arXiv subjects

Cecilia De Fazio

Publications and source records attributed to Cecilia De Fazio.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Exact first-detection probability in a locally monitored solvable quantum circuit

We study the interplay between local stroboscopic measurements and the unitary quantum circuit dynamics of the deterministic Floquet-quantum East model. We derive exact analytical results for the probability of first detecting a subset of qubits back in their initial state. This is achieved via a renewal equation linking the first-detection probability to the subsystem Loschmidt echo, which encodes the effective open dynamics of the monitored qubits. The resulting statistics exhibit two regimes set by the competition between the measurement probing time and the relaxation timescale of the unitary circuit dynamics: while infrequent monitoring leads to geometric first-detection statistics, frequent monitoring induces correlations that manifest as deviations from this geometric behavior. These results provide a rare exact characterization of how local measurement backaction reshapes detection statistics in an interacting quantum many-body system. In our local protocol, return probabilities are controlled by the size of the monitored subregion and can therefore be accessed on digital quantum simulators via local mid-circuit measurements.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Revealing emergent many-body phenomena by analyzing large-scale space-time records of monitored quantum systems

Recent advances in quantum simulators permit unitary evolution interspersed with locally resolved mid-circuit measurements. This paves the way for the observation of large-scale space-time structures in quantum trajectories and opens a window for the \emph{in situ} analysis of complex dynamical processes. We demonstrate this idea using a paradigmatic dissipative spin model, which can be implemented, e.g., on Rydberg quantum simulators. Here, already the trajectories of individual experimental runs reveal surprisingly complex statistical phenomena. In particular, we exploit free-energy functionals for trajectory ensembles to identify dynamical features reminiscent of hydrophobic behavior observed near the liquid-vapor transition in the presence of solutes in water. We show that these phenomena are observable in experiments and discuss the impact of common imperfections, such as readout errors and disordered interactions.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

From Classical Stochastic to Monitored Quantum Dynamics: Dynamical Phase Coexistence in East Circuit Models

Kinetically constrained models have been widely studied in the context of glass formers and non-equilibrium statistical mechanics. Although their simple local rules often result in structureless static properties, their dynamics exhibit intricate emergent phenomena. In this work, we investigate monitored quantum circuit models that interpolate between classical stochastic and unitary quantum dynamics. For any finite measurement strength, the measurement records provide an experimentally accessible probe of the emergence of dynamical phases. By interpreting space-time resolved records as microstates of a fictitious 1+1D spin system, we employ thermodynamic concepts that allow us to investigate the dynamical coexistence between an active and inactive phase. We combine insights from classical stochastic dynamics and numerical simulations of monitored quantum dynamics to investigate different signatures of this dynamical phase coexistence as the measurement strength is varied. Our results shed light on the persistence of dynamical phase coexistence in the quantum regime, offering insights into future experimental studies of complex many-body dynamics in quantum simulators.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Exact pre-transition effects in kinetically constrained circuits: dynamical fluctuations in the Floquet-East model

We study the dynamics of a classical circuit corresponding to a discrete-time kinetically constrained East model. We show that this classical "Floquet-East" model displays pre-transition behaviour which is a dynamical equivalent of the hydrophobic effect in water. For the deterministic version of the model we prove exactly: (i) a change in scaling with size in the probability of inactive space-time regions (akin to the "energy-entropy" crossover of the solvation free energy in water), (ii) a first-order phase transition in the dynamical large deviations, (iii) the existence of the optimal geometry for local phase separation to accommodate space-time solutes, and (iv) a dynamical analog of "hydrophobic collapse".

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2024

Exact results on the dynamics of the stochastic Floquet-East model

We introduce a stochastic generalisation of the classical deterministic Floquet-East model, a discrete circuit with the same kinetic constraint as the East model of glasses. We prove exactly that, in the limit of long time and large size, this model has a large deviation phase transition between active and inactive dynamical phases. We also compute the finite time and size scaling of general space-time fluctuations, which for the case of inactive regions gives rise to dynamical hydrophobicity. We also discuss how, through the Trotter limit, these exact results also hold for the continuous-time East model, thus proving long-standing observations in kinetically constrained models. Our results here illustrate the applicability of exact tensor network methods for solving problems in many-body stochastic systems.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2024

Exact quench dynamics of the Floquet quantum East model at the deterministic point

We study the nonequilibrium dynamics of the Floquet quantum East model (a Trotterized version of the kinetically constrained quantum East spin chain) at its "deterministic point", where evolution is defined in terms of CNOT permutation gates. We solve exactly the thermalization dynamics for a broad class of initial product states by means of "space evolution". We prove: (i) the entanglement of a block of spins grows at most at one-half the maximal speed allowed by locality (i.e., half the speed of dual-unitary circuits); (ii) if the block of spins is initially prepared in a classical configuration, speed of entanglement is a quarter of the maximum; (iii) thermalization to the infinite temperature state is reached exactly in a time that scales with the size of the block.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2022

Symmetry Resolved Entanglement of Excited States in Quantum Field Theory II: Numerics, Interacting Theories and Higher Dimensions

In a recent paper we studied the entanglement content of zero-density excited states in complex free quantum field theories, focusing on the symmetry resolved entanglement entropy (SREE). By zero-density states we mean states consisting of a fixed, finite number of excitations above the ground state in an infinite-volume system. The SREE is defined for theories that possess an internal symmetry and provides a measure of the contribution to the total entanglement of each symmetry sector. In our work, we showed that the ratio of Fourier-transforms of the SREEs (i.e. the ratio of charged moments) takes a very simple and universal form for these states, which depends only on the number, statistics and symmetry charge of the excitations as well as the relative size of the entanglement region with respect to the whole system's size. In this paper we provide numerical evidence for our formulae by computing functions of the charged moments in two free lattice theories: a 1D Fermi gas and a complex harmonic chain. We also extend our results in two directions: by showing that they apply also to excited states of interacting theories (i.e. magnon states) and by developing a higher dimensional generalisation of the branch point twist field picture, leading to results in (interacting) higher-dimensional models.

hep-th↗

arXiv2022

Symmetry Resolved Entanglement of Excited States in Quantum Field Theory I: Free Theories, Twist Fields and Qubits

The excess entanglement resulting from exciting a finite number of quasiparticles above the ground state of a free integrable quantum field theory has been investigated quite extensively in the literature. It has been found that it takes a very simple form, depending only on the number of excitations and their statistics. There is now mounting evidence that such formulae also apply to interacting and even higher-dimensional quantum theories. In this paper we study the entanglement content of such zero-density excited states focusing on the symmetry resolved entanglement, that is on 1+1D quantum field theories that possess an internal symmetry. The ratio of charged moments between the excited and grounds states, from which the symmetry resolved entanglement entropy can be obtained, takes a very simple and universal form, which in addition to the number and statistics of the excitations, now depends also on the symmetry charge. Using form factor techniques, we obtain both the ratio of moments and the symmetry resolved entanglement entropies in complex free theories which possess $U(1)$ symmetry. The same formulae are found for simple qubit states.

hep-th↗

arXiv2021

Generalised Hydrodynamics of Particle Creation and Decay

Unstable particles rarely feature in conjunction with integrability in 1+1D quantum field theory. However, the family of homogenous sine-Gordon models provides a rare example where both stable and unstable bound states are present in the spectrum whilst the scattering matrix is diagonal and solves the usual bootstrap equations. In the standard scattering picture, unstable particles result from complex poles of the $S$-matrix located in the unphysical sheet of rapidity space. Since they are not part of the asymptotic spectrum, their presence is only felt through the effect they have on physical quantities associated either to the theory as a whole (i.e.~scaling functions, correlation functions) or to the stable particles themselves (i.e.~energy/particle density). In two recent publications, the effect of unstable particles in different out-of-equilibrium settings has been studied. It has been shown that their presence is associated with specific signatures in many quantities of physical interest. A good way to select those quantities is to adopt the generalised hydrodynamic approach and to consider the effective velocities and particle densities of the stable particles in the theory. For an initial state given by a spacial gaussian profile of temperatures peaked at the origin, time evolution gives rise to particle and spectral particle densities that exhibit hallmarks of the creation and decay of unstable particles. While these signatures have been observed numerically elsewhere, this paper explores their quantitative and qualitative dependence on the parameters of the problem. We also consider other initial states characterised by "inverted gaussian" and "double gaussian" temperature profiles.

hep-th↗

arXiv2021

Tails of Instability and Decay: a Hydrodynamic Perspective

In the context of quantum field theory (QFT), unstable particles are associated with complex-valued poles of two-body scattering matrices in the unphysical sheet of rapidity space. The Breit-Wigner formula relates this pole to the mass and life-time of the particle, observed in scattering events. In this paper, we uncover new, dynamical signatures of unstable excitations and show that they have a strong effect on the non-equilibrium properties of QFT. Focusing on a 1+1D integrable model, and using the theory of Generalized Hydrodynamics, we study the formation and decay of unstable particles by analysing the release of hot matter into a low-temperature environment. We observe the formation of tails and the decay of the emitted nonlinear waves, in sharp contrast to the situation without unstable excitations. We also uncover a new phenomenon by which a wave of a stable population of unstable particles may persist without decay for long times. We expect these signatures of the presence of unstable particles to have a large degree of universality. Our study shows that the out-of-equilibrium dynamics of many-body systems can be strongly affected not only by the spectrum, but also by excitations with finite life-times.

hep-th↗

arXiv2020

On the Hydrodynamics of Unstable Excitations

The generalized hydrodynamic (GHD) approach has been extremely successful in describing the out-of-equilibrium properties of a great variety of integrable many-body quantum systems. It naturally extracts the large-scale dynamical degrees of freedom of the system, and is thus a particularly good probe for emergent phenomena. One such phenomenon is the presence of unstable particles, traditionally seen via special analytic structures of the scattering matrix. Because of their finite lifetime and energy threshold, these are especially hard to study. In this paper we apply the GHD approach to a model possessing both unstable excitations and quantum integrability. The largest family of relativistic integrable quantum field theories known to have these features are the homogeneous sine-Gordon models. We consider the simplest non-trivial example of such theories and investigate the effect of an unstable excitation on various physical quantities, both at equilibrium and in the non-equilibrium state arising from the partitioning protocol. The hydrodynamic approach sheds new light onto the physics of the unstable particle, going much beyond its definition via the analytic structure of the scattering matrix, and clarifies its effects both on the equilibrium and out-of-equilibrium properties of the theory. Crucially, within this dynamical perspective, we identify unstable particles as finitely-lived bound states of co-propagating stable particles of different types, and observe how stable populations of unstable particles emerge in large-temperature thermal baths.

hep-th↗

arXiv2019

Entanglement Content of Quantum Particle Excitations III. Graph Partition Functions

We consider two measures of entanglement, the logarithmic negativity and the entanglement entropy, between regions of space in excited states of many-body systems formed by a finite number of particle excitations. In parts I and II of the current series of papers, it has been shown in one-dimensional free-particle models that, in the limit of large system's and regions' sizes, the contribution from the particles is given by the entanglement of natural qubit states, representing the uniform distribution of particles in space. We show that the replica logarithmic negativity and Rényi entanglement entropy of such qubit states are equal to the partition functions of certain graphs, that encode the connectivity of the manifold induced by permutation twist fields. Using this new connection to graph theory, we provide a general proof, in the massive free boson model, that the qubit result holds in any dimensionality, and for any regions' shapes and connectivity. The proof is based on clustering and the permutation-twist exchange relations, and is potentially generalisable to other situations, such as lattice models, particle and hole excitations above generalised Gibbs ensembles, and interacting integrable models.

math-ph↗

arXiv2019

Entanglement Content of Quantum Particle Excitations II. Disconnected Regions and Logarithmic Negativity

In this paper we study the increment of the entanglement entropy and of the (replica) logarithmic negativity in a zero-density excited state of a free massive bosonic theory, compared to the ground state. This extends the work of two previous publications by the same authors. We consider the case of two disconnected regions and find that the change in the entanglement entropy depends only on the combined size of the regions and is independent of their connectivity. We subsequently generalize this result to any number of disconnected regions. For the replica negativity we find that its increment is a polynomial with integer coefficients depending only on the sizes of the two regions. The logarithmic negativity turns out to have a more complicated functional structure than its replica version, typically involving roots of polynomials on the sizes of the regions. We obtain our results by two methods already employed in previous work: from a qubit picture and by computing four-point functions of branch point twist fields in finite volume. We test our results against numerical simulations on a harmonic chain and find excellent agreement.

hep-th↗

arXiv2018

Entanglement Content of Quantum Particle Excitations I. Free Field Theory

We evaluate the entanglement entropy of a single connected region in excited states of one-dimensional massive free theories with finite numbers of particles, in the limit of large volume and region length. For this purpose, we use finite-volume form factor expansions of branch-point twist field two-point functions. We find that the additive contribution to the entanglement due to the presence of particles has a simple "qubit" interpretation, and is largely independent of momenta: it only depends on the numbers of groups of particles with equal momenta. We conjecture that at large momenta, the same result holds for any volume and region lengths, including at small scales. We provide accurate numerical verifications.

hep-th↗

arXiv2018

Entanglement Content of Quasi-Particle Excitations

We investigate the quantum entanglement content of quasi-particle excitations in extended many-body systems. We show that such excitations give an additive contribution to the bi-partite von Neumann and Rényi entanglement entropies that takes a simple, universal form. It is largely independent of the momenta and masses of the excitations, and of the geometry, dimension and connectedness of the entanglement region. The result has a natural quantum information theoretic interpretation as the entanglement of a state where each quasi-particle is associated with two qubits representing their presence within and without the entanglement region, taking into account quantum (in)distinguishability. This applies to any excited state composed of finite numbers of quasi-particles with finite De Broglie wavelengths or finite intrinsic correlation length. We derive this result analytically in one-dimensional massive bosonic and fermionic free field theories and for simple setups in higher dimensions. We provide numerical evidence for the harmonic chain and the two-dimensional harmonic lattice in all regimes where excitations have quasi-particle properties. Finally, we provide supporting calculations for integrable spin chain models and other situations without particle production. Our results point to new possibilities for creating entangled states using many-body quantum systems.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗