When the Lyapunov exponent λL in a quantum chaotic system saturates the bound λL ≤ 2πk B T , it is proposed that this system has a holographic dual described by a gravity theory. In particular, the butterfly effect as a prominent phenomenon of chaos can ubiquitously exist in a black hole system characterized by a shockwave solution near the horizon. In this paper we propose that the butterfly velocity can be used to diagnose quantum phase transition (QPT) in holographic theories. We provide evidences for this proposal with an anisotropic holographic model exhibiting metal-insulator transitions (MIT), in which the derivatives of the butterfly velocity with respect to system parameters characterizes quantum critical points (QCP) with local extremes in zero temperature limit. We also point out that this proposal can be tested by experiments in the light of recent progress on the measurement of out-of-time-order correlation function (OTOC).
The butterfly velocity was recently proposed as a characteristic velocity of chaos propagation in a local system. Compared to the Lieb-Robinson velocity that bounds the propagation speed of all perturbations, the butterfly velocity, studied in thermal ensembles, is an "effective" Lieb-Robinson velocity for a subspace of the Hilbert space defined by the microcanonical ensemble. In this paper, we generalize the concept of butterfly velocity beyond the thermal case to a large class of other subspaces. Based on holographic duality, we consider the code subspace of low energy excitations on a classical background geometry. Using local reconstruction of bulk operators, we prove a general relation between the boundary butterfly velocities (of different operators) and the bulk causal structure. Our result has implications in both directions of the bulk-boundary correspondence. Starting from a boundary theory with a given Lieb-Robinson velocity, our result determines an upper bound of the bulk light cone starting from a given point. Starting from a bulk space-time geometry, the butterfly velocity can be explicitly calculated for all operators that are the local reconstructions of bulk local operators. If the bulk geometry satisfies Einstein equation and the null energy condition, for rotation symmetric geometries we prove that infrared operators always have a slower butterfly velocity that the ultraviolet one. For asymptotic AdS geometries, this also implies that the butterfly velocities of all operators are upper bounded by the speed of light. We further prove that the butterfly velocity is equal to the speed of light if the causal wedge of the boundary region coincides with its entanglement wedge. Finally, we discuss the implication of our result to geometries that are not asymptotically AdS, and in particular, obtain constraints that must be satisfied by a dual theory of flat space gravity.
We holographically study quantum chaos in hyperscaling-violating Lifshitz (HVL) theories (with charge). Specifically, we present a detailed computation of the out-of-time ordered correlator (OTOC) via shockwave analysis in the bulk HVL geometry with a planar horizon topology. We also compute the butterfly velocity (
vB) using the entanglement wedge reconstruction and find that it matches the result obtained from the shockwave analysis. Using a recently developed thermodynamic dictionary for HVL theories, we express
vB purely in terms of boundary thermodynamic variables. Furthermore, we analyze in detail the behavior of
vB with respect to the dynamical critical exponent (
z), hyperscaling-violating parameter (
θ), entropy (more precisely, the ratio of entropy to the central charge,
S~), and charge (more precisely, the ratio of charge to the central charge,
Q~). Interestingly,
vB varies non-monotonically with
z for
S~<1, whereas it increases monotonically with
z for
S~≥1. Additionally,
vB varies non-monotonically with
θ for non-zero charge. Moreover,
vB monotonically increases with
S~ and decreases with
Q~ for all allowed values of
z and
θ. All these features are reported for combinations /{
z,
θ,
S~,
Q~/} for which the temperature is positive, the null energy condition is satisfied, and
vB is not superluminal. Unpacking the non-monotonicities in
vB can offer interesting insights into these theories.
Abstract In the current manuscript we perform a systematic investigation about the effects of nonlocal interaction to the spread of quantum information in many body system. In particular, we have studied how nonlocality influence the existing bound on the growth rate of the commutator involving two local operators, the butterfly velocity. For this purpose, we consider the nonlocal theory on the worldvolume of N ≫ 1, NS5 branes arising in the limit of vanishing string coupling, the ‘little string theory’. A direct evidence of nonlocality can be realized from the ‘volume law’ behavior for the most dominant part of holographic entanglement entropy. We obtain the butterfly velocity by studying the dynamics of the near horizon geometry backreacted by a high energy quanta in the form of a shockwave resulting from an early perturbation on the corresponding thermofield double state. We observe that the butterfly velocity increases with the nonlocal scale of little string theory, the inverse Hagedorn temperature βh, indicating a faster rate of information spread due to the nonlocal interaction. The same conclusion follows as the disruption of two sided mutual information is observed to occur at a faster rate for higher values of βh. Finally, we realize a direct connection between the parameters of quantum chaos and the quasinormal modes for collective excitations through the phenomenon of ‘pole skipping’.
A global quench is an interesting setting where we can study thermalization of subsystems in a pure state. We investigate entanglement entropy (EE) growth in global quenches in holographic field theories and relate some of its aspects to quantities characterizing chaos. More specifically we obtain four key results: 1. We prove holographic bounds on the entanglement velocity vE and the butterfly effect speed vB that arises in the study of chaos. 2. We obtain the EE as a function of time for large spherical entangling surfaces analytically. We show that the EE is insensitive to the details of the initial state or quench protocol. 3. In a thermofield double state we determine analytically the two-sided mutual information between two large concentric spheres separated in time. 4. We derive a bound on the rate of growth of EE for arbitrary shapes, and develop an expansion for EE at early times. In a companion paper, these results are put in the broader context of EE growth in chaotic systems: we relate EE growth to the chaotic spreading of operators, derive bounds on EE at a given time, and compare the holographic results to spin chain numerics and toy models. In this paper, we perform holographic calculations that provide the basis of arguments presented in that paper.
A global quench is an interesting setting where we can study thermalization of subsystems in a pure state. We investigate entanglement entropy (EE) growth in global quenches in holographic field theories and relate some of its aspects to quantities characterizing chaos. More specifically we obtain four key results: 1. We prove holographic bounds on the entanglement velocity v E and the butterfly effect speed v B that arises in the study of chaos. 2. We obtain the EE as a function of time for large spherical entangling surfaces analytically. We show that the EE is insensitive to the details of the initial state or quench protocol. 3. In a thermofield double state we determine analytically the two-sided mutual information between two large concentric spheres separated in time. 4. We derive a bound on the rate of growth of EE for arbitrary shapes, and develop an expansion for EE at early times. In a companion paper [1], these results are put in the broader context of EE growth in chaotic systems: we relate EE growth to the chaotic spreading of operators, derive bounds on EE at a given time, and compare the holographic results to spin chain numerics and toy models. In this paper, we perform holographic calculations that provide the basis of arguments presented in that paper.