Eigenstate Thermalization Research Articles

Effects of the Symmetries and Related Orders to the Thermalization of Many-Body Localized System

In this paper, we discuss the effects of the symmetries and related topological orders to the thermalization of many-body localized system. We consider the one-dimensional fermion chain system with open (or periodic) boundary condition, whose boundaries are characterized by Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) intercation. Just like in the SYK model and the tendor models, there are many-body quantum chaos in out-of-time-ordered correlation when the system is being thermalized by the interactions (usually nonuniform and being randomly distributed), and satisfies the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis (ETH). While the continuous or discrete symmetries usually protect the related topological orders against the thermalization, which may lead to the localization of quantum states and generate large degeneracy. We discuss these effects in terms of the fermionic or spin languages. In many-body localized phase, a large number of degenerate ETH-violated states can be found in both the frustration-free AKLT model or the integrable biquadratic (Wishart) SYK model. The quantum scars appear when such degenerate states are embeded into an ETH-satisfying spectrum of the Hilbert space enlarged by a much larger number of bosonic flavors (e.g., SU(M) multiplets degeneracy). Usually, the emergence of quantum chaos require large limits of boson flavor M and the number of coupled (undegenerate) states (N; which related to Z N symmetry). Further, the boson (or excitations) flavor number M can often to related to the fermion number N through the duality transformations, in which case the Z M symmetry is possible to generted by SU(M) model and leads to asymptotic degeneracy in large-M limit.

Universal ratio in random matrix theory and chaotic-to-integrable transition in type-I and type-II hybrid Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev models

We investigate chaotic to integrable transition in two types of hybrid SYK models, which contain both $q=4$ SYK with interaction $J$ and $q=2$ SYK with an interaction $K$ in type-I or ${(q=2)}^{2}$ SYK with an interaction $\sqrt{K}$ in type-II. These models include hybrid Majorana fermion, complex fermion, and bosonic SYK. For the Majorana fermion case, we discuss both $N$ even and $N$ odd case. We make exact symmetry analysis on the possible symmetry class of both types of hybrid SYK in the 10-fold way by random matrix theory (RMT) and also work out the degeneracy of each energy levels. We introduce a new universal ratio, which is the ratio of the next-nearest-neighbor (NNN) energy level spacing to characterize the RMT. We perform exact diagonalization to evaluate both the known NN ratio and the new NNN ratio, then use both ratios to study chaotic to integrable transitions (CIT) in both types of hybrid SYK models. Some preliminary results on possible quantum analog of Kolmogorov-Arnold-Moser (KAM) theorem and its dual version in the quantum chaotic side are given. We explore some intrinsic connections between the two complementary approaches to quantum chaos: the RMT and the Lyapunov exponent by the $1/N$ expansion in the large $N$ limit at a suitable temperature range. We stress the crucial differences between the quantum phase transition (QPT) characterized by renormalization groups at $N=\ensuremath{\infty}$, $1/N$ expansions at a finite $N$, and the CIT characterized by the RMT at a finite $N$: the former focus on the ground state and its low-energy excitations (edge states in the Fock space), the latter on excited states (bulk states in the Fock space). We also discuss eigenstate thermalization hypothesis (ETH)'s power on a quantum chaotic bulk state and its inability to encode the edge states. Comments on some previously related works are given. Some future perspectives, especially the failure of the Zamoloddchikov's c-theorem in 1d CFT RG flow are outlined.

Single-particle eigenstate thermalization in quantum-chaotic quadratic Hamiltonians

We study the matrix elements of local and nonlocal operators in the single-particle eigenstates of two paradigmatic quantum-chaotic quadratic Hamiltonians; the quadratic Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK2) model and the three-dimensional Anderson model below the localization transition. We show that they display eigenstate thermalization for normalized observables. Specifically, we show that the diagonal matrix elements exhibit vanishing eigenstate-to-eigenstate fluctuations, and a variance proportional to the inverse Hilbert space dimension. We also demonstrate that the ratio between the variance of the diagonal and the off-diagonal matrix elements is $2$, as predicted by the random matrix theory. We study distributions of matrix elements of observables and establish that they need not be Gaussian. We identify the class of observables for which the distributions are Gaussian.

Distinguishing Random and Black Hole Microstates

This is an expanded version of the short report [Phys. Rev. Lett. 126, 171603 (2021)], where the relative entropy was used to distinguish random states drawn from the Wishart ensemble as well as black hole microstates. In this work, we expand these ideas by computing many generalizations including the Petz R\'enyi relative entropy, sandwiched R\'enyi relative entropy, fidelities, and trace distances. These generalized quantities are able to teach us about new structures in the space of random states and black hole microstates where the von Neumann and relative entropies were insufficient. We further generalize to generic random tensor networks where new phenomena arise due to the locality in the networks. These phenomena sharpen the relationship between holographic states and random tensor networks. We discuss the implications of our results on the black hole information problem using replica wormholes, specifically the state dependence (hair) in Hawking radiation. Understanding the differences between Hawking radiation of distinct evaporating black holes is an important piece of the information problem that was not addressed by entropy calculations using the island formula. We interpret our results in the language of quantum hypothesis testing and the subsystem eigenstate thermalization hypothesis (ETH), deriving that chaotic (including holographic) systems obey subsystem ETH for all subsystems less than half the total system size.

Eigenstate Thermalization Hypothesis for Wigner Matrices

We prove that any deterministic matrix is approximately the identity in the eigenbasis of a large random Wigner matrix with very high probability and with an optimal error inversely proportional to the square root of the dimension. Our theorem thus rigorously verifies the Eigenstate Thermalisation Hypothesis by Deutsch (Phys Rev A 43:2046–2049, 1991) for the simplest chaotic quantum system, the Wigner ensemble. In mathematical terms, we prove the strong form of Quantum Unique Ergodicity (QUE) with an optimal convergence rate for all eigenvectors simultaneously, generalizing previous probabilistic QUE results in Bourgade and Yau (Commun Math Phys 350:231–278, 2017) and Bourgade et al. (Commun Pure Appl Math 73:1526–1596, 2020).

Information dynamics in a model with Hilbert space fragmentation

The fully frustrated ladder – a quasi-1D geometrically frustrated spin one half Heisenberg model – is non-integrable with local conserved quantities on rungs of the ladder, inducing the local fragmentation of the Hilbert space into sectors composed of singlets and triplets on rungs. We explore the far-from-equilibrium dynamics of this model through the entanglement entropy and out-of-time-ordered correlators (OTOC). The post-quench dynamics of the entanglement entropy is highly anomalous as it shows clear non-damped revivals that emerge from short connected chunks of triplets. We find that the maximum value of the entropy follows from a picture where coherences between different fragments co-exist with perfect thermalization within each fragment. This means that the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis holds within all sufficiently large Hilbert space fragments. The OTOC shows short distance oscillations arising from short coupled fragments, which become decoherent at longer distances, and a sub-ballistic spreading and long distance exponential decay stemming from an emergent length scale tied to fragmentation.

Orthogonal Quantum Many-Body Scars.

Quantum many-body scars have been put forward as counterexamples to the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis. These atypical states are observed in a range of correlated models as long-lived oscillations of local observables in quench experiments starting from selected initial states. The long-time memory is a manifestation of quantum nonergodicity generally linked to a subextensive generation of entanglement entropy, the latter of which is widely used as a diagnostic for identifying quantum many-body scars numerically as low entanglement outliers. Here we show that by adding kinetic constraints to a fractionalized orthogonal metal, we can construct a minimal model with orthogonal quantum many-body scars leading to persistent oscillations with infinite lifetime coexisting with rapid volume-law entanglement generation. Our example provides new insights into the link between quantum ergodicity and many-body entanglement while opening new avenues for exotic nonequilibrium dynamics in strongly correlated multicomponent quantum systems.

Symmetry-prohibited thermalization after a quantum quench

The observable long-time behavior of an isolated many-body system after a quantum quench is considered, i.e. an eigenstate (or an equilibrium ensemble) of some pre-quench Hamiltonian H serves as initial condition which then evolves in time according to some post-quench Hamiltonian H p . Absence of thermalization is analytically demonstrated for a large class of quite common pre- and post-quench spin Hamiltonians. The main requirement is that the pre-quench Hamiltonian must exhibit a Z 2 (spin-flip) symmetry, which would be spontaneously broken in the thermodynamic limit, though we actually focus on finite (but large) systems. On the other hand, the post-quench Hamiltonian must violate the Z 2 symmetry, but for the rest may be non-integrable and may obey the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis for (sums of) few-body observables.

Quantum chaos and ensemble inequivalence of quantum long-range Ising chains

We use large-scale exact diagonalization to study the quantum Ising chain in a transverse field with long-range power-law interactions decaying with exponent $\alpha$. We numerically study various probes for quantum chaos and eigenstate thermalization {on} the level of eigenvalues and eigenstates. The level-spacing statistics yields a clear sign towards a Wigner-Dyson distribution and therefore towards quantum chaos across all values of $\alpha>0$. Yet, for $\alpha<1$ we find that the microcanonical entropy is nonconvex. This is due to the fact that the spectrum is organized in energetically separated multiplets for $\alpha<1$. While quantum chaotic behaviour develops within the individual multiplets, many multiplets don't overlap and don't mix with each other, as we analytically and numerically argue. Our findings suggest that a small fraction of the multiplets could persist at low energies for $\alpha\ll 1$ even for large $N$, giving rise to ensemble inequivalence.

Eigenstate thermalization and quantum chaos in the Jaynes–Cummings Hubbard model

The eigenstate thermalization hypothesis (ETH) is a mechanism for the thermalization of quantum chaotic systems. Most researches on quantum chaotic systems involve the two-body interaction between spins, fermions, and bosons, but for the JCH model, the emergence of quantum-chaotic properties comes from the competition between the hopping strength of the photon and the photon-atom coupling strength. We use exact diagonalization to prove that the JCH system has the property of the quantum chaotic system and verify the validity of ETH ansatz both for diagonal and off-diagonal matrix elements of the photon observables with reasonable experimental parameters.

Out-of-time-order correlations and the fine structure of eigenstate thermalization.

Out-of-time-order correlators (OTOCs) have become established as a tool to characterise quantum information dynamics and thermalization in interacting quantum many-body systems. It was recently argued that the expected exponential growth of the OTOC is connected to the existence of correlations beyond those encoded in the standard Eigenstate Thermalization Hypothesis (ETH). We show explicitly, by an extensive numerical analysis of the statistics of operator matrix elements in conjunction with a detailed study of OTOC dynamics, that the OTOC is indeed a precise tool to explore the fine details of the ETH. In particular, while short-time dynamics is dominated by correlations, the long-time saturation behavior gives clear indications of an operator-dependent energy scale ω_{GOE} associated to the emergence of an effective Gaussian random matrix theory. We provide an estimation of the finite-size scaling of ω_{GOE} for the general class of observables composed of sums of local operators in the infinite-temperature regime and found linear behavior for the models considered.

From the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis to algebraic relaxation of OTOCs in systems with conserved quantities

The relaxation of out-of-time-ordered correlators (OTOCs) has been studied as a mean to characterize the scrambling properties of a quantum system. We show that the presence of local conserved quantities typically results in, at the fastest, an algebraic relaxation of the OTOC provided (i) the dynamics is local and (ii) the system follows the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis. Our result relies on the algebraic scaling of the infinite-time value of OTOCs with system size, which is typical in thermalizing systems with local conserved quantities, and on the existence of finite speed of propagation of correlations for finite-range-interaction systems. We show that time-independence of the Hamiltonian is not necessary as the above conditions (i) and (ii) can occur in time-dependent systems, both periodic or aperiodic. We also remark that our result can be extended to systems with power-law interactions.

Motif magnetism and quantum many-body scars

We generally expect quantum systems to thermalize and satisfy the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis (ETH), which states that finite energy density eigenstates are thermal. However, some systems, such as many-body localized systems and systems with quantum many-body scars, violate ETH and have high-energy athermal eigenstates. In systems with scars, most eigenstates thermalize, but a few atypical scar states do not. Scar states can give rise to a periodic revival when time-evolving particular initial product states, which can be detected experimentally. Recently, a family of spin Hamiltonians was found with magnetically ordered 3-colored eigenstates that are quantum many-body scars [Lee et al. Phys. Rev. B 101, 241111(2020)]. These models can be realized in any lattice that can be tiled by triangles, such as the triangular or kagome lattices, and have been shown to have close connections to the physics of quantum spin liquids in the Heisenberg kagome antiferromagnet. In this work, we introduce a generalized family of $n$-colored Hamiltonians with "spiral colored" eigenstates made from $n$-spin motifs such as polygons or polyhedra. We show how these models can be realized in many different lattice geometries and provide numerical evidence that they can exhibit quantum many-body scars with periodic revivals that can be observed by time-evolving simple product states. The simple structure of these Hamiltonians makes them promising candidates for future experimental studies of quantum many-body scars.

Topological quantum many-body scars in quantum dimer models on the kagome lattice

We present a class of quantum dimer models on the kagome lattice with full translational invariance that feature a quantum many-body scar state of analytically known entanglement properties within their spectra. Using exact diagonalization on lattices of up to 60 sites, we show that non-scar states conform to the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis. Specifically, we show that energies are distributed according to the Gaussian ensemble expected of their respective symmetry sector, illustrate the existence of the scar from bipartite entanglement properties, and demonstrate revival phenomena in studies of fidelity dynamics.

Thermalization in large-N CFTs

In d-dimensional CFTs with a large number of degrees of freedom an important set of operators consists of the stress tensor and its products, multi stress tensors. Thermalization of such operators, the equality between their expectation values in heavy states and at finite temperature, is equivalent to a universal behavior of their OPE coefficients with a pair of identical heavy operators. We verify this behavior in a number of examples which include holographic and free CFTs and provide a bootstrap argument for the general case. In a free CFT we check the thermalization of multi stress tensor operators directly and also confirm the equality between the contributions of multi stress tensors to heavy-heavy-light-light correlators and to the corresponding thermal light-light two-point functions by disentangling the contributions of other light operators. Unlike multi stress tensors, these light operators violate the Eigenstate Thermalization Hypothesis and do not thermalize.

Constraint-induced breaking and restoration of ergodicity in spin-1 PXP models

Eigenstate Thermalization Hypothesis(ETH) has played a pivotal role in understanding ergodicity and its breaking in isolated quantum many-body systems. Recent experiment on 51-atom Rydberg quantum simulator and subsequent theoretical analysis have shown that hardcore kinetic constraint can lead to weak ergodicity breaking. In this work, we demonstrate, using 1d spin-1 PXP chains, that miscellaneous type of ergodicity can be realized by adjusting the hardcore constraints between different components of nearest neighbor spins. This includes ETH violation due to emergent shattering of Hilbert space into exponentially many subsectors of various sizes, a novel form of non-integrability with an extensive number of local conserved quantities and strong ergodicity. We analyze these different forms of ergodicity and study their impact on the non-equilibrium dynamics of a Z2 initial state. We use forward scattering approximation (FSA) to understand the amount of Z2-oscillation present in these models. Our work shows that not only ergodicity breaking but an appropriate choice of constraints can lead to restoration of ergodicity as well.

Eigenstate thermalization on average.

We consider conditions under which an isolated quantum system approaches a microcanonical equilibrium state. A key component is the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis, which proposes that all energy eigenstates appear thermal. We introduce a weaker version of this requirement, applying only to the average distinguishability of eigenstates from the thermal state, and investigate its necessity and sufficiency for thermalization.

Scaling functions for eigenstate entanglement crossovers in harmonic lattices

For quantum matter, eigenstate entanglement entropies obey an area law or log-area law at low energies and small subsystem sizes and cross over to volume laws for high energies and large subsystems. This transition is captured by crossover functions, which assume a universal scaling form in quantum critical regimes. We demonstrate this for the harmonic lattice model, which describes quantized lattice vibrations and is a regularization for free scalar field theories, modeling, e.g., spin-0 bosonic particles. In one dimension, the ground-state entanglement obeys a log-area law. For dimensions $d\ensuremath{\ge}2$, it displays area laws, even at criticality. The distribution of excited-state entanglement entropies is found to be sharply peaked around subsystem entropies of corresponding thermodynamic ensembles in accordance with the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis. Numerically, we determine crossover scaling functions for the quantum critical regime of the model and do a large-deviation analysis. We show how infrared singularities of the system can be handled and how to access the thermodynamic limit using a perturbative trick for the covariance matrix. Eigenstates for quasi-free bosonic systems are not Gaussian. We resolve this problem by considering appropriate squeezed states instead. For these, entanglement entropies can be evaluated efficiently.

Multiple quantum scar states and emergent slow thermalization in a flat-band system

Quantum many-body scars (QMBS) appear in a flat-band model with interactions on the saw-tooth lattice. The flat-band model includes a compact support localized eigenstates, called compact localized state (CLS). Some characteristic many-body states can be constructed from the CLSs at a low-filling on the flat-band. These many-body states are degenerate. Starting with such degenerate states we concretely show how to construct multiple QMBSs with different eigenenergies embedded in the entire spectrum. If the degeneracy is lifted by introducing hopping modulation or weak perturbations, these states lifted by these ways can be viewed as multiple QMBSs. In this work, we focus on the study of the perturbation-induced QMBS. Perturbed states, which are connected to the exact QMBSs in the unperturbed limit, indicate common properties of conventional QMBS systems, that is, a subspace with sub-volume or area law scaling entanglement entropy, which indicates the violation of the strong eigenstate thermalization hypothesis (ETH). Also for a specific initial state, slow-thermalization dynamics appears. We numerically demonstrate these subjects. The flat-band model with interactions is a characteristic example in non-integrable systems with the violation of the strong ETH and the QMBS.

Loss of ergodicity in a quantum hopping model of a dense many body system with repulsive interactions

In this work we report on a loss of ergodicity in a simple hopping model, motivated by the Hubbard Hamiltonian, of a many body quantum system at zero temperature, quantized in Euclidean time. We show that this quantum system may lose ergodicity at high densities on a large lattice, as a result of both Pauli exclusion and strong Coulomb repulsion. In particular we study particle hopping susceptibilities and the tendency towards particle localization. It is found that the appearance and existence of quantum phase transitions in this model, in the case of high density and strong Coulomb repulsion, depends on the starting configuration of particle trajectories in the numerical simulation. We argue that this breakdown may be the Euclidean time version of a breakdown of the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis in real time quantization.