In this work we derive the replica field theory for monitored quantum many-body systems evolving under the quantum jumps protocol, corresponding to a non-Hermitian evolution interspersed with random quantum jumps whose distribution is state-dependent. We show that the density matrix of $R$ replicas evolves according to a master equation where the non-Hermitian term is replica-diagonal while coupling among replicas are due to quantum jumps. We write down the associated Keldysh action and study its behavior for the specific case of the Ising Chain with monitoring of particle density and tunable anisotropy, interpolating between free fermions with strong U(1) symmetry and the Ising chain with Z$_2$ symmetry. We derive the effective field theory in terms of slowly varying fields and obtain the replica-diagonal saddle point, which we show to describe the average state. We then go beyond saddle point and derive the effective field theory describing the replica off-diagonal sector, which takes the form of a Non-Linear Sigma Model. The symmetry class is either DIII or D, depending on the parameters of the Ising chain, except at a special symmetric point, where we recover the results for free fermions. We discuss the implications of these findings for the entangling phase observed numerically for the monitored Ising chain.
In this work we derive the replica field theory for monitored quantum many-body systems evolving under the quantum jumps protocol, corresponding to a non-Hermitian evolution interspersed with random quantum jumps whose distribution is state-dependent. We show that the density matrix of R replicas evolves according to a master equation where the non-Hermitian term is replica-diagonal while coupling among replicas are due to quantum jumps. We write down the associated Keldysh action and study its behavior for the specific case of the Ising Chain with monitoring of particle density and tunable anisotropy, interpolating between free fermions with strong U(1) symmetry and the Ising chain with Z2 symmetry. We derive the effective field theory in terms of slowly varying fields and obtain the replica-diagonal saddle point, which we show to describe the average state. We then go beyond saddle point and derive the effective field theory describing the replica off-diagonal sector, which takes the form of a Non-Linear Sigma Model. The symmetry class is either DIII or D, depending on the parameters of the Ising chain, except at a special symmetric point, where we recover the results for free fermions. We discuss the implications of these findings for the entangling phase observed numerically for the monitored Ising chain.
Monitored quantum many-body systems display a rich pattern of entanglement dynamics, which is unique to this nonunitary setting. This work studies the effect of quantum jumps on the entanglement dynamics beyond the no-click limit corresponding to a deterministic non-Hermitian evolution. To this aim, we introduce a new tool that looks at the statistics of entanglement-entropy gain and loss after and in between quantum jumps. This insight allows us to build a simple stochastic model of a random walk with partial resetting, which reproduces the entanglement dynamics, and to dissect the mutual role of jumps and non-Hermitian evolution on the entanglement scaling. We apply these ideas to the study of measurement-induced transitions in monitored fermions. We demonstrate that significant deviations from the no-click limit arise whenever quantum jumps strongly renormalize the non-Hermitian dynamics, as in the case of models with U ( 1 ) symmetry at weak monitoring. On the other hand, we show that the weak-monitoring phase of the Ising chain leads to a robust subvolume logarithmic phase due to weakly renormalized non-Hermitian dynamics. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
Measurement-induced phase transitions have largely been explored for projective or continuous measurements of Hermitian observables, assuming perfect detection without information loss. Yet such transitions also arise in more general settings, including quantum-jump processes with non-Hermitian jump operators, and under inefficient detection. A theoretical framework for treating these broader scenarios has been missing. Here we develop a comprehensive replica Keldysh field theory for general quantum-jump processes in both bosonic and fermionic systems. Our formalism provides a unified description of pure-state quantum trajectories under efficient detection and mixed-state dynamics emerging from inefficient monitoring, with deterministic Lindbladian evolution appearing as a limiting case. It thus establishes a direct connection between phase transitions in nonequilibrium steady states of driven open quantum matter and in measurement-induced dynamics. As an application, we study imbalanced and inefficient fermion counting in a one-dimensional lattice system: monitored gain and loss of fermions occurring at different rates, with a fraction of gain and loss jumps undetected. For imbalanced but efficient counting, we recover the qualitative picture of the balanced case: entanglement obeys an area law for any nonzero jump rate, with an extended quantum-critical regime emerging between two parametrically separated length scales. Inefficient detection introduces a finite correlation length beyond which entanglement, as quantified by the fermionic logarithmic negativity, obeys an area law, while the subsystem entropy shows volume-law scaling. Numerical simulations support our analytical findings. Our results offer a general and versatile theoretical foundation for studying measurement-induced phenomena across a wide class of monitored and open quantum systems.
We derive field theory descriptions for measurement-induced phase transitions in free fermion systems.We focus on a multiflavor Majorana chain, undergoing Hamiltonian evolution with continuous monitoring of local fermion parity operators.Using the replica trick, we map the dynamics to the imaginary time evolution of an effective spin chain and use the number of flavors as a large parameter for a controlled derivation of the effective field theory.This is a nonlinear sigma model for an orthogonal N × N matrix, in the replica limit N → 1. (On a boundary of the phase diagram, another sigma model with higher symmetry applies.)Together with known results for the renormalization-group beta function, this derivation establishes the existence of stable phases-nontrivially entangled and disentangled, respectively-in the physically relevant replica limit N → 1.In the nontrivial phase, an asymptotically exact calculation shows that the bipartite entanglement entropy for a system of size L scales as ðln LÞ 2 , in contrast to findings in previously studied models.Varying the relative strength of Hamiltonian evolution and monitoring, as well as a dimerization parameter, the model's phase diagram contains transitions out of the nontrivial phase, which we map to vortex-unbinding transitions in the sigma model, and also contains separate critical points on the measurement-only axis.We highlight the close analogies as well as the differences with the replica approach to Anderson transitions in disordered systems.
We study measurement-induced phases of free fermion systems with U ( 1 ) symmetry. Following a recent approach developed for Majorana chains, we derive a field theory description for the purity and bipartite entanglement at large space and timescales. We focus on a multiflavor one-dimensional chain with random complex hoppings and continuous monitoring of the local fermion density. By means of the replica trick, and using the number of flavors as a large parameter controlling our approximations, we derive an effective field theory made up of a SU(N) nonlinear sigma model ( NL σ M ) coupled to fluctuating hydrodynamics. Contrary to the case of noninteracting Majorana fermions, displaying no U ( 1 ) symmetry, we find that the bipartite entanglement entropy satisfies an area law for all monitoring rates but with a nontrivial scaling of entanglement when the correlation length is large. We provide numerical evidence supporting our claims. We briefly show how imposing a reality condition on the hoppings can change the NL σ M and also discuss higher-dimensional generalizations. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
The interplay of unitary evolution and local measurements in many-body systems gives rise to a stochastic state evolution and to measurement-induced phase transitions in the pure state entanglement. In realistic settings, however, this dynamics may be spoiled by decoherence, e.g., dephasing, due to coupling to an environment or measurement imperfections. We investigate the impact of dephasing and the inevitable evolution into a non-Gaussian, mixed state, on the dynamics of monitored fermions. We approach it from three complementary perspectives: (i) the exact solution of the conditional master equation for small systems, (ii) quantum trajectory simulations of Gaussian states for large systems, and (iii) a renormalization group analysis of a bosonic replica field theory. For weak dephasing, constant monitoring preserves a weakly mixed state, which displays a robust measurement-induced phase transition between a critical and a pinned phase, as in the decoherence-free case. At strong dephasing, we observe the emergence of a new scale describing an effective temperature, which is accompanied with an increased mixedness of the fermion density matrix. Remarkably, observables such as density-density correlation functions or the subsystem parity still display scale invariant behavior even in this strongly mixed phase. We interpret this as a signature of gapless, classical diffusion, which is stabilized by the balanced interplay of Hamiltonian dynamics, measurements, and decoherence.
This work develops tools to understand how quantum information spreads, scrambles, and is reshaped by measurements in many-body systems. First, I study scrambling and pseudorandomness in the Brownian Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) model, quantifying pseudorandomness using unitary k-designs and frame potentials. Using Keldysh path integrals with replicas and disorder averaging, I obtain analytic control of the approach to randomness, identify collective modes that delay convergence to Haar-like behavior, and estimate design times as functions of model parameters, clarifying links between scrambling, complexity growth, and random-circuit phenomenology. Second, I construct a field theory for weakly measured SYK clusters. Starting from a system-ancilla description and a continuum monitoring limit, and using fermionic coherent states with replicas and disorder averaging, I derive a nonlinear sigma model that captures measurement back-action and the competition between interaction-induced scrambling and information extraction, predicting characteristic crossover scales and response signatures that distinguish weak monitoring from fully unitary evolution. Third, I develop a strong-disorder renormalization group for measurement-only SYK clusters, based on the SO(2n) replica algebra and Dasgupta-Ma decimation rules. The flow shows features reminiscent of infinite-randomness behavior, but an order-of-limits subtlety renders the leading recursions non-robust, so the analytic evidence for an infinite-randomness fixed point is inconclusive, even though the average second Renyi entropy displays logarithmic scaling. Together, these results provide a unified language to diagnose when many-body dynamics generate operational randomness and how measurements redirect that flow.