Marked vertex search on disordered graphs with Rosenzweig-Porter phases

Abstract

Quantum marked vertex search algorithms are known to outperform their classical counterparts, yet their behavior in the presence of disorder remains largely unexplored. Here, we address this gap by studying marked vertex search on disordered random graphs. To introduce disorder, we implement the Rosenzweig-Porter (RP) model, a random matrix ensemble with tunable ergodic, non-ergodic extended, and localized phases, on Erdős-Rényi (ER) graphs. This produces a doubly random system where ER graph connectivity randomizes which interactions exist, while RP disorder controls their strength and `on-site' potentials, providing a two-parameter framework to study quantum dynamics on disordered networks. First, we show that the characteristic Wigner-Dyson-to-Poisson spectral crossover of the RP ensemble survives under graph constraints across the sparse-to-dense range, and we derive an analytical estimate for the finite-size localization boundary that shifts systematically with the graph edge probability $p$, consistent with a resonant-hybridization argument. Thereafter, using this disordered graph ensemble, we study the marked vertex search problem and find that search performance tracks the underlying quantum phase directly. Counterintuitively, the ergodic phase, despite supporting fast transport, yields lower success probability than the localized phase, which achieves high success probability at the cost of significantly longer search times. These results establish a direct and quantitative link between random matrix disorder on graphs and the performance of continuous-time quantum walk search, and suggest that disorder, rather than being merely an obstacle, can be exploited as a tunable parameter in quantum search protocols.