We study the universal properties of the Lanczos algorithm applied to finite-size many-body quantum systems. Focusing on autocorrelation functions of local operators and on their infinite-time behaviour at finite size, we conjecture that in the large $n$ limit, the ratios between consecutive Lanczos coefficients should have specific scalings with the size of the lattice that we make precise and that depend on the hydrodynamic tail of the autocorrelation function. The scaling associated with strong or approximate zero-modes is also discussed. We support our conjecture with a numerical study of different models.
We study the universal properties of the Lanczos algorithm applied to finite-size many-body quantum systems. Focusing on autocorrelation functions of local operators and on their infinite-time behaviour at finite size, we conjecture that in the large n limit, the ratios between consecutive Lanczos coefficients should have specific scalings with the size of the lattice that we make precise and that depend on the hydrodynamic tail of the autocorrelation function. The scaling associated with strong or approximate zero-modes is also discussed. We support our conjecture with a numerical study of different models.
Abstract In a quantum many-body system, autocorrelation functions can determine linear responses nearby equilibrium and quantum dynamics far from equilibrium. In this letter, we bring out the connection between the operator complexity and the autocorrelation function. In particular, we focus on a particular kind of operator complexity called the Krylov complexity. We find that a set of Lanczos coefficients {bn} { b n } computed for determining the Krylov complexity can reveal the universal behaviors of autocorrelations, which are otherwise impossible. When the time axis is scaled by b1 b 1 , different autocorrelation functions obey a universal function form at short time. We further propose a characteristic parameter deduced from {bn} { b n } that can largely determine the behavior of autocorrelations at the intermediate time. This parameter can also largely determine whether the autocorrelation function oscillates or monotonically decays in time. We present numerical evidences and physical intuitions to support these universal hypotheses of autocorrelations. We emphasize that these universal behaviors are held across different operators and different physical systems.
This cumulative doctoral thesis, based on the works [P1–P5], addresses various topical concepts as well as foundational questions in the nonequilibrium physics of quantum many-body systems. Publication [P1] concerns itself with the question of time’s arrow in quantum mechanics. Based on the recursion method, we attribute autocorrelation functions of few-body observables at infinite temperature (almost) monotonously decreasing functions, constructed from temporal derivatives of the correlation function that indicate a directed approach to equilibrium. We numerically find that in chaotic models, these constructions comprise a notion of simplicity of the underlying dynamics. Addressing the ubiquity of simple relaxation dynamics in otherwise complex chaotic systems, in Ref. [P3] we introduce a scheme based on Lanczos coefficients to approximate correlation functions in the thermodynamic limit. Examining several pertinent condensed-matter type models and benchmarking with state-of-the-art numerics, we find the method to yield good results already for a low number of included Lanczos coefficients, provided that the latter exhibit a smooth and increasing structure. We underpin these findings with analytical arguments on the method’s applicability. Ref. [P2] provides an estimate on the equilibration time of such infinite-temperature correlation functions in the thermodynamic limit. Similarly to Ref. [P3], we find the estimate to capture the equilibration times very reasonably, given that the corresponding Lanczos coefficients exhibit a smooth growth. Substantiated by analytical considerations, the convergence of the estimate implies that equilibration timescales of the relaxation processes are finite and conceivably short. In Ref. [P5] we scrutinize the interpretative power of the Lanczos coefficients concerning the system’s integrability or chaoticity, operator growth and the indicativeness of physical behavior. To this end, we analytically deter- mine the Lanczos coefficients for a Majorana observable in a strictly quadratic model and illustrate that within this model any structure of the Lanczos coefficients may be realised. Different to the other works, Ref. [P4] is not cast in the language of the recursion method. Focusing on the full eigenstate thermalization hypothesis, it explores the connection between thermalization dynamics of multi-point correlation functions and the scaling of thermal free cumulants in setups mimicking a system-bath situation.
We establish rigorously the scaling properties of the Lanczos process applied to an arbitrary extensive many-body system which is carried to convergence n→∞ and the thermodynamic limit N→∞ taken. In this limit the solution for the limiting Lanczos coefficients are found exactly and generally through two equivalent sets of equations, given initial knowledge of the exact cumulant generating function. The measure and the orthogonal polynomial system associated with the Lanczos process in this regime are also given explicitly. Some important representations of these Lanczos functions are given, including Taylor series expansions, and theorems controling their general properties are proven.
We study the operator growth problem and its complexity in the many-body localization (MBL) system from the Lanczos algorithm perspective. Using the Krylov basis, the operator growth problem can be viewed as a single-particle hopping problem on a semi-infinite chain with the hopping amplitudes given by the Lanczos coefficients. We find that, in the MBL systems, the Lanczos coefficients scale as \sim n/\ln(n) ∼ n / ln ( n ) asymptotically, same as in the ergodic systems, but with an additional even-odd alteration and an effective randomness. We use a simple linear extrapolation scheme as an attempt to extrapolate the Lanczos coefficients to the thermodynamic limit. With the original and extrapolated Lanczos coefficients, we study the properties of the emergent single-particle hopping problem via its spectral function, integrals of motion, Krylov complexity, wavefunction profile and return probability. Our numerical results of the above quantities suggest that the emergent single-particle hopping problem in the MBL system is localized when initialized on the first site. We also study the operator growth in the MBL phenomenological model, whose Lanczos coefficients also have an even-odd alteration, but approach constants asymptotically. The Krylov complexity grows linearly in time in this case.
We study the operator growth problem and its complexity in the many-body localization (MBL) system from the Lanczos algorithm perspective. Using the Krylov basis, the operator growth problem can be viewed as a single-particle hopping problem on a semi-infinite chain with the hopping amplitudes given by the Lanczos coefficients. We find that, in the MBL systems, the Lanczos coefficients scale as ∼ n/ ln(n) asymptotically, same as in the ergodic systems, but with an additional even-odd alteration and an effective randomness. We use a simple linear extrapolation scheme as an attempt to extrapolate the Lanczos coefficients to the thermodynamic limit. With the original and extrapolated Lanczos coefficients, we study the properties of the emergent single-particle hopping problem via its spectral function, integrals of motion, Krylov complexity, wavefunction profile and return probability. Our numerical results of the above quantities suggest that the emergent single-particle hopping problem in the MBL system is localized when initialized on the first site. We also study the operator growth in the MBL phenomenological model, whose Lanczos coefficients also have an even-odd alteration, but approach constants asymptotically. The Krylov complexity grows linearly in time in this case.
Recently, a hypothesis on the complexity growth of unitarily evolving operators was presented. This hypothesis states that in generic, nonintegrable many-body systems, the so-called Lanczos coefficients associated with an autocorrelation function grow asymptotically linear, with a logarithmic correction in one-dimensional systems. In contrast, the growth is expected to be slower in integrable or free models. In this paper, we numerically test this hypothesis for a variety of exemplary systems, including one-dimensional and two-dimensional Ising models as well as one-dimensional Heisenberg models. While we find the hypothesis to be practically fulfilled for all considered Ising models, the onset of the hypothesized universal behavior could not be observed in the attainable numerical data for the Heisenberg model. The proposed linear bound on operator growth associated with the hypothesis eventually stems from geometric arguments involving the locality of the Hamiltonian as well as the lattice configuration. We derive and investigate a related geometric bound, and we find that while the bound itself is not sharply achieved for any considered model, the hypothesis is nonetheless fulfilled in most cases.