We define a quantum Perron–Frobenius master operator over a suitable normed space of translationally invariant states adjoint to the quasi-local C * algebra of quantum lattice gasses (e.g. spin chains), whose spectrum determines the exponents of decay of time correlation functions. The theoretical ideas are applied to a generic example of kicked Ising spin 1/2 chains. We show that the 'chaotic eigenmodes' corresponding to leading eigenvalue resonances have fractal structure in the basis of local operators.
We define a quantum Perron–Frobenius master operator over a suitable normed space of translationally invariant states adjoint to the quasi-local C * algebra of quantum lattice gasses (e.g. spin chains), whose spectrum determines the exponents of decay of time correlation functions. The theoretical ideas are applied to a generic example of kicked Ising spin 1/2 chains. We show that the 'chaotic eigenmodes' corresponding to leading eigenvalue resonances have fractal structure in the basis of local operators.
We study Ruelle-Pollicott resonances in translationally invariant quantum many-body lattice systems via spectra of a momentum-resolved operator propagator on infinite systems. Momentum dependence gives insight into the decay of correlation functions, showing that, depending on their symmetries, different correlation functions in general decay with different rates. Focusing on the kicked Ising model, the spectrum seems to be typically composed of an annular random matrix-like ring whose size we theoretically predict, and few isolated resonances. We identify several interesting regimes, including a mixing regime with a power-law decay of correlation functions. In that regime, we also observe a huge difference in timescales of different correlation functions due to an almost conserved operator. An exact expression for the singular values of the operator propagator is conjectured, showing that it becomes singular at a special point.
A key goal of quantum chaos is to establish a relationship between widely observed universal spectral fluctuations of clean quantum systems and random matrix theory (RMT).Most prominent features of such RMT behavior with respect to a random spectrum, both encompassed in spectral pair correlation function, are statistical suppression of small level spacings (correlation hole) and enhanced stiffness of the spectrum at large spectral ranges.For single particle systems with fully chaotic classical counterparts, the problem has been partly solved by Berry [Proc.R. Soc.London, A400, 229 (1985)] within the so-called diagonal approximation of semiclassical periodic-orbit sums, while the derivation of the full RMT spectral form factor K(t) (Fourier transform of spectral pair correlation function), from semiclassics has been completed by Müller et al. [Phys.Rev. Lett.93, 014103 (2004)].In recent years, the questions of long-time dynamics at high energies, for which the full many-body energy spectrum becomes relevant, are coming at the forefront even for simple many-body quantum systems, such as locally interacting spin chains.Such systems display two universal types of behaviour which are termed as the 'many-body localized phase' and 'ergodic phase'.In the ergodic phase, the spectral fluctuations are excellently described by RMT, even for very simple interactions and in the absence of any external source of disorder.Here we provide a clear theoretical explanation for these observations.We compute K(t) in the leading two orders in t and show its agreement with RMT for non-integrable, time-reversal invariant many-body systems without classical counterparts, a generic example of which are Ising spin 1/2 models in a periodically kicking transverse field.In particular, we relate K(t) to partition functions of a class of twisted classical Ising models on a ring of size t, hence the leading order RMT behavior K(t)2t is a consequence of translation and reflection symmetry of the Ising partition function.
Spectral analysis of the adjoint propagator in a suitable Hilbert space (and Lie algebra) of quantum observables in Heisenberg picture is discussed as an alternative approach to characterize infinite temperature dynamics of non-linear quantum many-body systems or quantum fields, and to provide a bridge between ergodic properties of such systems and the results of classical ergodic theory. We begin by reviewing some recent analytic and numerical results along this lines. In some cases the Heisenberg dynamics inside the subalgebra of the relevant quantum observables can be mapped explicitly into the (conceptually much simpler) Schrödinger dynamics of a single one-(or few)-dimensional quantum particle. The main body of the paper is concerned with an application of the proposed method in order to work out explicitly the general spectral measures and the time correlation functions in a quantum Ising spin 1/2 chain in a periodically kicking transversal magnetic field, including the results for the simpler autonomous case of a static magnetic field in the appropriate limit. The main result, being a consequence of a purely continuous non-trivial part of the spectrum, is that the general time-correlation functions decay to their saturation values as t-3/2.
We describe a chaos scenario valid for chaotic many-body quantum systems, the simulation of which is one of the prime candidates for demonstrating quantum advantage, and clarify its importance for classical truncation-based simulations. By studying the spectral properties of the truncated propagator, we, for the first time, identify fractal structures responsible for many-body quantum chaos, analogous to the fractality in classical chaos emerging from the time evolution of initially smooth long-wavelength densities into ever finer short-wavelength densities. Namely, we show that the leading slowest-decaying Ruelle-Pollicott eigenoperators have a non-trivial fractal dimension quantifying their non-locality, visible also in the divergence of their condition numbers. Furthermore, we find that unitarity imposes an asymptotic equality between the temporal decay rate of local correlations and this many-body fractal dimension. With this insight, the scenario for many-body quantum chaos becomes clear: over time, local operators evolve toward increasingly non-local ones with a quantifiable fractal structure, thereby naturally leading to effective non-unitary relaxation on the subspace of local operators -- a kind of many-body Kolmogorov cascade in the space of operators -- which enables accurate truncation-based simulations. Our predictions are demonstrated numerically in various one- and two-dimensional quantum circuits, with and without conservation laws, as well as by exact results in dual-unitary circuits.
A key goal of quantum chaos is to establish a relationship between widely observed universal spectral fluctuations of clean quantum systems and random matrix theory (RMT). Most prominent features of such RMT behavior with respect to a random spectrum, both encompassed in the spectral pair correlation function, are statistical suppression of small level spacings (correlation hole) and enhanced stiffness of the spectrum at large spectral ranges. For single-particle systems with fully chaotic classical counterparts, the problem has been partly solved by Berry [Proc. R. Soc. A 400, 229 (1985)] within the so-called diagonal approximation of semiclassical periodic-orbit sums, while the derivation of the full RMT spectral form factor K(t) (Fourier transform of the spectral pair correlation function) from semiclassics has been completed by Müller et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 014103 (2004)]. In recent years, the questions of long-time dynamics at high energies, for which the full many-body energy spectrum becomes relevant, are coming to the forefront even for simple many-body quantum systems, such as locally interacting spin chains. Such systems display two universal types of behaviour which are termed the "many-body localized phase" and "ergodic phase." In the ergodic phase, the spectral fluctuations are excellently described by RMT, even for very simple interactions and in the absence of any external source of disorder. Here we provide a clear theoretical explanation for these observations. We compute K(t) in the leading two orders in t and show its agreement with RMT for nonintegrable, time-reversal invariant many-body systems without classical counterparts, a generic example of which are Ising spin-1/2 models in a periodically kicking transverse field. In particular, we relate K(t) to partition functions of a class of twisted classical Ising models on a ring of size t; hence, the leading-order RMT behavior K(t)≃2t is a consequence of translation and reflection symmetry of the Ising partition function.Received 5 February 2018Revised 12 April 2018DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.8.021062Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.Published by the American Physical SocietyPhysics Subject Headings (PhySH)Research AreasQuantum chaosQuantum statistical mechanicsStatistical PhysicsNonlinear DynamicsCondensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics