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arXiv:2008.12409 · Journal of High Energy Physics

Scrambling in Yang-Mills

Robert de Mello Koch, Eunice Gandote, Augustine Larweh Mahu

Published Jan 12, 2021• 9 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Abstract Acting on operators with a bare dimension ∆ ∼ N2 the dilatation operator of U(N) $$ \mathcal{N} $$ N = 4 super Yang-Mills theory defines a 2-local Hamiltonian acting on a graph. Degrees of freedom are associated with the vertices of the graph while edges correspond to terms in the Hamiltonian. The graph has p ∼ N vertices. Using this Hamiltonian, we study scrambling and equilibration in the large N Yang-Mills theory. We characterize the typical graph and thus the typical Hamiltonian. For the typical graph, the dynamics leads to scrambling in a time consistent with the fast scrambling conjecture. Further, the system exhibits a notion of equilibration with a relaxation time, at weak coupling, given by t ∼ $$ \frac{\rho }{\lambda } $$ ρ λ with λ the ’t Hooft coupling.

DOI
10.1007/jhep01(2021)058

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Abstract Acting on operators with a bare dimension ∆ ∼ N2 the dilatation operator of U(N) N\mathcal{N}N N = 4 super Yang-Mills theory defines a 2-local Hamiltonian acting on a graph. Degrees of freedom are associated with the vertices of the graph while edges correspond to terms in the Hamiltonian. The graph has p ∼ N vertices. Using this Hamiltonian, we study scrambling and equilibration in the large N Yang-Mills theory. We characterize the typical graph and thus the typical Hamiltonian. For the typical graph, the dynamics leads to scrambling in a time consistent with the fast scrambling conjecture. Further, the system exhibits a notion of equilibration with a relaxation time, at weak coupling, given by t ∼ ρλ\frac{\rho }{\lambda }λρ​ ρ λ with λ the ’t Hooft coupling.
The notion of information scrambling is tied to the long-time behaviour of a system and therefore is related to its infra-red dynamics. In fast scramblers, information spreads as a logarithmic function of the number of degrees of freedom. Ordinarily, under an RG-flow, scrambling will become faster in the IR since many degrees of freedom are integrated out, as a consequence of the c-theorem. In this article, we consider a class of Holographic quantum field theories (QFT), which are strongly coupled large NNN gauge theories with large number of adjoint and fundamental matter, in which scrambling slows down in the IR. This happens since more degrees of freedom are inserted in the IR, compared to the UV, in a precise sense. For generic large NNN gauge theories, we also explore general, perturbative flow features of the corresponding Lyapunov exponent, based on the Callan-Symanzik equation.
Given a quantum many-body system with few-body interactions, how rapidly can quantum information be hidden during time evolution? The fast-scrambling conjecture is that the time to thoroughly mix information among N degrees of freedom grows at least logarithmically in N. We derive this inequality for generic quantum systems at infinite temperature, bounding the scrambling time by a finite decay time of local quantum correlations at late times. Using Lieb-Robinson bounds, generalized Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev models, and random unitary circuits, we propose that a logarithmic scrambling time can be achieved in most quantum systems with sparse connectivity. These models also elucidate how quantum chaos is not universally related to scrambling: We construct random few-body circuits with infinite Lyapunov exponent but logarithmic scrambling time. We discuss analogies between quantum models on graphs and quantum black holes and suggest methods to experimentally study scrambling with as many as 100 sparsely connected quantum degrees of freedom.
We investigate the integrability-to-chaos transition and information scrambling in Ising spin networks via a graph-theoretic formulation. Modeling spins as vertices and interactions as edges encoded by adjacency matrices across path, Erdos-Renyi, and Watts-Strogatz topologies, we demonstrate that long-range couplings and heterogeneous degree distributions markedly accelerate quantum information propagation. The Hamiltonian comprises local and normalized non-local interactions; tuning the non-local coupling and field heterogeneity drives integrability breaking. To quantify scrambling, we employ bipartite mutual and tripartite information. Increasing non-local interactions drives tripartite information to large negative values, signaling deep information scrambling. The squared commutators constructed from out-of-time-order correlators (OTOCs) exhibit early-time exponential growth; equivalently, the OTOC four-point functions themselves decay exponentially, yielding quantum Lyapunov exponents that scale systematically with parameters governing the chaotic regime. Complementing this, Krylov complexity reveals rapid operator growth in the chaotic phase, synchronizing with OTOC and mutual information dynamics. Spectrally, the transition manifests as a shift from Poissonian to Wigner-Dyson level spacing statistics. The spectral form factor (SFF) exhibits the characteristic slope-dip-ramp-plateau structure, enabling the extraction of Thouless and Heisenberg times. Crucially, a reduced Thouless time strongly correlates with accelerated information and operator scrambling. Ultimately, this work establishes a unified framework bridging network topology with information-theoretic, operator, and spectral diagnostics, offering insights into thermalization and non-equilibrium dynamics in quantum many-body systems.
There has recently been considerable interest in studying quantum systems via dynamical Lie algebras (DLAs) – Lie algebras generated by the terms which appear in the Hamiltonian of the system. However, there are some important properties that are revealed only at a finer level of granularity than the DLA. In this work we explore, via the commutator graph, average notions of scrambling, chaos and complexity over ensembles of systems with DLAs that possess a basis consisting of Pauli strings. Unlike DLAs, commutator graphs are sensitive to short-time dynamics, and therefore constitute a finer probe to various characteristics of the corresponding ensemble. We link graph-theoretic properties of the commutator graph to the out-of-time-order correlator (OTOC), the frame potential, the frustration graph of the Hamiltonian of the system, and the Krylov complexity of operators evolving under the dynamics. For example, we reduce the calculation of average OTOCs to a counting problem on the graph; separately, we connect the Krylov complexity of an operator to the module structure of the adjoint action of the DLA on the space of operators in which it resides, and prove that its average over the ensemble is lower bounded by the average shortest path length between the initial operator and the other operators in the commutator graph.
Random transformations are typically good at "scrambling" information. Specifically, in the quantum setting, scrambling usually refers to the process of mapping most initial pure product states under a unitary transformation to states which are macroscopically entangled, in the sense of being close to completely mixed on most subsystems containing a fraction fn of all n particles for some constant f. While the term scrambling is used in the context of the black hole information paradox, scrambling is related to problems involving decoupling in general, and to the question of how large isolated many-body systems reach local thermal equilibrium under their own unitary dynamics. Here, we study the speed at which various notions of scrambling/decoupling occur in a simplified but natural model of random two-particle interactions: random quantum circuits. For a circuit representing the dynamics generated by a local Hamiltonian, the depth of the circuit corresponds to time. Thus, we consider the depth of these circuits and we are typically interested in what can be done in a depth that is sublinear or even logarithmic in the size of the system. We resolve an outstanding conjecture raised in the context of the black hole information paradox with respect to the depth at which a typical quantum circuit generates an entanglement assisted encoding against the erasure channel. In addition, we prove that typical quantum circuits of poly(log n) depth satisfy a stronger notion of scrambling and can be used to encode alpha n qubits into n qubits so that up to beta n errors can be corrected, for some constants alpha, beta > 0.
A bstract We study operator complexity on various time scales with emphasis on those much larger than the scrambling period. We use, for systems with a large but finite number of degrees of freedom, the notion of K-complexity employed in [1] for infinite systems. We present evidence that K-complexity of ETH operators has indeed the character associated with the bulk time evolution of extremal volumes and actions. Namely, after a period of exponential growth during the scrambling period the K-complexity increases only linearly with time for exponentially long times in terms of the entropy, and it eventually saturates at a constant value also exponential in terms of the entropy. This constant value depends on the Hamiltonian and the operator but not on any extrinsic tolerance parameter. Thus K-complexity deserves to be an entry in the AdS/CFT dictionary. Invoking a concept of K-entropy and some numerical examples we also discuss the extent to which the long period of linear complexity growth entails an efficient randomization of operators.