Understanding the dynamics of open quantum systems is intrinsically important to control and utilize quantum hardware in various applications. The generic behavior of purely dissipative open quantum many-body systems with $k$-local, normal dissipation processes can be investigated using random matrix theory, revealing different decay timescales of observables determined by their complexity, as shown by Wang et al. [K. Wang et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 100604 (2020)]. The time evolution of an open quantum system is entirely described by the eigenvalue spectrum of the Lindbladian, in which the hierarchy of decay timescales is reflected in the formation of well-separated eigenvalue clusters. Here, we extend the analysis of this spectrum to the presence of unitary dynamics using a random matrix model. In the case of strong dissipation, the unitary dynamics can be treated perturbatively and the $k$ locality of the Hamiltonian determines how susceptible the spectrum is to such a perturbation. For the physically most relevant case of (dissipative) two-body interactions, the correction in the first order of the perturbation vanishes, leading to the relative robustness of the spectral features, which in turn implies the same robustness of the corresponding separation of decay timescales. We find the perturbative approach for the spectrum to yield an excellent agreement with exact-diagonalization results. For weak dissipation, the spectrum flows into clusters except for outlier eigenmodes, which we identify to be the local symmetries of the Hamiltonian. We support our analytic findings by numerical simulations and show that our generic model applies to a nonrandom Heisenberg chain.
Understanding the dynamics of open quantum systems is intrinsically important to control and utilize quantum hardware in various applications. The generic behavior of purely dissipative open quantum many-body systems with k-local, normal dissipation processes can be investigated using random matrix theory, revealing different decay timescales of observables determined by their complexity, as shown by Wang et al. [K. Wang et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 100604 (2020)]. The time evolution of an open quantum system is entirely described by the eigenvalue spectrum of the Lindbladian, in which the hierarchy of decay timescales is reflected in the formation of well-separated eigenvalue clusters. Here, we extend the analysis of this spectrum to the presence of unitary dynamics using a random matrix model. In the case of strong dissipation, the unitary dynamics can be treated perturbatively and the k locality of the Hamiltonian determines how susceptible the spectrum is to such a perturbation. For the physically most relevant case of (dissipative) two-body interactions, the correction in the first order of the perturbation vanishes, leading to the relative robustness of the spectral features, which in turn implies the same robustness of the corresponding separation of decay timescales. We find the perturbative approach for the spectrum to yield an excellent agreement with exact-diagonalization results. For weak dissipation, the spectrum flows into clusters except for outlier eigenmodes, which we identify to be the local symmetries of the Hamiltonian. We support our analytic findings by numerical simulations and show that our generic model applies to a nonrandom Heisenberg chain.
To characterize the generic behavior of open quantum systems, we consider random, purely dissipative Liouvillians with a notion of locality. We find that the positivity of the map implies a sharp separation of the relaxation timescales according to the locality of observables. Specifically, we analyze a spin-1/2 system of size ℓ with up to n-body Lindblad operators, which are n local in the complexity-theory sense. Without locality (n=ℓ), the complex Liouvillian spectrum densely covers a "lemon"-shaped support, in agreement with recent findings [S. Denisov et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 140403 (2019)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.123.140403]. However, for local Liouvillians (n<ℓ), we find that the spectrum is composed of several dense clusters with random matrix spacing statistics, each featuring a lemon-shaped support wherein all eigenvectors correspond to n-body decay modes. This implies a hierarchy of relaxation timescales of n-body observables, which we verify to be robust in the thermodynamic limit. Our findings for n locality generalize immediately to the case of spatial locality, introducing further splitting of timescales due to the additional structure.
We consider the effects of strong dissipation in quantum systems with a notion of locality, which induces a hierarchy of many-body relaxation timescales as shown by K. Wang, F. Piazza, and D. J. Luitz [Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 100604 (2020)]. If the strength of the dissipation varies strongly in the system, additional separations of timescales can emerge, inducing a manifold of metastable states, to which observables relax first, before relaxing to the steady state. Our simple model, involving one or two ``good'' qubits with dissipation reduced by a factor $\ensuremath{\alpha}<1$ compared to the other ``bad'' qubits, confirms this picture and admits a perturbative treatment.
We show that current noisy quantum computers are ideal platforms for the simulation of quantum many-body dynamics in generic open systems.We demonstrate this using the IBM Quantum Computer as an experimental platform for confirming the theoretical prediction from Wang et al., [Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 100604 (2020)] of an emergent hierarchy of relaxation timescales of many-body observables involving different numbers of qubits.Using different protocols, we leverage the intrinsic dissipation of the machine responsible for gate errors, to implement a quantum simulation of generic (i.e., structureless) local dissipative interactions.
Understanding the structure and stability of open quantum dynamics is increasingly important for both fundamental studies of nonequilibrium quantum systems and the development of quantum simulation algorithms. In this work, we introduce a structural framework for Markovian open quantum systems that characterizes Lindbladian generators in terms of two scalar quantities: the dissipative strength and the non-normality. We show that normal generators admit an exact decoupling between dissipative and norm-preserving dynamics, leading to purely exponential behavior governed by the dissipative scale. In contrast, non-normality is an intrinsically dissipative feature: it vanishes in the absence of dissipation but is not implied by it. Moreover, it is structurally constrained by the interplay between the Hermitian and anti-Hermitian components of the generator. For generic Markovian open quantum systems, we identify parametric regimes controlled by a dimensionless ratio between non-normality and dissipative strength, governing the onset of transient amplification. These structural features have direct implications for quantum simulation. While Hamiltonian and normal dissipative dynamics exhibit stable evolution with standard scaling behavior, non-normal generators can induce transient growth that amplifies numerical errors and increases simulation cost. Our results provide a unified generator-level perspective on irreversibility, stability, and quantum simulation of open quantum systems.
Understanding the far-from-equilibrium dynamics of dissipative quantum systems, where dissipation and decoherence coexist with unitary dynamics, is an enormous challenge with immense rewards. Often, the only realistic approach is to forgo a detailed microscopic description and search for signatures of universal behavior shared by collections of many distinct, yet sufficiently similar, complex systems. Quantum chaos provides a powerful statistical framework for addressing this question, relying on symmetries to obtain information not accessible otherwise. This thesis examines how to reconcile chaos with dissipation, proceeding along two complementary lines. In Part I, we apply non-Hermitian random matrix theory to open quantum systems with Markovian dissipation and discuss the relaxation timescales and steady states of three representative examples of increasing physical relevance: single-particle Lindbladians and Kraus maps, open free fermions, and dissipative Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) models. In Part II, we investigate the symmetries, correlations, and universality of many-body open quantum systems, classifying several models of dissipative quantum matter. From a theoretical viewpoint, this thesis lays out a generic framework for the study of the universal properties of realistic, chaotic, and dissipative quantum systems. From a practical viewpoint, it provides the concrete building blocks of dynamical dissipative evolution constrained by symmetry, with potential technological impact on the fabrication of complex quantum structures. (Full abstract in the thesis.)
We study generic open quantum systems with Markovian dissipation, focusing on a class of stochastic Liouvillian operators of Lindblad form with independent random dissipation channels (jump operators) and a random Hamiltonian. We perform a thorough numerical study, focusing on global spectral features, the spectral gap, and the steady-state purity and statistics. We establish that all properties follow three different regimes as a function of the dissipation strength, whose boundaries depend on the particular observable. Within each regime, we determine the scaling exponents with the dissipation strength and system size. On the analytical side, we compute the average spectral gap at arbitrary dissipation and provide simple closed-form expressions for the asymptotic values at strong and weak dissipation strength. We also consider spectral correlations in generic complex spectra, such as that of the Liouvillian. We introduce and study, both analytically and numerically, the complex ratio of the nearest-neighbor spacing by next-to-nearest-neighbor spacing. Besides the usual level repulsion, we find that complex spacing ratios have a nontrivial angular dependence which offers a distinct signature of quantum chaos. It distinguishes integrable systems, which support the flat ratio distribution characteristic of Poisson statistics, and chaotic dissipative quantum systems, which conform to Random Matrix Theory statistics. We apply this new signature of quantum chaos to random Liouvillians and boundary-driven dissipative spin-chains. The results of this thesis can help understand the long-time dynamics, steady-state properties, and spectral correlations of generic dissipative systems.