arXiv subjects

Ewan McCulloch

Publications and source records attributed to Ewan McCulloch.

14 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Bayesian Tracking of a Diffusing Target in Two and Three Dimensions

We study Bayesian tracking of a diffusing target monitored by a noisy distributed sensor array. Building on an earlier mapping to KPZ growth with a moving defect (or an equivalent directed polymer pinning problem) we determine the phase structure, beyond the previously-studied one-dimensional case, for both Bayes-optimal and suboptimal inference. In $d=2$, theoretical analysis and numerical simulations both give a depinning transition between a successful tracking phase and a failure phase. Weak-coupling RG shows that Bayes-optimal tracking is always successful in $d=2$, but failure can arise from overconfident (suboptimal) inference. In $d=3$, tracking can succeed, or can fail in two distinct ways: the posterior probability distribution may delocalize (no detection), or may become sharply localized, but at the wrong position (a false detection). The two possibilities correspond to Edwards-Wilkinson or Kardar-Parisi-Zhang statistics for the log-posterior. The three phases meet at a Nishimori-like multicritical point on a Bayes-optimal line in a two-parameter phase diagram. (Model misspecification alone can drive depinning into either unpinned phase: underconfidence gives diffuse failure, while overconfidence gives localized-but-wrong failure.) We analyze the transitions between the various phases numerically and with renormalization group arguments. We show that some of these have unusual critical behavior, which the conventional $\epsilon$ expansion fails to describe. Recent rigorous results for directed polymers indicate an alternative scenario. Many of our results, including a scaling relation for exponents at pinning transitions and results for RG flows, are relevant to other phase transitions that involve surface growth or directed polymers in 2+1D or 3+1D.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2026

KPZ Superdiffusion of Local Correlators in Diffusive Random Quantum Circuits

We study the single-particle Green's function $G(x,t)=\langle \sigma^-_x(0)\sigma^+_0(t)\rangle$ in one-dimensional particle-number-conserving random unitary circuits coupled to an external bath. For fixed spacetime disorder, we argue that $G(x,t)$ is governed, in both the strong- and weak-noise limits, by directed waves in a random medium. We find Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) scaling in the wandering statistics of the normalized spatial distribution $p(x,t)\propto |G(x,t)|^2$ and in the associated free energy. In particular, its center $\langle x(t)\rangle\equiv\sum_x x\, p(x,t)$ wanders on a length-scale $\mathcal{O}(t^{2/3})$, while sample-to-sample fluctuations of $-\log\sum_x |G(x,t)|^2$ scale as $t^{1/3}$. At weak noise $\gamma \ll 1$, the crossover to the strong-disorder fixed point occurs at a parametrically long time $\mathcal{O}(\gamma^{-3/2})$. These predictions are confirmed numerically using tensor-network simulations of the noisy operator dynamics in individual circuits at moderate noise, and of a phase-annealed proxy retaining hopping disorder at weak noise.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Long-lived local quantum coherences from hydrodynamic large deviations

We develop a framework to describe how quantum coherences between distinct charge sectors evolve under generic charge-conserving dynamics. Our framework captures the nonperturbative interactions between quantum coherences and hydrodynamic large deviations -- i.e., rare ``voids'' of low charge entropy. Conditional on surviving, the quantum coherence and its surrounding void form a collective polaron-like object. In one dimension, even at infinite temperature, we show that the lifetime of coherences is parametrically enhanced because they bind to voids. We use our framework to address two fundamental questions about generic quantum dynamics with a conserved charge. First, we argue that gapped Ruelle-Pollicott resonances are absent in the weak-noise limit, even in sectors of operator space that contain no hydrodynamic slow modes: instead, the spectral gap in all sectors vanishes nonperturbatively in the noise strength. Second, we compute the spacetime asymptotics of the dynamical single-particle Green's function, both in the weak-noise regime and in the absence of noise. In the noiseless case, we find that the void-coherence polaron undergoes subdiffusion, with an exponent we calculate. We support our general arguments with a microscopic derivation for random charge-conserving circuits, as well as numerical evidence from tensor-network simulations.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Noncommuting zero-noise and zero-frequency limits in particle-hole symmetric fluids

In charged fluids obeying particle-hole symmetry, such as the Dirac fluid in graphene, charge transport is diffusive despite the presence of ballistically propagating sound waves: sound waves "hydrodynamically decouple" from the slower charge fluctuations. For quasi-one-dimensional fluids, we show that this symmetry-protected charge diffusion is not smoothly connected to the normal diffusion that arises when momentum conservation is broken by noise (or static impurities). Instead, the charge diffusion constant is a discontinuous function of noise, which (in the weak-noise limit) depends only on the ratio of momentum and energy relaxation rates. In the special limit of momentum-conserving noise (e.g., spatially uniform fluctuations of the Hamiltonian), the diffusion constant diverges in the presence of noise. We describe the resulting superdiffusion in terms of coupled Burgers equations. We present a general mechanism--hydrodynamic recoupling--by which weak noise can induce singular changes in transport coefficients. Our results highlight the limits of zero-noise extrapolation for predicting dynamical quantities like diffusion constants.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2025

Subexponential decay of local correlations from diffusion-limited dephasing

Chaotic quantum systems at finite energy density are expected to act as their own heat baths, rapidly dephasing local quantum superpositions. We argue that in fact this dephasing is subexponential for chaotic dynamics with conservation laws in one spatial dimension: all local correlation functions decay as stretched exponentials or slower. The stretched exponential bound is saturated for operators that are orthogonal to all hydrodynamic modes. This anomalous decay is a quantum coherent effect, which lies beyond standard fluctuating hydrodynamics; it vanishes in the presence of extrinsic dephasing. Our arguments are general, subject principally to the assumption that there exist zero-entropy charge sectors (such as the particle vacuum) with no nontrivial dynamics: slow relaxation is due to the persistence of regions resembling these inert vacua, which we term "voids". In systems with energy conservation, this assumption is automatically satisfied because of the third law of thermodynamics.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Monitored Fluctuating Hydrodynamics

We introduce a hydrodynamic framework for describing monitored classical stochastic processes. We study the conditional ensembles for these monitored processes -- i.e., we compute spacetime correlation functions conditioned on a fixed, typical measurement record. In the presence of global symmetries we show that these conditional ensembles can undergo measurement-induced "sharpening" phase transitions as a function of the monitoring rate; moreover, even weak monitoring can give rise to novel critical phases, derived entirely from a classical perspective. We give a simple hydrodynamic derivation of the known "charge-fuzzy phase" for weakly monitored diffusive many-body quantum systems. We show that although the unmonitored symmetric and asymmetric exclusion processes are in different universality classes of transport, the fluctuations in their conditional ensembles flow to the same fixed point with emergent relativistic invariance under monitoring. On the other hand, weakly monitored systems with non-Abelian symmetries enter a novel strongly coupled fixed point with non-trivial dynamical exponent, which we characterize. Our formalism naturally accounts for monitoring general observables, such as currents or density gradients, and allows for a direct calculation of information-theoretic diagnostics of sharpening transitions, including the Shannon entropy of the measurement record.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2024

Ballistic Modes as a Source of Anomalous Charge Noise

Steady-state currents generically occur both in systems with continuous translation invariance and in nonequilibrium settings with particle drift. In either case, thermal fluctuations advected by the current act as a source of noise for slower hydrodynamic modes. This noise is unconventional, since it is highly correlated along spacetime rays. We argue that, in quasi-one-dimensional geometries, the correlated noise from ballistic modes generically gives rise to anomalous full counting statistics (FCS) for diffusively spreading charges. We present numerical evidence for anomalous FCS in two settings: (1) a two-component continuum fluid, and (2) the totally asymmetric exclusion process (TASEP) initialized in a nonequilibrium state.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2024

Emergence of Navier-Stokes hydrodynamics in chaotic quantum circuits

We construct an ensemble of two-dimensional nonintegrable quantum circuits that are chaotic but have a conserved particle current, and thus a finite Drude weight. The long-wavelength hydrodynamics of such systems is given by the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. By analyzing circuit-to-circuit fluctuations in the ensemble we argue that these are negligible, so the circuit-averaged value of transport coefficients like the viscosity is also (in the long-time limit) the value in a typical circuit. The circuit-averaged transport coefficients can be mapped onto a classical irreversible Markov process. Therefore, remarkably, our construction allows us to efficiently compute the viscosity of a family of strongly interacting chaotic two-dimensional quantum systems.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2024

Non-Gaussian diffusive fluctuations in Dirac fluids

Dirac fluids - interacting systems obeying particle-hole symmetry and Lorentz invariance - are among the simplest hydrodynamic systems; they have also been studied as effective descriptions of transport in strongly interacting Dirac semimetals. Direct experimental signatures of the Dirac fluid are elusive, as its charge transport is diffusive as in conventional metals. In this paper we point out a striking consequence of fluctuating relativistic hydrodynamics: the full counting statistics (FCS) of charge transport is highly non-gaussian. We predict the exact asymptotic form of the FCS, which generalizes a result previously derived for certain interacting integrable systems. A consequence is that, starting from quasi-one dimensional nonequilibrium initial conditions, charge noise in the hydrodynamic regime is parametrically enhanced relative to that in conventional diffusive metals.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2023

Full Counting Statistics of Charge in Chaotic Many-body Quantum Systems

We investigate the full counting statistics of charge transport in $U(1)$-symmetric random unitary circuits. We consider an initial mixed state prepared with a chemical potential imbalance between the left and right halves of the system, and study the fluctuations of the charge transferred across the central bond in typical circuits. Using an effective replica statistical mechanics model and a mapping onto an emergent classical stochastic process valid at large onsite Hilbert space dimension, we show that charge transfer fluctuations approach those of the symmetric exclusion process at long times, with subleading $t^{-1/2}$ quantum corrections. We discuss our results in the context of fluctuating hydrodynamics and macroscopic fluctuation theory of classical non-equilibrium systems, and check our predictions against direct matrix-product state calculations.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Emergence of fluctuating hydrodynamics in chaotic quantum systems

A fundamental principle of chaotic quantum dynamics is that local subsystems eventually approach a thermal equilibrium state. Large subsystems thermalize slower: their approach to equilibrium is limited by the hydrodynamic build-up of large-scale fluctuations. For classical out-of-equilibrium systems, the framework of macroscopic fluctuation theory (MFT) was recently developed to model the hydrodynamics of fluctuations. We perform large-scale quantum simulations that monitor the full counting statistics of particle-number fluctuations in hard-core boson ladders, contrasting systems with ballistic and chaotic dynamics. We find excellent agreement between our results and MFT predictions, which allows us to accurately extract diffusion constants from fluctuation growth. Our results suggest that large-scale fluctuations of isolated quantum systems display emergent hydrodynamic behavior, expanding the applicability of MFT to the quantum regime.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2023

Quantum turnstiles for robust measurement of full counting statistics

We present a scalable protocol for measuring full counting statistics (FCS) in experiments or tensor-network simulations. In this method, an ancilla in the middle of the system acts as a turnstile, with its phase keeping track of the time-integrated particle flux. Unlike quantum gas microscopy, the turnstile protocol faithfully captures FCS starting from number-indefinite initial states or in the presence of noisy dynamics. In addition, by mapping the FCS onto a single-body observable, it allows for stable numerical calculations of FCS using approximate tensor-network methods. We demonstrate the wide-ranging utility of this approach by computing the FCS of the transferred magnetization in a Floquet Heisenberg spin chain, as studied in a recent experiment with superconducting qubits, as well as the FCS of charge transfer in random circuits.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2022

Operator Spreading in the Memory Matrix Formalism

The spread and scrambling of quantum information is a topic of considerable current interest. Numerous studies suggest that quantum information evolves according to hydrodynamical equations of motion, even though it is a starkly different quantity to better-known hydrodynamical variables such as charge and energy. In this work we show that the well-known memory matrix formalism for traditional hydrodynamics can be applied, with relatively little modification, to the question of operator growth in many-body quantum systems. On a conceptual level, this shores up the connection between information scrambling and hydrodynamics. At a practical level, it provides a framework for calculating quantities related to operator growth like the butterfly velocity and front diffusion constant, and for understanding how these quantities are constrained by microscopic symmetries. We apply this formalism to calculate operator-hydrodynamical coefficients perturbatively in a family of Floquet models. Our formalism allows us to identify the processes affecting information transport that arise from the spatiotemporal symmetries of the model.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2021

Haar averaged moments of correlation functions and OTOCs in Floquet systems

Scrambling and thermalisation are topics of intense study in both condensed matter and high energy physics. Random unitary dynamics form a simple testing-ground for our theoretical understanding of these processes. In this work, we derive exact expressions for the large $q$ limiting behaviour of a selection of $n$-point correlation functions, out-of-time-ordered correlators (OTOCs), and their moments. In the process we find a general principle that breaks OTOCs into small and easy to calculate pieces, and which can likely be deployed in a more general context.

quant-ph↗