We use Majorana operators to study entanglement dynamics under random free fermion unitary evolution and projective measurements in one dimension. For certain choices of unitary evolution, namely, those which swap neighboring Majorana operators, and measurements of neighboring Majorana bilinears, one can map the evolution to the statistical model of completely packed loops with crossings (CPLC) and study the corresponding phase diagram. We generalize this model using the language of fermionic Gaussian states to a general free fermion unitary evolution acting on neighboring Majorana operators and numerically compute its phase diagram. We find that both the Goldstone and area-law phases persist in this new phase diagram, but with a shifted phase boundary. One important qualitative aspect of the new phase boundary is that even for the case of commuting measurements, the Goldstone phase persists up to a finite nonzero measurement rate. This is in contrast with the CPLC, in which noncommuting measurements are necessary for realizing the Goldstone phase. We also numerically compute the correlation length critical exponent at the transition, which we find to be near to that of the CPLC, and give a tentative symmetry-based explanation for some differences in the phase transition line between the CPLC and generalized models.
We use Majorana operators to study entanglement dynamics under random free fermion unitary evolution and projective measurements in one dimension. For certain choices of unitary evolution, namely, those which swap neighboring Majorana operators, and measurements of neighboring Majorana bilinears, one can map the evolution to the statistical model of completely packed loops with crossings (CPLC) and study the corresponding phase diagram. We generalize this model using the language of fermionic Gaussian states to a general free fermion unitary evolution acting on neighboring Majorana operators and numerically compute its phase diagram. We find that both the Goldstone and area-law phases persist in this new phase diagram, but with a shifted phase boundary. One important qualitative aspect of the new phase boundary is that even for the case of commuting measurements, the Goldstone phase persists up to a finite nonzero measurement rate. This is in contrast with the CPLC, in which noncommuting measurements are necessary for realizing the Goldstone phase. We also numerically compute the correlation length critical exponent at the transition, which we find to be near to that of the CPLC, and give a tentative symmetry-based explanation for some differences in the phase transition line between the CPLC and generalized models.
Projective measurements in random quantum circuits lead to a rich breadth of entanglement phases and extend the realm of nonunitary quantum dynamics.Here, we explore the connection between measurement-only quantum circuits in one spatial dimension and the statistical mechanics of loop models in two dimensions.While Gaussian Majorana circuits admit a microscopic mapping to loop models, for non-Gaussian, i.e., generic Clifford, circuits, a corresponding mapping may emerge only on a coarse-grained scale.We then focus on a fundamental symmetry of loop models: the orientability of worldlines.We discuss how orientability enters in the measurement framework, acting as a separatrix for the universal long-wavelength behavior in a circuit.When orientability is broken, the circuit falls into the universality class of closely packed loops with crossings (CPLC) and features a Goldstone phase with a peculiar, universal log 2 ðLÞ scaling of the entanglement entropy.In turn, when orientability is preserved, the longwavelength behavior of the circuit mimics that of (coupled) two-dimensional Potts models.We demonstrate the strength of the loop model approach by numerically simulating a variety of measurement-only Clifford circuits.Upon varying the set of measured operators, a rich circuit dynamics is observed, ranging from CPLC to the one-state Potts model (percolation), the two-state Potts model (Ising), and coupled Potts models (Berezhinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless) universality class.Loop models, thus, provide a handle to access a large class of measurement-only circuits and yield a blueprint on how to realize desired entanglement phases by measurement.
A theory of the measurement-induced entanglement phase transition for free-fermion models in d>1 dimensions is developed. The critical point separates a gapless phase with ${\ensuremath{\ell}}^{d\ensuremath{-}1}\mathrm{ln}\ensuremath{\ell}$ scaling of the second cumulant of the particle number and of the entanglement entropy and an area-law phase with ${\ensuremath{\ell}}^{d\ensuremath{-}1}$ scaling, where $\ensuremath{\ell}$ is a size of the subsystem. The problem is mapped onto an SU(R) replica nonlinear sigma model in d+1 dimensions, with $R\ensuremath{\rightarrow}1$. Using renormalization-group analysis, we calculate critical indices in one-loop approximation justified for $d=1+\ensuremath{\epsilon}$ with $\ensuremath{\epsilon}\ensuremath{\ll}1$. Further, we carry out a numerical study of the transition for a d=2 model on a square lattice, determine numerically the critical point, and estimate the critical index of the correlation length, $\ensuremath{\nu}\ensuremath{\approx}1.4$.
We study a free fermion model where two sets of non-commuting non-projective measurements stabilize area-law entanglement scaling phases of distinct topological order. We show the presence of a topological phase transition that is of a different universality class than that observed in stroboscopic projective circuits. In the presence of unitary dynamics, the two topologically distinct phases are separated by a region with sub-volume scaling of the entanglement entropy. We find that this entanglement transition is well identified by a combination of the bipartite entanglement entropy and the topological entanglement entropy. We further show that the phase diagram is qualitatively captured by an analytically tractable non-Hermitian model obtained via post-selecting the measurement outcome. Finally we introduce a partial-post-selection continuous mapping, that uniquely associates topological indices of the non-Hermitian Hamiltonian to the distinct phases of the stochastic measurement-induced dynamics.
We address entanglement transitions in monitored random quantum circuits of non-interacting fermions, in particular, the question of whether Born-rule and forced measurements yield the same universality class. For a generic circuit with no symmetry other than fermion parity, acting on a one-dimensional Majorana chain, we numerically obtain several critical exponents, providing clear evidence that the two transitions with Born-rule and forced measurements are in different universality classes. We provide a theoretical understanding for our numerical results by identifying the underlying statistical mechanics model which follows from the general correspondence, established in Jian et al., Phys. Rev. B 106, 134206, between non-unitary circuits of non-interacting fermions and the ten-fold Altland-Zirnbauer (AZ) symmetry classes. The AZ class is the same for Born-rule and forced measurements of the circuits. For the circuit under consideration (in AZ class DIII), the statistical mechanics model describing the transition is the principal chiral non-linear sigma model whose field variable is an SO(n) matrix in the replica limits n→0 and n→1 for forced and Born-rule measurements, respectively. The former is in an Anderson localization universality class while we show that the latter is in a novel universality class beyond Anderson localization. Both entanglement transitions are driven by proliferation of Z2 topological defects. The different replica limits account for the difference in the universality classes. Furthermore, we provide numerical and symmetry-based arguments that the entanglement transition in the previously-studied monitored circuit of Majorana fermions based on the loop model with crossings, a highly fine-tuned circuit, belongs to a universality class different from both transitions in the generic circuits discussed in this paper.
Non-unitary evolution can give rise to novel steady states classified by their entanglement properties. In this work, we aim to understand the effect of long-range hopping that decays with r−α in non-Hermitian free-fermion systems. We first study two solvable Brownian models with long-range non-unitary dynamics: a large- N SYK 2 chain and a single-flavor fermion chain and we show that they share the same phase diagram. When α>0.5 , we observe two critical phases with subvolume entanglement scaling: (i) α>1.5 , a logarithmic phase with dynamical exponent z=1 and logarithmic subsystem entanglement, and (ii) 0.5<α<1.5 , a fractal phase with z=2α−12 and subsystem entanglement SA∝LA1−z , where LA is the length of the subsystem A . These two phases cannot be distinguished by the purification dynamics, in which the entropy always decays as L/T . We then confirm that the results are also valid for the static SYK 2 chain, indicating the phase diagram is universal for general free-fermion systems. We also discuss phase diagrams in higher dimensions and the implication in measurement-induced phase transitions.
Continuous monitoring of one-dimensional free fermionic systems can generate phenomena reminiscent of quantum criticality, such as logarithmic entanglement growth, algebraic correlations, and emergent conformal invariance, but in a nonequilibrium setting. However, whether these signatures reflect a genuine phase of nonequilibrium quantum matter or persist only over finite length scales is an active area of research. We address this question in a free fermionic chain subject to continuous monitoring of lattice-site occupations. An unraveling phase φ interpolates between measurement schemes, corresponding to different stochastic unravelings of the same Lindblad master equation; for φ = 0 , measurements disentangle lattice sites, while for φ = π / 2 they act as unitary random noise, yielding volume-law steady-state entanglement. Using replica Keldysh field theory, we obtain a nonlinear sigma model describing the long-wavelength physics. This analysis shows that for 0 ≤ φ < π / 2 , entanglement ultimately obeys an area law, but only beyond the exponentially large scale ln ( l φ , * ) ∼ J / [ γ cos ( φ ) ] , where J is the hopping amplitude and γ the measurement rate. Resolving l φ , * in numerical simulations is difficult for γ / J → 0 or φ → π / 2 . However, the theory also predicts that critical-like behavior appears below a crossover scale that grows only algebraically in J / γ , making it numerically accessible. Our simulations confirm these predictions, establishing the absence of measurement- or unraveling-induced entanglement transitions in this model.