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arXiv:2603.23616 · Physical review. B./Physical review. B

Fading ergodicity and quantum dynamics in random matrix ensembles

Rafał Świętek, Maksymilian Kliczkowski, Miroslav Hopjan, Lev Vidmar

cond-mat.stat-mechquant-phSubmitted Mar 24, 2026• Announced Mar 26, 2026• 1 citation
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Abstract

Recent work has proposed fading ergodicity as a mechanism for many-body ergodicity breaking. Here, we show that two paradigmatic random matrix ensembles -- the Rosenzweig-Porter model and the ultrametric model -- fall within the same universality class of ergodicity breaking when embedded in a many-body Hilbert space of spins-1/2. By calibrating the parameters of both models via their Thouless times, we demonstrate that the matrix elements of local observables display similar statistical properties, allowing us to identify the fractal phase of the Rosenzweig-Porter model with the fading-ergodicity regime. This correspondence is further supported through the analyses of quantum-quench dynamics of local observables, their temporal fluctuations and power spectra, and survival probabilities. Our findings reveal that local observables thermalize within the fading-ergodicity regime on timescales shorter than the Heisenberg time, thus providing a unified framework for understanding ergodicity breaking across these distinct models.

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Recent work has proposed fading ergodicity as a mechanism for many-body ergodicity breaking. Here, we show that two paradigmatic random matrix ensembles -- the Rosenzweig-Porter model and the ultrametric model -- fall within the same universality class of ergodicity breaking when embedded in a many-body Hilbert space of spins-1/2. By calibrating the parameters of both models via their Thouless times, we demonstrate that the matrix elements of local observables display similar statistical properties, allowing us to identify the fractal phase of the Rosenzweig-Porter model with the fading-ergodicity regime. This correspondence is further supported through the analyses of quantum-quench dynamics of local observables, their temporal fluctuations and power spectra, and survival probabilities. Our findings reveal that local observables thermalize within the fading-ergodicity regime on timescales shorter than the Heisenberg time, thus providing a unified framework for understanding ergodicity breaking across these distinct models.
The Rosenzweig-Porter model is a single-parameter random matrix ensemble that supports an ergodic, fractal, and localized phase. The names of these phases refer to the properties of the (midspectrum) eigenstates. This work focuses on the long-range spectral statistics of the recently introduced unitary equivalent of this model. By numerically studying the Thouless time obtained from the spectral form factor, it is argued that long-range spectral statistics can be used to probe the transition between the ergodic and the fractal phases. The scaling of the Thouless time as a function of the model parameters is found to be similar to the scaling of the spreading width of the eigenstates. Provided that the transition between the fractal and the localized phases can be probed through short-range level statistics, such as the average ratio of consecutive level spacings, this work establishes that spectral statistics are sufficient to probe both transitions present in the phase diagram. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
A bstract Utilizing the framework of free probability, we analyze the spectral and operator statistics of the Rosenzweig-Porter random matrix ensembles, which exhibit a rich phase structure encompassing ergodic, fractal, and localized regimes. Leveraging subordination formulae, we develop a perturbative scheme that yields semi-analytic expressions for the density of states up to second order in system size, in good agreement with numerical results. We compute higher-point correlation functions in the ergodic regime using both numerical and suitable analytic approximations. Our analysis of operator statistics for various spin operators across these regimes reveals close agreement with free probability predictions in the ergodic phase, in contrast to persistent deviations observed in the fractal and localized phases, even at late times. Notably, the fractal phase exhibits partial freeness while retaining memory of the initial spectrum, highlighting the importance of non-localized eigenstates and associated with the late-time dynamics of cumulative out-of-time-ordered-correlators (OTOCs). Employing distance measures and statistical tools such as the χ 2 statistic, Kullback-Leibler divergence, and Kolmogorov-Smirnov hypothesis testing, we define a characteristic time scale — the free time — that marks the onset of the validity of free probability predictions for operator spectral statistics in the ergodic phase. Remarkably, our findings demonstrate consistency across these different approaches.
The Rosenzweig--Porter (RP) random matrix ensemble has emerged as a minimal model for the integrability-to-chaos crossover in quantum many-body systems. Its phase diagram features a region with fractal eigenstates, exhibiting intermediate spectral and localization properties between the fully localized and fully delocalized regimes. In this work, we explore several generalizations of the RP model and determine their level statistics at the scale of the Thouless energy ETE_TET​, which characterizes the crossover. Using tools from free probability theory and the replica method, we compute the full counting statistics in the limit of large system size, and show that it takes a simple, universal scaling form around ETE_TET​, shared across all variations of the model. We validate our analytical predictions using exact numerical diagonalization of large samples, and large-deviation algorithms that resolve the full counting statistics down to probabilities as low as 10−4010^{-40}10−40. We also contrast our predictions with measurements on the quantum random energy model, which is the simplest model displaying many-body localization.
We study analytically and numerically the dynamics of the generalized Rosenzweig-Porter model, which is known to possess three distinct phases: ergodic, multifractal and localized phases. Our focus is on the survival probability R(t), the probability of finding the initial state after time t. In particular, if the system is initially prepared in a highly-excited non-stationary state (wave packet) confined in space and containing a fixed fraction of all eigenstates, we show that R(t)can be used as a dynamical indicator to distinguish these three phases. Three main aspects are identified in different phases. The ergodic phase is characterized by the standard power-law decay of R(t) with periodic oscillations in time, surviving in the thermodynamic limit, with frequency equals to the energy bandwidth of the wave packet. In multifractal extended phase the survival probability shows an exponential decay but the decay rate vanishes in the thermodynamic limit in a non-trivial manner determined by the fractal dimension of wave functions. Localized phase is characterized by the saturation value of R(t -> infinity) = k, finite in the thermodynamic limit N -> infinity, which approaches k = R (t -> 0) in this limit.
We study analytically and numerically the dynamics of the generalized Rosenzweig-Porter model, which is known to possess three distinct phases: ergodic, multifractal and localized phases. Our focus is on the survival probability \bm{R(t)} 𝐑 ( 𝐭 ) , the probability of finding the initial state after time \bm{t} 𝐭 . In particular, if the system is initially prepared in a highly-excited non-stationary state (wave packet) confined in space and containing a fixed fraction of all eigenstates, we show that \bm{R(t)} 𝐑 ( 𝐭 ) can be used as a dynamical indicator to distinguish these three phases. Three main aspects are identified in different phases. The ergodic phase is characterized by the standard power-law decay of \bm{R(t)} 𝐑 ( 𝐭 ) with periodic oscillations in time, surviving in the thermodynamic limit, with frequency equals to the energy bandwidth of the wave packet. In multifractal extended phase the survival probability shows an exponential decay but the decay rate vanishes in the thermodynamic limit in a non-trivial manner determined by the fractal dimension of wave functions. Localized phase is characterized by the saturation value of \bm{R(t\to\infty)=k} 𝐑 ( 𝐭 → ∞ ) = 𝐤 , finite in the thermodynamic limit \bm{N\rightarrow\infty} 𝐍 → ∞ , which approaches \bm{k=R(t\to 0)} 𝐤 = 𝐑 ( 𝐭 → 0 ) in this limit.
Quantum many-body systems can exhibit distinct regimes where dynamics is either ergodic, dynamically exploring an extensive region of available state-space, or non-ergodic, where the dynamics may be restricted. An example is the many-body localization (MBL) transition, where disorder induces non-ergodic behaviour. Most measures of ergodicity notably rely on global quantities, such as level spacing statistics. We explore the ability for a subsystem to probe the ergodicity of dynamics via measurement of local observables, and use expected results from random matrix theory (RMT) as a benchmark for the ergodic regime. We exploit two predictions from RMT as ergodicity is broken: the time evolution of the quantum Fisher information, and a fluctuation-dissipation relation. These are investigated in three different ergodicity breaking mechanisms, namely, as a consequence of transition to integrability, MBL, and Quantum Many-Body Scars (QMBS). We show that the predicted behaviour from RMT can be used as a potential witness for transition to non-ergodic behaviour from the measurement of local observables alone.