Symmetry breaking and localization in quantum chaotic systems

Angelo Russotto, Filiberto Ares, Pasquale Calabrese

Recent work has shown that the entanglement of finite-temperature eigenstates in chaotic quantum many-body local Hamiltonians can be accurately described by an ensemble of random states with an internal U(1) symmetry. We build upon this result to investigate the universal symmetry-breaking properties of such eigenstates. As a probe of symmetry breaking, we employ the entanglement asymmetry, a quantum information observable that quantifies the extent to which symmetry is broken in a subsystem. This measure enables us to explore the finer structure of finite-temperature eigenstates in terms of the U(1)-symmetric random state ensemble; in particular, the relation between the Hamiltonian and the effective conserved charge in the ensemble. Our analysis is supported by analytical calculations for the symmetric random states, as well as exact numerical results for the Mixed-Field Ising spin-1/2 chain, a paradigmatic model of quantum chaoticity.

Boris V. Chirikov, Dima L. Shepelyansky

J. Himmelsbach, M. F. I. Kieler, A. Bäcker

We investigate the average eigenstate entanglement in a bipartite many-body system which exhibits a breaking of two local conservation laws into a global conserved quantity. Such a setting is realized by the particle number conservation in Bose-Hubbard systems. We devise a corresponding random matrix model which captures the universal features of this symmetry breaking and allows for applying powerful random matrix methods. By combining the concept of symmetry resolved entanglement with perturbation theory for quantum chaotic systems we obtain a universal entanglement transition depending on a single fundamental parameter. Furthermore, the symmetry resolved entanglement allows for separating the genuine entanglement from the part which originates from the conserved quantity. This latter contribution is quantified by the number entropy. For this it is shown that the symmetry breaking generates a localization of the eigenstates due to a banded structure of the time-evolution operator. By extrapolating the results beyond the perturbative regime we obtain an analytic description of the full transition.

M. S. Santhanam

Casati, Giulio

Wei-Min Zhang, D.H. Feng

In this paper, the dynamical symmetry concept is used to investigate the quantum integrability of nuclear many-body systems. It is found that such systems are generally nonintegrable due to the complicated inherent interactions. In fact, in certain regions of the intrinsic parameters, the time-dependent mean-field solution can be chaotic. However, when subdynamical symmetries, e.g., certain excitation modes, dominate, the corresponding dynamics will be rendered regular, thus signaling that the nuclear many-body system is not fully chaotic. Chaotic behavior emerges in the transitional region between the excitation modes where subdynamical symmetries are broken and accompanied by structural phase transitions.