thermofield double state. Late-time entanglement revival is driven by island-induced purification of modes in the union of the intervals. We show across two distinct 2D gravity models, Jackiw-Teitelboim (JT) gravity and the Russo-Susskind-Thorlacius (RST) model, that parametrically dialing up black hole scrambling time smooths out and suppresses entanglement spikes until they disappear at a critical scale, interpolating between free quasiparticle and maximal scrambling pictures. At the critical point, the interval lengths are exponential in black hole scrambling time. We further find a very closely related effect manifest as an entanglement dip for a single interval in a single-sided evaporating RST black hole.
Using gauge/gravity duality, we explore a class of states of two CFTs with a large degree of entanglement, but with very weak local two-sided correlation. These states are constructed by perturbing the thermofield double state with thermal-scale operators that are local at different times. Acting on the dual black hole geometry, these perturbations create an intersecting network of shock waves, supporting a very long wormhole. Chaotic CFT dynamics and the associated fast scrambling time play an essential role in determining the qualitative features of the resulting geometries.