Spectral Form Factor Research Articles

Multiboundary wormholes and OPE statistics

We derive higher moments in the statistical distribution of OPE coefficients in holographic 2D CFTs, and show that such moments correspond to multiboundary Euclidean wormholes in pure 3D gravity. The nth cyclic non-Gaussian contraction of heavy-heavy-light OPE coefficients follows from crossing symmetry of the thermal n-point function. We derive universal expressions for the cubic and quartic moments and demonstrate that their scaling with the microcanonical entropy agrees with a generalization of the Eigenstate Thermalization Hypothesis. Motivated by this result, we conjecture that the full statistical ensemble of OPE data is fixed by three premises: typicality, crossing symmetry and modular invariance. Together, these properties give predictions for non-factorizing observables, such as the generalized spectral form factor. Using the Virasoro TQFT, we match these connected averages to new on-shell wormhole topologies with multiple boundary components. Lastly, we study and clarify examples where the statistics of heavy operators are not universal and depend on the light operator spectrum. We give a gravitational interpretation to these corrections in terms of Wilson loops winding around non-trivial cycles in the bulk.

Fisher zeroes and the fluctuations of the spectral form factor of chaotic systems

The spectral form factor of quantum chaotic systems has the familiar ‘ramp ++ plateau’ form. Techniques to determine its form in the semiclassical or the thermodynamic limit have been devised, in both cases based on the average over an energy range or an ensemble of systems. For a single instance, fluctuations are large, do not go away in the limit, and depend on the element of the ensemble itself, thus seeming to question the whole procedure. Considered as the modulus of a partition function in complex inverse temperature \beta_R+i\beta_IβR+iβI (\beta_I \equiv \tauβI≡τ the time), the spectral form factor has regions of Fisher zeroes, the analogue of Yang-Lee zeroes for the complex temperature plane. The large spikes in the spectral form factor are in fact a consequence of near-misses of the line parametrized by \beta_IβI to these zeroes. The largest spikes are indeed extensive and extremely sensitive to details, but we show that they are both exponentially rare and exponentially thin. Motivated by this, and inspired by the work of Derrida on the Random Energy Model, we study here a modified model of random energy levels in which we introduce level repulsion. We also check that the mechanism giving rise to spikes is the same in the SYK model.

Random matrix model of the Virasoro minimal string

The model of two dimensional quantum gravity defining the Virasoro minimal string, presented recently by Collier, Eberhardt, Mühlmann, and Rodriguez, was also shown to be perturbatively (in topology) equivalent to a random matrix model. An alternative definition is presented here, in terms of double-scaled orthogonal polynomials, thereby allowing direct access to nonperturbative physics. Already at leading order, the defining string equation’s properties yield valuable information about the nonperturbative fate of the model, confirming that the case (c=25,c^=1) (central charges of spacelike and timelike Liouville sectors) is special, by virtue of sharing certain key features of the N=1 supersymmetric JT gravity string equation. Solutions of the full string equation are constructed using a special limit, and the (Cardy) spectral density is completed to all genus and beyond. The distributions of the underlying discrete spectra are readily accessible too, as is the spectral form factor. Some examples of these are exhibited. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

A convergent genus expansion for the plateau

We conjecture a formula for the spectral form factor of a double-scaled matrix integral in the limit of large time, large density of states, and fixed temperature. The formula has a genus expansion with a nonzero radius of convergence. To understand the origin of this series, we compare to the semiclassical theory of “encounters” in periodic orbits. In Jackiw-Teitelboim (JT) gravity, encounters correspond to portions of the moduli space integral that mutually cancel (in the orientable case) but individually grow at low energies. At genus one we show how the full moduli space integral resolves the low energy region and gives a finite nonzero answer.

Spread and spectral complexity in quantum spin chains: from integrability to chaos

We explore spread and spectral complexity in quantum systems that exhibit a transition from integrability to chaos, namely the mixed-field Ising model and the next-to-nearest-neighbor deformation of the Heisenberg XXZ spin chain. We corroborate the observation that the presence of a peak in spread complexity before its saturation, is a characteristic feature in chaotic systems. We find that, in general, the saturation value of spread complexity post-peak depends not only on the spectral statistics of the Hamiltonian, but also on the specific state. However, there appears to be a maximal universal bound determined by the symmetries and dimension of the Hamiltonian, which is realized by the thermofield double state (TFD) at infinite temperature. We also find that the time scales at which the spread complexity and spectral form factor change their behaviour agree with each other and are independent of the chaotic properties of the systems. In the case of spectral complexity, we identify that the key factor determining its saturation value and timescale in chaotic systems is given by minimum energy difference in the theory’s spectrum. This explains observations made in the literature regarding its earlier saturation in chaotic systems compared to their integrable counterparts. We conclude by discussing the properties of the TFD which, we conjecture, make it suitable for probing signatures of chaos in quantum many-body systems.

Quantum Chaos and Coherence: Random Parametric Quantum Channels

The survival probability of an initial Coherent Gibbs State (CGS) is a natural extension of the Spectral Form Factor (SFF) to open quantum systems. To quantify the interplay between quantum chaos and decoherence away from the semi-classical limit, we investigate the relation of this generalized SFF with the corresponding l1-norm of coherence. As a working example, we introduce Parametric Quantum Channels (PQC), a discrete-time model of unitary evolution mixed with the effects of measurements or transient interactions with an environment. The Energy Dephasing (ED) dynamics arises as a specific case in the Markovian limit. We demonstrate our results in a series of random matrix models.

Intermediate spectral statistics of rational triangular quantum billiards.

Triangular billiards whose angles are rational multiples of π are one of the simplest examples of pseudo-integrable models with intriguing classical and quantum properties. We perform an extensive numerical study of spectral statistics of eight quantized rational triangles, six belonging to the family of right-angled Veech triangles and two obtuse rational triangles. Large spectral samples of up to one million energy levels were calculated for each triangle, which permits one to determine their spectral statistics with great accuracy. It is demonstrated that they are of the intermediate type, sharing some features with chaotic systems, like level repulsion, and some with integrable systems, like exponential tails of the level spacing distributions. Another distinctive feature of intermediate spectral statistics is a finite value of the level compressibility. The short-range statistics such as the level spacing distributions, and long-range statistics such as the number variance and spectral form factors were analyzed in detail. An excellent agreement between the numerical data and the model of gamma distributions is revealed.

Unorientable topological gravity and orthogonal random matrix universality

The duality of Jackiw-Teitelboim (JT) gravity and a double scaled matrix integral has led to studies of the canonical spectral form factor (SFF) in the so called τ−scaled limit of large times, t → ∞, and fixed temperature, in order to demonstrate agreement with universal random matrix theory (RMT). Though this has been established for the unitary case, extensions to other symmetry classes requires the inclusion of unorientable manifolds in the sum over geometries, necessary to address time reversal invariance, and regularization of the corresponding prime geometrical objects, the Weil-Petersson (WP) volumes. We report here how universal signatures of quantum chaos, witnessed by the fidelity to the Gaussian orthogonal ensemble, emerge for the low-energy limit of unorientable JT gravity, i.e. the unorientable Airy model/topological gravity. To this end, we implement the loop equations for the corresponding dual (double-scaled) matrix model and find the generic form of the unorientable Airy WP volumes, supported by calculations using unorientable Kontsevich graphs. In an apparent violation of the gravity/chaos duality, the τ−scaled SFF on the gravity side acquires both logarithmic and power law contributions in t, not manifestly present on the RMT side. We show the expressions can be made to agree by means of bootstrapping-like relations hidden in the asymptotic expansions of generalized hypergeometric functions. Thus, we are able to establish strong evidence of the quantum chaotic nature of unorientable topological gravity.

Mixmaster chaos in an AdS black hole interior

We derive gravitational backgrounds that are asymptotically Anti-de Sitter, have a regular black hole horizon and which deep in the interior exhibit mixmaster chaotic dynamics. The solutions are obtained by coupling gravity with a negative cosmological constant to three massive vector fields, within an Ansatz that reduces to ordinary differential equations. At late interior times the equations are identical to those analysed in depth by Misner and by Belinskii-Khalatnikov-Lifshitz fifty years ago. We review and extend known classical and semiclassical results on the interior chaos, formulated as both a dynamical system of ‘Kasner eras’ and as a hyperbolic billiards problem. The volume of the universe collapses doubly-exponentially over each Kasner era. A remarkable feature is the emergence of a conserved energy, and hence a ‘time-independent’ Hamiltonian, at asymptotically late interior times. A quantisation of this Hamiltonian exhibits arithmetic chaos associated with the principal congruence subgroup Γ(2) of the modular group. We compute a large number of eigenvalues numerically to obtain the spectral form factor. While the spectral statistics is anomalous for a chaotic system, the eigenfunctions themselves display random matrix behaviour.

Brickwall, normal modes, and emerging thermality

In this paper, we demonstrate how black hole quasinormal modes can emerge from a Dirichlet brickwall model normal modes. We consider a probe scalar field in a Baños-Teitelboim-Zanelli geometry with a Dirichlet brickwall and demonstrate that as the wall approaches the event horizon, the corresponding poles in the retarded correlator become dense and yield an effective branch cut. The associated discontinuity of the correlator carries the information of the black hole quasinormal modes. We further demonstrate that a nonvanishing angular momentum nonperturbatively enhances the pole condensing. We hypothesize that it is also related to quantum chaotic features of the corresponding spectral form factor, which has been observed earlier. Finally, we discuss the underlying algebraic justification of this approximate thermalization in terms of the trace of the algebra. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

From spectral to scattering form factor

We propose a novel indicator for chaotic quantum scattering processes, the scattering form factor (ScFF). It is based on mapping the locations of peaks in the scattering amplitude to random matrix eigenvalues, and computing the analog of the spectral form factor (SFF). We compute the spectral and scattering form factors of several non-chaotic systems. We determine the ScFF associated with the phase shifts of the leaky torus, closely related to the distribution of the zeros of Riemann zeta function. We compute the ScFF for the decay amplitude of a highly excited string states into two tachyons. We show that it displays the universal features expected from random matrix theory - a decline, a ramp and a plateau - and is in general agreement with the Gaussian unitary ensemble. It also shows some new features, owning to the special structure of the string amplitude, including a “bump” before the ramp associated with gaps in the average eigenvalue density. The “bump” is removed for highly excited string states with an appropriate state dependent unfolding. We also discuss the SFF for the Gaussian β-ensemble, writing an interpolation between the known results of the Gaussian orthogonal, unitary, and symplectic ensembles.

The resurgence of the plateau in supersymmetric N\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ \\mathcal{N} $$\\end{document} = 1 Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity

Significant progresses have been made recently in understanding the spectral form factor of Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity, particularly at late times where non-perturbative effects are expected to play a dominant role. By focusing on a peculiar regime of large time and fixed temperature, called τ-scaling limit, it was found that it is possible to analytically investigate the late-time plateau directly through the gravitational genus expansion. We extend this analysis to the supersymmetric N\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ \\mathcal{N} $$\\end{document} = 1 generalization of the bosonic theory, revealing an interesting structure. First, we notice that in the τ-scaling limit the perturbative sum over genera truncates after a single term, which solely accounts for the ramp behaviour. Instead a non-perturbative completion, responsible for the plateau, is encoded into an exact formula coming from the properties of the chiral gaussian ensemble, governing the spectral properties of the supersymmetric theory. We are able to recover the non-perturbative contributions by slightly deforming the genus of the involved surfaces and using resurgence theory. We derive a closed-form analytical expression for the late-time plateau and a trans-series expansion that captures the ramp-plateau transition.

Generalized spectral form factor in random matrix theory.

The spectral form factor (SFF) plays a crucial role in revealing the statistical properties of energy-level distributions in complex systems. It is one of the tools to diagnose quantum chaos and unravel the universal dynamics therein. The definition of SFF in most literature only encapsulates the two-level correlation. In this manuscript, we extend the definition of SSF to include the high-order correlation. Specifically, we introduce the standard deviation of energy levels to define correlation functions, from which the generalized spectral form factor (GSFF) can be obtained by Fourier transforms. GSFF provides a more comprehensive knowledge of the dynamics of chaotic systems. Using random matrices as examples, we demonstrate dynamics features that are encoded in GSFF. Remarkably, the GSFF is complex, and the real and imaginary parts exhibit universal dynamics. For instance, in the two-level correlated case, the real part of GSFF shows a dip-ramp-plateau structure akin to the conventional counterpart, and the imaginary part for different system sizes converges in the long-time limit. For the two-level GSFF, the analytical forms of the real part are obtained and consistent with numerical results. The results of the imaginary part are obtained by numerical calculation. Similar analyses are extended to three-level GSFF.

Krylov complexity of density matrix operators

Quantifying complexity in quantum systems has witnessed a surge of interest in recent years, with Krylov-based measures such as Krylov complexity (CK) and Spread complexity (CS) gaining prominence. In this study, we investigate their interplay by considering the complexity of states represented by density matrix operators. After setting up the problem, we analyze a handful of analytical and numerical examples spanning generic two-dimensional Hilbert spaces, qubit states, quantum harmonic oscillators, and random matrix theories, uncovering insightful relationships. For generic pure states, our analysis reveals two key findings: (I) a correspondence between moment-generating functions (of Lanczos coefficients) and survival amplitudes, and (II) an early-time equivalence between CK and 2CS. Furthermore, for maximally entangled pure states, we find that the moment-generating function of CK becomes the Spectral Form Factor and, at late-times, CK is simply related to NCS for N ≥ 2 within the N-dimensional Hilbert space. Notably, we confirm that CK = 2CS holds across all times when N = 2. Through the lens of random matrix theories, we also discuss deviations between complexities at intermediate times and highlight subtleties in the averaging approach at the level of the survival amplitude.

Spread complexity in saddle-dominated scrambling

Recently, the concept of spread complexity, Krylov complexity for states, has been introduced as a measure of the complexity and chaoticity of quantum systems. In this paper, we study the spread complexity of the thermofield double state within integrable systems that exhibit saddle-dominated scrambling. Specifically, we focus on the Lipkin-Meshkov-Glick model and the inverted harmonic oscillator as representative examples of quantum mechanical systems featuring saddle-dominated scrambling. Applying the Lanczos algorithm, our numerical investigation reveals that the spread complexity in these systems exhibits features reminiscent of chaotic systems, displaying a distinctive ramp-peak-slope-plateau pattern. Our results indicate that, although spread complexity serves as a valuable probe, accurately diagnosing true quantum chaos generally necessitates additional physical input. We also explore the relationship between spread complexity, the spectral form factor, and the transition probability within the Krylov space. We provide analytical confirmation of our numerical results, validating the Ehrenfest theorem of complexity and identifying a distinct quadratic behavior in the early-time regime of spread complexity.

General properties of the spectral form factor in open quantum systems

General properties of the spectral form factor in open quantum systems

Comments on the double cone wormhole

In this paper we revisit the double cone wormhole introduced by Saad, Shenker and Stanford (SSS), which was shown to reproduce the ramp in the spectral form factor. As a first approximation we can say that this solution computes Tr[e−iKT], a trace of the “evolution” operator that generates Schwarzschild time translations on the two sided wormhole geometry. This point of view leads to a simple way to compute the normalization factor of the wormhole. When we have bulk matter fields, SSS suggested using a modified evolution \\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\widetilde{K}$$\\end{document} which involves a slightly complex geometry, so that we are really computing \\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$${\ ext{Tr}}\\left[{e}^{-i\\widetilde{K}T}\\right]$$\\end{document}. We argue that, for general black holes, the spectrum of \\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\widetilde{K}$$\\end{document} is given by quasinormal mode frequencies. We explain that this reproduces various features that were previously predicted from the spectral form factor on hydrodynamics grounds. We also give a general algebraic construction of the modified boost in terms of operators constructed from half sided modular inclusions. For the special case of JT gravity, we work out the backreaction of matter on the geometry of the double cone and find that it deforms the geometry in an undesirable direction. We finally give some comments on the possible physical interpretation of \\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\widetilde{K}$$\\end{document}.

A study of the SYK2 model with twisted boundary conditions

We study a version of the 2-body Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK2) model whose complex fermions exhibit twisted boundary conditions on the thermal circle. As we show, this is physically equivalent to coupling the fermions to a 1-dimensional external gauge field A(t). In the latter formulation, the gauge field itself can be thought of as arising from a radial symmetry reduction of a (2 + 1)-dimensional Chern-Simons gauge field Aμ(t,x). Using the diagnostic tools of the out-of-time-order correlator (OTOC) and spectral form factor (SFF), which probe the sensitivity to initial conditions and the spectral statistics respectively, we give a detailed and pedagogical study of the integrable/chaotic properties of the model. We find that the twisting has no effect on the OTOCs and, by extension, the early-time chaos properties of the model. It does, however, have two notable effects on the spectral form factor; an enhancement of the early-time slope and the emergence of an explicit twisting-dependent timescale needed for the manifestation of zero modes. These zero modes are responsible for the late-time exponential ramp in the quadratic SYK model.

Spectral form factors of unconventional superconductors

Spectral form factors of unconventional superconductors

Spectral form factors of topological phases

Spectral form factors of topological phases