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arXiv:2108.09391 · Physical Review A

False signals of chaos from quantum probes

W. Kirkby, Duncan H J O’Dell, J. Mumford

Published Oct 14, 2021• 9 citations
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Abstract

We demonstrate that two-time correlation functions, which are generalizations of out-of-time-ordered correlators (OTOCs), can show ``false flags'' of chaos by exhibiting behavior predicted by random matrix theory even in a system with classically regular dynamics. In particular, we analyze a system of bosons trapped in a double-well potential and probed by a quantum dot which is coupled to the bosons dispersively. This system is integrable. Despite the continuous time evolution generated by the true Hamiltonian, we find that the $n$-fold two-time correlation function for the probe describes an effective stroboscopic or Floquet dynamics. From this perspective, the bosons appear to be alternately driven by two different noncommuting Hamiltonians in a manner reminiscent of the Trotterized time evolution that occurs in digital quantum simulation. The classical limit of this effective dynamics can have a nonzero Lyapunov exponent, while the effective level statistics and return probability show traditional signatures of chaotic behavior. In line with several other recent studies, this work highlights the fact that the behavior of OTOCs and their generalizations must be interpreted with some care.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.104.043308

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We demonstrate that two-time correlation functions, which are generalizations of out-of-time-ordered correlators (OTOCs), can show ``false flags'' of chaos by exhibiting behavior predicted by random matrix theory even in a system with classically regular dynamics. In particular, we analyze a system of bosons trapped in a double-well potential and probed by a quantum dot which is coupled to the bosons dispersively. This system is integrable. Despite the continuous time evolution generated by the true Hamiltonian, we find that the nnn-fold two-time correlation function for the probe describes an effective stroboscopic or Floquet dynamics. From this perspective, the bosons appear to be alternately driven by two different noncommuting Hamiltonians in a manner reminiscent of the Trotterized time evolution that occurs in digital quantum simulation. The classical limit of this effective dynamics can have a nonzero Lyapunov exponent, while the effective level statistics and return probability show traditional signatures of chaotic behavior. In line with several other recent studies, this work highlights the fact that the behavior of OTOCs and their generalizations must be interpreted with some care.
We study the dynamics of a three-mode bosonic system with mode-changing interactions. For large mode occupations the short-time dynamics is well described by classical mean-field equations allowing us to study chaotic dynamics in the classical system and its signatures in the corresponding quantum dynamics. By introducing a symmetry-breaking term we tune the classical dynamics from integrable to strongly chaotic, which we demonstrate by calculating Poincar\'e sections and Lyapunov exponents. The corresponding quantum system features level statistics that change from Poissonian in the integrable to Wigner-Dyson in the chaotic case. We investigate the behavior of out-of-time-ordered correlators (OTOCs), specifically the squared commutator, for initial states located in regular and chaotic regions of the classical mixed phase space and find marked differences between the two cases. The short-time behavior is well captured by semi-classical truncated Wigner simulations directly relating these features to properties of the underlying classical mean-field dynamics. We discuss a possible experimental realization of this model system in a Bose-Einstein condensate of rubidium atoms, which allows reversing the sign of the Hamiltonian required for measuring OTOCs.
Quantum chaos refers to signatures of classical chaos found in the quantum domain. Recently, it has become common to equate the exponential behavior of out-of-time order correlators (OTOCs) with quantum chaos. The quantum-classical correspondence between the OTOC exponential growth and chaos in the classical limit has indeed been corroborated theoretically for some systems and there are several projects to do the same experimentally. The Dicke model, in particular, which has a regular and a chaotic regime, is currently under intense investigation by experiments with trapped ions. We show, however, that for experimentally accessible parameters, OTOCs can grow exponentially also when the Dicke model is in the regular regime. The same holds for the Lipkin-Meshkov-Glick model, which is integrable and also experimentally realizable. The exponential behavior in these cases are due to unstable stationary points, not to chaos.
Quantum chaos remains a challenging concept because classical signatures of chaos do not directly transfer to quantum systems. This thesis investigates which indicators of chaos are shared between classical and quantum mechanics and how they can be used to characterise non-integrable many-body systems. We examine ergodicity and thermalisation by means of the Eigenstate Thermalisation Hypothesis (ETH) as signatures of non-integrability, and study the Out-of-Time-Ordered Correlator (OTOC) as a probe of information scrambling and as a measure of sensitivity to initial conditions. We briefly discuss the appearance of chaotic wavefunctions and observations such as quantum scars and quantum ergodicity in individual eigenmodes of the Bunimovich stadium potential. Using the OTOC, we discuss extensions of the Lyapunov exponent to quantum systems and apply these ideas to the Sachdev–Ye–Kitaev (SYK) model. In the large-N limit, and using the AdS/CFT correspondence, we find that the model might potentially be the dual of a black hole and that it is maximally chaotic. We conclude by discussing additional proposed signatures of quantum chaos and prospects for experimental realisations of the SYK model.
While classical chaos has been successfully characterized with consistent theories and intuitive techniques, such as with the use of Lyapunov exponents, quantum chaos is still poorly understood, as well as its relation with multi-partite entanglement and information scrambling. We consider a benchmark system, the kicked top model, which displays chaotic behaviour in the classical version, and proceed to characterize the quantum case with a thorough diagnosis of the growth of chaos and entanglement in time. As a novel tool for the characterization of quantum chaos, we introduce for this scope the quasi-probability distribution behind the out-of-time-ordered correlator (OTOC). We calculate the cumulative nonclassicality of this distribution, which has already been shown to outperform the simple use of OTOC as a probe to distinguish between integrable and nonintegrable Hamiltonians. To provide a thorough comparative analysis, we contrast the behavior of the nonclassicality with entanglement measures, such as the tripartite mutual information of the Hamiltonian as well as the entanglement entropy. We find that systems whose initial states would lie in the "sea of chaos" in the classical kicked-top model, exhibit, as they evolve in time, characteristics associated with chaotic behavior and entanglement production in closed quantum systems. We corroborate this indication by capturing it with this novel OTOC-based measure.
We study two classes of quantum phenomena associated with classical chaos in a variety of quantum models: (i) dynamical localization and its extension and generalization to interacting few- and many-body systems and (ii) quantum exponential divergences in high-order correlators and other diagnostics of quantum chaos. Dynamical localization (DL) is a subtle phenomenon related to Anderson localization. It hinges on quantum interference and is typically destroyed in presence of interactions. DL often manifests as a failure of a driven system to heat up, violating the foundations of statistical physics. Kicked rotor (KR) is a prototypical chaotic classical model that exhibits linear energy growth with time. The quantum kicked rotor (QKR) features DL instead: its energy saturates. Multiple attempts of many-body generalizations faced difficulties in preserving DL. Recently, DL was shown in a special integrable many-body model. We study non-integrable models of few- and many-body QKR-like systems and provide direct evidence that DL can persist there. In addition, we show how a novel related concept of localization landscape can be applied to study transport in rippled channels. Out-of-time-ordered correlator (OTOC) was proposed as an indicator of quantum chaos, since in the semiclassical limit, this correlator's possible exponential growth rate (CGR) resembles the classical Lyapunov exponent (LE). We show that the CGR in QKR is related, but distinct from the LE in KR. We also show a singularity in the OTOC at the Ehrenfest time tᴱ due to a delay in the onset of quantum interference. Next, we study scaling of OTOC beyond tᴱ. We then explore how the OTOC-based approach to quantum chaos relates to the random-matrix-theoretical description by introducing an operator we dub the Lyapunovian. Its level statistics is calculated for quantum stadium billiard, a seminal model of quantum chaos, and aligns perfectly with the Wigner-Dyson surmise. In the semiclassical limit, the Lyapunovian reduces to the matrix of uncorrelated finite-time Lyapunov exponents, connecting the CGR at early times, when the quantum effects are weak, to universal level repulsion that hinges on strong quantum interference. Finally, we consider quantum polygonal billiards: their classical counterparts are non-chaotic. We show exponential growth of the OTOCs in these systems, sharply contrasted with the classical behavior even before quantum interference develops.
We study universal chaotic dynamics of a large class of periodically driven critical systems described by spatially inhomogeneous conformal field theories. By employing an effective curved spacetime approach, we show that the onset of quantum chaotic correlations, captured by the Lyapunov exponent of out-of-time-order correlators (OTOCs), is set by the Hawking temperature of emergent Floquet horizons. Furthermore, scrambling of quantum information is shown to be strongly inhomogeneous, leading to transitions from chaotic to non-chaotic regimes by tuning driving parameters. We finally use our framework to propose a concrete protocol to simulate and measure OTOCs in quantum simulators, by designing an efficient stroboscopic backward time evolution.