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arXiv:2512.07715 · Journal of High Energy Physics

Grand Canonical vs Canonical Krylov Complexity in Double-Scaled Complex SYK Model

Stefan Forste, Yannic Kruse, Saurabh Natu

hep-thcond-mat.str-elquant-phSubmitted Dec 8, 2025• Announced Dec 9, 2025• 0 citations• Revised Jul 24, 2026 (v2)
v1 · Dec 8, 2025v2 · Jul 24, 2026
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Abstract

We consider the complex SYK model in the double-scaling limit. We obtain the transfer matrix for the grand canonical ensemble and symmetrize it. In the (n,Q)- basis of chord states, the grand canonical transfer matrix is block diagonal, where each block is the canonical transfer matrix for the respective charge sector. We therefore conclude that the Krylov complexity for the grand canonical ensemble is given by the sum of the complexities in the charge sectors weighted by a probability function that depends on the chemical potential. Finally, we compute the Krylov complexity analytically in the limit of early and late time in the charge sector and numerically for both canonical and grand canonical ensemble.

Comments
41 pages, 6 figures, v2: accepted for publication in JHEP

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We consider the complex SYK model in the double-scaling limit. We obtain the transfer matrix for the grand canonical ensemble and symmetrize it. In the (n,Q)- basis of chord states, the grand canonical transfer matrix is block diagonal, where each block is the canonical transfer matrix for the respective charge sector. We therefore conclude that the Krylov complexity for the grand canonical ensemble is given by the sum of the complexities in the charge sectors weighted by a probability function that depends on the chemical potential. Finally, we compute the Krylov complexity analytically in the limit of early and late time in the charge sector and numerically for both canonical and grand canonical ensemble.
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.
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A bstract Considering the large q expansion of the Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) model in the two-stage limit, we compute the Lanczos coefficients, Krylov complexity, and the higher Krylov cumulants in subleading order, along with the t/q effects. The Krylov complexity naturally describes the “size” of the distribution while the higher cumulants encode richer information. We further consider the double-scaled limit of SYK q at infinite temperature, where q ~ N \sqrt{N} N​ N . In such a limit, we find that the scrambling time shrinks to zero, and the Lanczos coefficients diverge. The growth of Krylov complexity appears to be “hyperfast”, which is previously conjectured to be associated with scrambling in de Sitter space.
We study symmetry-resolved Krylov complexity in finite-dimensional chaotic quantum many-body systems. When both the Hamiltonian and the initial operator commute with a conserved charge, the operator dynamics decomposes into independent symmetry sectors, each with its own Krylov chain. We show that, after saturation, the unresolved Krylov complexity is additive over symmetry sectors. In the absence of additional Liouvillian degeneracies, the late-time contribution of a sector with Hilbert-space dimension dqd_qdq​ is controlled by dq(dq−1)d_q(d_q-1)dq​(dq​−1), leading to a dimension-weighted equipartition that approaches the simple large-sector scaling dq2/∑q′dq′2d_q^2/\sum_{q'}d_{q'}^2dq2​/∑q′​dq′2​. This late-time rule differs from the early-time weighted-average discussed in the literature and is governed instead by the dimensions of the accessible operator spaces. We support the analytic prediction with numerical studies of the real and complex SYK models, a chaotic bosonic spin model, and the mixed-field Ising chain. Our results show that resolving exact symmetries is essential for interpreting the saturation value of Krylov complexity as a diagnostic of chaotic operator growth.