The local-operator entanglement (LOE) measures the classical simulability of a Heisenberg operator and is conjectured to witness many-body chaos in locally interacting systems. Using tools from free probability, we analytically compute its asymptotic value for Haar random dynamics for all Rényi indices. We find that to the first two orders in large dimension, for traceless operators it exactly reproduces the Page curve for random states. In contrast to higher-order out-of-time-ordered correlators (OTOCs), which depend on more complex operator correlations via free cumulants, the leading-order LOE is independent of the initial operator. \add{We detail exactly how these higher-order correlations are encoded in the coefficients of the finite-size corrections. Therefore, guided by our Haar result, we argue that the long-time value of the LOE entropies in chaotic systems is robust: they depend only on a simple sub-sector of the hierarchy of correlations encoded by the full Eigenstate Thermalization Hypothesis. Our results therefore provide a conceptual boundary between operator simulability and higher-order scrambling diagnostics.
The local-operator entanglement (LOE) measures the classical simulability of a Heisenberg operator and is conjectured to witness many-body chaos in locally interacting systems. Using tools from free probability, we analytically compute its asymptotic value for Haar random dynamics for all Rényi indices. We find that to the first two orders in large dimension, for traceless operators it exactly reproduces the Page curve for random states. In contrast to higher-order out-of-time-ordered correlators (OTOCs), which depend on more complex operator correlations via free cumulants, the leading-order LOE is independent of the initial operator. \add{We detail exactly how these higher-order correlations are encoded in the coefficients of the finite-size corrections. Therefore, guided by our Haar result, we argue that the long-time value of the LOE entropies in chaotic systems is robust: they depend only on a simple sub-sector of the hierarchy of correlations encoded by the full Eigenstate Thermalization Hypothesis. Our results therefore provide a conceptual boundary between operator simulability and higher-order scrambling diagnostics.
Local-operator entanglement (LOE) quantifies the nonlocal structure of Heisenberg operators and serves as a diagnostic of many-body chaos. We provide rigorous bounds showing when an operator can be well-approximated by a matrix-product operator (MPO), given asymptotic scaling of its LOE α-Rényi entropies. Specifically, we prove that a volume law scaling for α≥1 implies that the operator cannot be approximated efficiently as an MPO while faithfully reproducing all expectation values. On the other hand, if we restrict to correlations over a relevant sub-class of (ensembles of) states, then logarithmic scaling of the α<1 entropies implies MPO simulability. This result covers a range of relevant quantities, including infinite temperature autocorrelation functions, out-of-time-ordered correlators, and average-case expectation values over ensembles of computational basis states. Beyond this regime, we provide numerical evidence together with a random matrix model to argue that this simulability result also typically holds for arbitrary states. Our results put on firm footing the heuristic expectation that a low operator entanglement implies efficient tensor network representability, extending celebrated foundational results from the theory of matrix-product states and providing a formal link between quantum chaos and classical simulability.
Unitary randomness underpins both fundamental tasks in quantum information and the modern theory of quantum chaos. On one side, a central concept is that of approximate unitary designs: circuits that look random according to small moments and for forward-in-time protocols. In a distinct setting, out-of-time-ordered correlators (OTOCs), intensely studied as a measure of information scrambling, have recently been shown to probe freeness between Heisenberg operators, the noncommutative generalization of statistical independence. Bridging these two concepts, we study the emergence of freeness in a random matrix product unitary ensemble. We prove that, with only polynomial bond dimension, these unitaries reproduce Haar values of higher-order OTOCs for local, finite-trace observables, while traceless observables instead require exponential resources. Indeed, local observables are precisely those predicted to thermalize in chaotic many-body systems according to the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis. Moreover, adding to previous literature, we show how random matrix product unitaries constitute approximate designs: we exactly compute the frame potential of the ensemble, showing convergence to the Haar value with polynomial deviations and so indicating that global observables are freely independent on-average. Our results highlight the need to refine previous notions of unitary design in the context of operator dynamics, guiding us towards protocols for quantum advantage and shedding light on the emergent complexity of chaotic many-body systems.
Local Operator Entanglement (LOE) has emerged an indicator of quantum chaos in many-body systems. Numerical studies have shown that, in chaotic systems, LOE grows linearly in time and displays a volume-law behavior at late times, scaling proportionally with the number of local degrees of freedom. Despite extensive numerical evidence, complemented by analytical studies in integrable systems, a fully analytical understanding of the emergence of the volume law remains incomplete. In this paper, we contribute toward this goal by deriving a late-time expression for LOE in chaotic systems that exhibits volume-law scaling. Our derivation proceeds by expressing the late-time LOE in the Liouville eigenstate basis and relies on three main assumptions: a higher-order non-resonance condition for the Hamiltonian eigenenergies, the Eigenstate Thermalization Hypothesis (ETH) ansatz for the matrix elements of the initial local operator, and the replacement of Hamiltonian eigenstates with random states in the final expression for LOE. Under these assumptions, we obtain an explicit formula displaying volume-law scaling. Finally, we complement our analytical derivation with numerical simulations of the 1D mixed-field Ising model, testing the resulting formula and exploring the regime of validity of our assumptions.
We show that out-of-time-order correlators (OTOCs) constitute a probe for local-operator entanglement (LOE). There is strong evidence that a volumetric growth of LOE is a faithful dynamical indicator of quantum chaos, while OTOC decay corresponds to operator scrambling, often conflated with chaos. We show that rapid OTOC decay is a necessary but not sufficient condition for linear (chaotic) growth of the LOE entropy. We analytically support our results through wide classes of local-circuit models of many-body dynamics, including both integrable and nonintegrable dual-unitary circuits. We show sufficient conditions under which local dynamics leads to an equivalence of scrambling and chaos.
Local-operator entanglement (LOE) dictates the complexity of simulating Heisenberg evolution using tensor network methods, and it bears witness to many-body chaos for local dynamics. We show that LOE is also sensitive to how non-Clifford a unitary is-its magic resources. In particular, we prove that LOE is always upper-bound by three distinct magic monotones: T-count, unitary nullity, and operator-stabilizer Rényi entropy. Moreover, in the average case for large, random circuits, LOE and magic monotones approximately coincide. Our results imply that an operator evolution that is expensive to simulate using tensor network methods must also be inefficient using both stabilizer and Pauli truncation methods. In terms of a previous conjecture on the characteristic scaling of LOE, our results imply that nonintegrable spin chains cannot be simulated classically. Entanglement in operator space therefore measures a unified picture of nonclassical resources, in stark contrast to the Schrödinger picture.
Random permutation circuits were recently introduced as minimal models for local many-body dynamics that can be interpreted both as classical and quantum. Standard dynamical complexity indicators such as damage spreading and out-of-time-order correlators (OTOCs), show that these systems exhibit sensitivity to initial conditions in the classical setting and operator scrambling in the quantum setting. Here, we address their quantum chaoticity—a stricter property—by studying the time evolution of local operator entanglement (LOE). We show that the behavior of LOE in random permutation circuits depends on the dimension of the local configuration space q . When q = 2 , i.e., the circuits act on qubits, random permutations are Clifford and the LOE of any local operator is bounded by a constant, indicating that they are not truly chaotic. On the other hand, when the dimension of the local configuration space exceeds two, the LOE grows linearly in time. We prove this in the limit of large q and present numerical evidence that a three-dimensional local configuration space is sufficient for a linear growth of LOE. Our findings highlight that quantum chaos can be produced by essentially classical dynamics. Moreover, we show that LOE can be defined also in the classical realm and put it forward as a universal indicator chaos, both quantum and classical.