A bstract In this paper we study the notion of complexity under time evolution in chaotic quantum systems with holographic duals. Continuing on from our previous work, we turn our attention to the issue of Krylov complexity upon the insertion of a class of single-particle operators in the double-scaled SYK model. Such an operator is described by a matter-chord insertion, which splits the theory into left/right sectors, allowing us, via chord-diagram technology, to compute two different notions of complexity associated to the operator insertion: first a Krylov operator complexity, and second the Krylov complexity of a state obtained by an operator acting on the thermofield double state. We will provide both an analytic proof and detailed numerical evidence, that both Krylov complexities arise from a recursively defined basis of states characterized by a constant total chord number. As a consequence, in all cases we are able to establish that Krylov complexity is given by the expectation value of a length operator acting on the Hilbert space of the theory, expressed in terms of basis states, organized by left and right chord number. We find analytic expressions for the semiclassical limit of K-complexity, and study how the size of the operator encodes the scrambling dynamics upon the matter insertion in Krylov language. We furthermore determine the effective Hamiltonian governing the evolution of K-complexity, showing that evolution on the Krylov chain can equivalently be understood as a particle moving in a Morse potential. A particular type of triple scaling limit allows to access the gravitational sector of the theory, in which the geometrical nature of K-complexity is assured by virtue of being a total chord length, in an analogous fashion to what was found in [1] for the K-complexity of the thermofield double state.
A bstract In this paper we study the notion of complexity under time evolution in chaotic quantum systems with holographic duals. Continuing on from our previous work, we turn our attention to the issue of Krylov complexity upon the insertion of a class of single-particle operators in the double-scaled SYK model. Such an operator is described by a matter-chord insertion, which splits the theory into left/right sectors, allowing us, via chord-diagram technology, to compute two different notions of complexity associated to the operator insertion: first a Krylov operator complexity, and second the Krylov complexity of a state obtained by an operator acting on the thermofield double state. We will provide both an analytic proof and detailed numerical evidence, that both Krylov complexities arise from a recursively defined basis of states characterized by a constant total chord number. As a consequence, in all cases we are able to establish that Krylov complexity is given by the expectation value of a length operator acting on the Hilbert space of the theory, expressed in terms of basis states, organized by left and right chord number. We find analytic expressions for the semiclassical limit of K-complexity, and study how the size of the operator encodes the scrambling dynamics upon the matter insertion in Krylov language. We furthermore determine the effective Hamiltonian governing the evolution of K-complexity, showing that evolution on the Krylov chain can equivalently be understood as a particle moving in a Morse potential. A particular type of triple scaling limit allows to access the gravitational sector of the theory, in which the geometrical nature of K-complexity is assured by virtue of being a total chord length, in an analogous fashion to what was found in [1] for the K-complexity of the thermofield double state.
A bstract In this work, we formulate the holographic dictionary for the double-scaled SYK (DSSYK) model with matter operators. Based on the two-sided Hartle-Hawking (HH) state, we derive several properties of the DSSYK model, without making assumptions about the specific dual theory, including its semiclassical thermodynamics, correlation functions, and Krylov complexity. We derive these quantities from the saddle points of the DSSYK path integral preparing the HH state. We also construct a Lanczos algorithm that simultaneously evaluates Krylov state and operator complexity in the two-sided Hamiltonian system including finite temperature effects. In the semiclassical limit, both measures are encoded in the saddle points of the path integral. They have a bulk interpretation in terms of minimal geodesic lengths in an effective AdS 2 space with matter backreaction. Different saddle points correspond to geodesic distances with different evolution, and they display different scrambling properties. We also discuss about the quantization of the bulk theory dual to the DSSYK model. At last, we formulate the double-scaled algebra [ JHEP 11 (2022) 060] in bulk terms, and the dual entry of the proper radial momentum of a bulk probe.
This Thesis explores the notion of Krylov complexity as a probe of quantum chaos and as a candidate for holographic complexity. The first Part is devoted to presenting the fundamental notions required to conduct research in this area. Namely, an extensive introduction to the Lanczos algorithm, its properties and associated algebraic structures, as well as technical details related to its practical implementation, is given. Subsequently, an overview of the seminal references and the main debates regarding Krylov complexity and its relation to chaos and holography is provided. The text throughout this first Part combines review material with original analyses which either intend to contextualize, compare and criticize results in the literature, or are the fruit of the investigations leading to the publications on which this Thesis is based. These research projects are the subject of the second Part of the manuscript. In them, methods for the efficient implementation of the Lanczos algorithm in finite many-body systems were developed, allowing to compute numerically the Krylov complexity of models like SYK or the XXZ spin chain up to time scales exponentially large in system size. It was observed that the operator Krylov complexity profile in SYK, a paradigmatic low-dimensional chaotic system with a holographic dual, agrees with holographic expectations, while in the case of integrable models like XXZ complexity is affected by a novel localization effect in the so-called Krylov space which hinders its growth. Finally, an exact, analytical, correspondence between the Krylov complexity of the infinite-temperature thermofield double state in the low-energy regime of the double-scaled SYK model and bulk length in the theory of JT gravity is established.
A bstract We study the time evolution governed by the two-sided chord Hamiltonian in the double-scaled SYK model, which induces a probability distribution over operators in the double-scaled algebra. Through the bulk-to-boundary map, this distribution translates into dynamical profiles of bulk states within the chord Hilbert space. We derive analytic expressions for such profiles, valid across a broad parameter range and all time scales. Additionally, we demonstrate how distinct semi-classical behaviors emerge by localizing within specific energy regions in the semi-classical limit. We revisit the doubled Hilbert space formalism as an isometric map between the one-particle sector of the chord Hilbert space and the doubled zero-particle sector. Utilizing this map, we obtain analytic results for correlation functions and investigate the dynamical evolution for chord operators. Specifically, we establish an equivalence between the chord number generating function in presence of matter chords and the crossed four-point correlation function, the latter is closely related to the 6 j -symbol of Uq(su(1,1)) U q su 1 1 . We also explore finite-temperature effects, showing that operator spreading slows as temperature decreases. In the semi-classical limit, we perform a saddle point analysis and incorporate the one-loop determinant to derive the normalized time-ordered four-point correlation function at infinite temperature. The leading correction reproduces the 1/ N connected contribution observed in the large- p SYK model. Finally, we examine the time evolution of total chord number in presence of matter in the triple-scaled regime, linking it to the renormalized two-sided length in JT gravity with matter.
A bstract How can we define complexity in dS space from microscopic principles? Based on recent developments pointing towards a correspondence between a pair of double-scaled Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (DSSYK) models/ 2D Liouville-de Sitter (LdS 2 ) field theory/ 3D Schwarzschild de Sitter (SdS 3 ) space in [1–3], we study concrete complexity proposals in the microscopic models and their dual descriptions. First, we examine the spread complexity of the maximal entropy state of the doubled DSSYK model. We show that it counts the number of entangled chord states in its doubled Hilbert space. We interpret spread complexity in terms of a time difference between antipodal observers in SdS 3 space, and a boundary time difference of the dual LdS 2 CFTs. This provides a new connection between entanglement and geometry in dS space. Second, Krylov complexity , which describes operator growth, is computed for physical operators on all sides of the correspondence. Their late time evolution behaves as expected for chaotic systems. Later, we define the query complexity in the LdS 2 model as the number of steps in an algorithm computing n-point correlation functions of boundary operators of the corresponding antipodal points in SdS 3 space. We interpret query complexity as the number of matter operator chord insertions in a cylinder amplitude in the DSSYK, and the number of junctions of Wilson lines between antipodal static patch observers in SdS 3 space. Finally, we evaluate a specific proposal of Nielsen complexity for the DSSYK model and comment on its possible dual manifestations.
How can we define complexity in dS space from microscopic principles? Based on recent developments pointing towards a correspondence between a pair of double-scaled Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (DSSYK) models/ 2D Liouville-de Sitter (LdS2) field theory/ 3D Schwarzschild de Sitter (SdS3) space in arXiv:2310.16994, arXiv:2402.00635, arXiv:2402.02584, we study concrete complexity proposals in the microscopic models and their dual descriptions. First, we examine the spread complexity of the maximal entropy state of the doubled DSSYK model. We show that it counts the number of entangled chord states in its doubled Hilbert space. We interpret spread complexity in terms of a time difference between antipodal observers in SdS3 space, and a boundary time difference of the dual LdS2 CFTs. This provides a new connection between entanglement and geometry in dS space. Second, Krylov complexity, which describes operator growth, is computed for physical operators on all sides of the correspondence. Their late time evolution behaves as expected for chaotic systems. Later, we define the query complexity in the LdS2 model as the number of steps in an algorithm computing n-point correlation functions of boundary operators of the corresponding antipodal points in SdS3 space. We interpret query complexity as the number of matter operator chord insertions in a cylinder amplitude in the DSSYK, and the number of junctions of Wilson lines between antipodal static patch observers in SdS3 space. Finally, we evaluate a specific proposal of Nielsen complexity for the DSSYK model and comment on its possible dual manifestations.
A bstract We revisit the bulk Hilbert space interpretation of chords in the double-scaled SYK (DSSYK) model and introduce a notion of intertwiner that constructs bulk states from states with fixed boundary conditions. This leads to an isometric map that factorizes the one-particle bulk Hilbert space into a tensor product of two boundary Hilbert spaces without particle insertion. The map enables a systematic derivation of a family of correlation functions with arbitrary finite amount of matter insertions, relevant for capturing the switchback effect — a feature of holographic complexity. We further develop a path integral framework that describes multiple shockwave configurations in the semiclassical limit. For the two-body scattering processes in semi-classical regime, we show it exhibits sub-maximal chaos at finite temperature, consistent with the scramblon dynamics associated with the “fake disk” geometry. The effective “fake temperature” governing this behavior emerges from the semiclassical limit of the quantum 6 j -symbol associated with the out-of-time-order correlator. We further analyze multi-shockwave configurations and derive precise conditions under which the switchback effect is realized, both in terms of the total chord number and the Krylov complexity of precursor operators. Our results clarify the structure of correlation functions with multiple operator insertions, their bulk interpretation in terms of shockwave geometries in the semi-classical regime, and provide a microscopic derivation of the switchback effect in the DSSYK model.