arXiv subjects

Paolo Zanardi

Publications and source records attributed to Paolo Zanardi.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Quantum scrambling of algebras of observables: the $\mathbb{Z}_2$-symmetric case

We consider unitary quantum scrambling for an entire class of observable algebras $\mathcal A$ whose commutant ${\mathcal A}'=\mathbb{C}\mathbb{Z}_2$ is generated by a Hermitian involution $S$, i.e., a parity operator. We adopt two different, although related, scrambling measures: (a) the algebraic out-of-time-order correlator (A-OTOC) introduced in [Andreadakis, Anand, and Zanardi, Phys. Rev. A 107, 042217 (2023)], and (b) a Slater-determinant-type quantity, dubbed the Plücker fidelity, obtained by embedding operator algebras into a higher-dimensional projective operator space. Both measures admit a simple geometric interpretation in terms of distances between algebras and their dynamical images. Moreover, they can be expressed in terms of the norm of the $\mathbb{Z}_2$-symmetry-breaking component of the unitary, which is in turn controlled by the time autocorrelation function of the $\mathbb{Z}_2$ generator $S$. We derive exact expressions for the A-OTOC and the Plücker fidelity in the general case, as well as their values for a random unitary. For Hamiltonian-generated channels, we compute their long-time averages, as well as the typical values of these long-time averages for random generators $S$. Finally, we numerically explore the results of our formalism for interacting spin chains in different phases and for different physical parity operators.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

An Exact Link between Nonlocal Nonstabilizerness and Operator Entanglement

Nonstabilizerness is a quantum property of states associated with the non-Clifford resources required for their preparation. As a resource, nonstabilizerness complements entanglement, and the interplay between these two concepts has garnered significant attention in recent years. In this work, we establish an exact correspondence between the generation of nonlocal nonstabilizerness and operator entanglement under unitary evolutions. Nonlocal nonstabilizerness refers to nonstabilizerness that cannot be erased via local operations, while operator entanglement generalizes entanglement to operator space, characterizing the complexity of operators across a bipartition. Specifically, we prove that a unitary map generates nonlocal nonstabilizerness if and only if it generates operator entanglement on Pauli strings. Guided by this result, we introduce an average measure of a unitary's Pauli-entangling power, serving as a proxy for nonlocal nonstabilizerness generation. We derive analytical formulas for this measure and examine its properties, including its typical value and upper bounds in terms of the nonstabilizerness properties of the evolution.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

A Butterfly Effect in Encoding-Decoding Quantum Circuits

The study of information scrambling has profoundly deepened our understanding of many-body quantum systems. Much recent research has been devote to understanding the interplay between scrambling and decoherence in open systems. Continuing in this vein, we investigate scrambling in a noisy encoding-decoding circuit model. Specifically, we consider an $L$-qubit circuit consisting of a Haar-random unitary, followed by noise acting on a subset of qubits, and then by the inverse unitary. Scrambling is measured using the bipartite algebraic out-of-time-order correlator ($\mathcal{A}$-OTOC), which allows us to track information spread between extensively sized subsystems. We derive an analytic expression for the $\mathcal{A}$-OTOC that depends on system size and noise strength. In the thermodynamic limit, this system displays a \textit{butterfly effect} in which infinitesimal noise induces macroscopic information scrambling. We also perform numerical simulations while relaxing the condition of Haar-randomness, which preliminarily suggest that this effect may manifest in a larger set of circuits.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Mereological Quantum Phase Transitions

We introduce the novel concept of mereological quantum phase transition (m-QPTs). Our framework is based on a variational family of operator algebras defining generalized tensor product structures (g-TPS), a parameter-dependent Hamiltonian, and a quantum scrambling functional. By minimizing the scrambling functional, one selects a g-TPS, enabling a pullback of the natural information-geometric metric on the g-TPS manifold to the parameter space. The singularities of this induced metric -- so-called algebra susceptibility -- in the thermodynamic limit characterize the m-QPTs. We illustrate this framework through analytical examples involving quantum coherence and operator entanglement. Moreover, spin-chains numerical simulations show susceptibility sharp responses at an integrability point and strong growth across disorder-induced localization, suggesting critical reorganizations of emergent subsystem structure aligned with those transitions.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Nonlocal Magic Generation and Information Scrambling in Noisy Clifford Circuits

In this work, we investigate the average information scrambling and nonlocal magic generation properties of random Clifford encoding-decoding circuits perturbed by local noise. We quantify these with the bipartite algebraic out-of-time order correlator ($\mathcal{A}$-OTOC) and average Pauli-entangling power (APEP) respectively. Using recent advances in the representation theory of the Clifford group, we compute both quantities' averages in the limit that the circuits become infinitely large. We observe that both display a ``butterfly effect" whereby noise occurring on finitely many qubits leads to macroscopic information scrambling and nonlocal magic generating power. Finally, we numerically study the relationship between the magic capacity, an operator-level magic monotone, of the noise channel and the APEP of the resulting circuit, which may provide insight for designing efficient nonlocal magic factories.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Tensor Product Structure Geometry under Unitary Channels

In quantum many-body systems, complex dynamics delocalize the physical degrees of freedom. This spreading of information throughout the system has been extensively studied in relation to quantum thermalization, scrambling, and chaos. Locality is typically defined with respect to a tensor product structure (TPS) which identifies the local subsystems of the quantum system. In this paper, we investigate a simple geometric measure of operator spreading by quantifying the distance of the space of local operators from itself evolved under a unitary channel. We show that this TPS distance is related to the scrambling properties of the dynamics between the local subsystems and coincides with the entangling power of the dynamics in the case of a symmetric bipartition. Additionally, we provide sufficient conditions for the maximization of the TPS distance and show that the class of 2-unitaries provides examples of dynamics that achieve this maximal value. For Hamiltonian evolutions at short times, the characteristic timescale of the TPS distance depends on scrambling rates determined by the strength of interactions between the local subsystems. Beyond this short-time regime, the behavior of the TPS distance is explored through numerical simulations of prototypical models exhibiting distinct ergodic properties, ranging from quantum chaos and integrability to Hilbert space fragmentation and localization.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

A quantum algorithm for Khovanov homology

Khovanov homology is a topological knot invariant that categorifies the Jones polynomial, recognizes the unknot, and is conjectured to appear as an observable in $4D$ supersymmetric Yang--Mills theory. Despite its rich mathematical and physical significance, the computational complexity of Khovanov homology remains largely unknown. To address this challenge, this work initiates the study of efficient quantum algorithms for Khovanov homology. We provide simple proofs that increasingly accurate additive approximations to the ranks of Khovanov homology are DQC1-hard, BQP-hard, and #P-hard, respectively. For the first two approximation regimes, we propose a novel quantum algorithm. Our algorithm is efficient provided the corresponding Hodge Laplacian thermalizes in polynomial time and has a sufficiently large spectral gap, for which we give numerical and analytical evidence. Our approach introduces a pre-thermalization procedure that allows our quantum algorithm to succeed even if the Betti numbers of Khovanov homology are much smaller than the dimensions of the corresponding chain spaces, overcoming a limitation of prior quantum homology algorithms. We introduce novel connections between Khovanov homology and graph theory to derive analytic lower bounds on the spectral gap.

math.GT↗

arXiv2024

Operator Space Entangling Power of Quantum Dynamics and Local Operator Entanglement Growth in Dual-Unitary Circuits

Operator entanglement is a well-established measure of operator complexity across a system bipartition. In this work, we introduce a measure for the ability of a unitary channel to generate operator entanglement, representing an operator-level generalization of the state-space entangling power. This operator space entangling power is demonstrated to be linked to the scrambling properties of the unitary channel via the recently introduced concept of mutual averaged non-commutativity of quantum operator algebras. An upper bound for the operator space entangling power is identified, corresponding to unitary channels with scrambling properties akin to those of typical unitaries. Additionally, for Hamiltonian dynamics, we find that the short-time growth rate of the operator space entangling power matches the Gaussian scrambling rate of the bipartite out-of-time-order-correlator, establishing a direct link between information scrambling and operator entanglement generation for short time scales. Finally, we examine the average growth of local operator entanglement across a symmetric bipartition of a spin-chain. For dual-unitary circuits, a combination of analytical and numerical investigations demonstrates that the average growth of local operator entanglement exhibits two distinct regimes in relation to the operator space entangling power of the building-block gate.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Operational Quantum Mereology and Minimal Scrambling

In this paper we will attempt to answer the following question: what are the natural quantum subsystems which emerge out of a system's dynamical laws? To answer this question we first define generalized tensor product structures (gTPS) in terms of observables, as dual pairs of an operator subalgebra $\cal A$ and its commutant. Second, we propose an operational criterion of minimal information scrambling at short time scales to dynamically select gTPS. In this way the emergent subsystems are those which maintain the longest informational identity. This strategy is made quantitative by defining a Gaussian scrambling rate in terms of the short-time expansion of an algebraic version of the Out of Time Order Correlation (OTOC) function i.e., the $\cal A$-OTOC. The Gaussian scrambling rate is computed analytically for physically important cases of general division into subsystems, and is shown to have an intuitive and compelling physical interpretation in terms of minimizing the interaction strength between subsystems.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Long-time Quantum Scrambling and Generalized Tensor Product Structures

Much recent work has been devoted to the study of information scrambling in quantum systems. In this paper, we study the long-time properties of the algebraic out-of-time-order-correlator ("$\mathcal{A}$-OTOC") and derive an analytical expression for its long-time average under the non-resonance condition. The $\mathcal{A}$-OTOC quantifies quantum scrambling with respect to degrees of freedom described by an operator subalgebra $\mathcal{A}$, which is associated with a partitioning of the corresponding system into a generalized tensor product structure. Recently, the short-time growth of the $\mathcal{A}$-OTOC was proposed as a criterion to determine which partition arises naturally from the system's unitary dynamics. In this paper, we extend this program to the long-time regime where the long-time average of the $\mathcal{A}$-OTOC serves as the metric of subsystem emergence. Under this framework, natural system partitions are characterized by the tendency to minimally scramble information over long time scales. We consider several physical examples, ranging from quantum many-body systems and stabilizer codes to quantum reference frames, and perform the minimization of the $\mathcal{A}$-OTOC long-time average both analytically and numerically over relevant families of algebras. For simple cases subject to the non-resonant condition, minimal $\mathcal{A}$-OTOC long-time average is shown to be related to minimal entanglement of the Hamiltonian eigenstates across the emergent system partition. Finally, we conjecture and provide evidence for a general structure of the algebra that minimizes the average for non-resonant Hamiltonians.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Mutual averaged non-commutativity of quantum operator algebras

We introduce an elementary measure of non-commutativity between two algebras of quantum operators acting on the same Hilbert space. This quantity, which we call Mutual Averaged Non-commutativity (MAN), is a simple generalization of a type of averaged Out-of-Time-Order-Correlators used in the study of quantum scrambling and chaos. MAN is defined by a Haar averaged squared norm of a commutator and for some types of algebras is manifestly of entropic nature. In particular, when the two algebras coincide the corresponding self-MAN can be fully computed in terms of the structural data of the associated Hilbert space decomposition. Properties and bounds of MAN are established in general and several concrete examples are discussed. Remarkably, for an important class of algebras, -- which includes factors and maximal abelian ones -- MAN can be expressed in the terms of the algebras projections CP-maps. Assuming that the latter can be enacted as physical processes, one can devise operational protocols to directly estimate the MAN of a pair of algebras.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Scrambling and operator entanglement in local non-Hermitian quantum systems

The breakdown of Lieb-Robinson bounds in local, non-Hermitian quantum systems opens up the possibility for a rich landscape of quantum many-body phenomenology. We elucidate this by studying information scrambling and quantum chaos in non-Hermitian variants of paradigmatic local quantum spin-chain models. We utilize a mixture of exact diagonalization and tensor network techniques for our numerical results and focus on three dynamical quantities: (i) out-of-time-ordered correlators (OTOCs), (ii) operator entanglement of the dynamics, and (iii) entanglement growth following a quench from product initial states. We show that while OTOCs fail to capture information scrambling in a simple, local, non-Hermitian transverse-field Ising model, the closely related operator entanglement is a robust measure of dynamical properties of interest. Moreover, we show that the short-time growth of operator entanglement can generically detect ``entanglement phase transitions'' in these systems while its long-time average is shown to be a reliable indicator of quantum chaos and entanglement phases. This allows us to extend operator entanglement based diagnostics from previous works on closed and open quantum systems, to the new arena of monitored quantum dynamics. Finally, we remark on the efficacy of these dynamical quantities in detecting integrability/chaos in the presence of continuous monitoring.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Coherence generation, symmetry algebras and Hilbert space fragmentation

Hilbert space fragmentation is a novel type of ergodicity breaking in closed quantum systems. Recently, an algebraic approach was utilized to provide a definition of Hilbert space fragmentation characterizing \emph{families} of Hamiltonian systems based on their (generalized) symmetries. In this paper, we reveal a simple connection between the aforementioned classification of physical systems and their coherence generation properties, quantified by the coherence generating power (CGP). The maximum CGP (in the basis associated to the algebra of each family of Hamiltonians) is exactly related to the number of independent Krylov subspaces $K$, which is precisely the characteristic used in the classification of the system. In order to gain further insight, we numerically simulate paradigmatic models with both ordinary symmetries and Hilbert space fragmentation, comparing the behavior of the CGP in each case with the system dimension. More generally, allowing the time evolution to be any unitary channel in a specified algebra, we show analytically that the scaling of the Haar averaged value of the CGP depends only on $K$. These results illustrate the intuitive relationship between coherence generation and symmetry algebras.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Scrambling of Algebras in Open Quantum Systems

Many quantitative approaches to the dynamical scrambling of information in quantum systems involve the study of out-of-time-ordered correlators (OTOCs). In this paper, we introduce an algebraic OTOC ($\mathcal{A}$-OTOC) that allows us to study information scrambling of generalized quantum subsystems under quantum channels. For closed quantum systems, this algebraic framework was recently employed to unify quantum information-theoretic notions of operator entanglement, coherence-generating power, and Loschmidt echo. The main focus of this work is to provide a natural generalization of these techniques to open quantum systems. We first show that, for unitary dynamics, the $\mathcal{A}$-OTOC quantifies a generalized notion of information scrambling, namely between a subalgebra of observables and its commutant. For open quantum systems, on the other hand, we find a competition between the global environmental decoherence and the local scrambling of information. We illustrate this interplay by analytically studying various illustrative examples of algebras and quantum channels. To complement our analytical results, we perform numerical simulations of two paradigmatic systems: the PXP model and the Heisenberg XXX model, under dephasing. Our numerical results reveal connections with many-body scars and the stability of decoherence-free subspaces.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2022

BROTOCs and Quantum Information Scrambling at Finite Temperature

Out-of-time-ordered correlators (OTOCs) have been extensively studied in recent years as a diagnostic of quantum information scrambling. In this paper, we study quantum information-theoretic aspects of the regularized finite-temperature OTOC. We introduce analytical results for the bipartite regularized OTOC (BROTOC): the regularized OTOC averaged over random unitaries supported over a bipartition. We show that the BROTOC has several interesting properties, for example, it quantifies the purity of the associated thermofield double state and the operator purity of the analytically continued time-evolution operator. At infinite-temperature, it reduces to one minus the operator entanglement of the time-evolution operator. In the zero-temperature limit and for nondegenerate Hamiltonians, the BROTOC probes the groundstate entanglement. By computing long-time averages, we show that the equilibration value of the BROTOC is intimately related to eigenstate entanglement. Finally, we numerically study the equilibration value of the BROTOC for various physically relevant Hamiltonian models and comment on its ability to distinguish integrable and chaotic dynamics.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2022

Quantum scrambling of observable algebras

In this paper we describe an algebraic/geometrical approach to quantum scrambling. Generalized quantum subsystems are described by an hermitian-closed unital subalgebra $\cal A$ of operators evolving through a unitary channel. Qualitatively, quantum scrambling is defined by how the associated physical degrees of freedom get mixed up with others by the dynamics. Quantitatively, this is accomplished by introducing a measure, the geometric algebra anti-correlator (GAAC), of the self-orthogonalization of the commutant of $\cal A$ induced by the dynamics. This approach extends and unifies averaged bipartite OTOC, operator entanglement, coherence generating power and Loschmidt echo. Each of these concepts is indeed recovered by a special choice of $\cal A$. We compute typical values of GAAC for random unitaries, we prove upper bounds and characterize their saturation. For generic energy spectrum we find explicit expressions for the infinite-time average of the GAAC which encode the relation between $\cal A$ and the full system of Hamiltonian eigenstates. Finally, a notion of ${\cal A}$-chaoticity is suggested.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2021

Information Scrambling and Chaos in Open Quantum Systems

Out-of-time-ordered correlators (OTOCs) have been extensively used over the last few years to study information scrambling and quantum chaos in many-body systems. In this paper, we extend the formalism of the averaged bipartite OTOC of Styliaris et al [Phys. Rev. Lett. 126, 030601 (2021)] to the case of open quantum systems. The dynamics is no longer unitary but it is described by more general quantum channels (trace preserving, completely positive maps). This "open bipartite OTOC" can be treated in an exact analytical fashion and is shown to amount to a distance between two quantum channels. Moreover, our analytical form unveils competing entropic contributions from information scrambling and environmental decoherence such that the latter can obfuscate the former. To elucidate this subtle interplay we analytically study special classes of quantum channels, namely, dephasing channels, entanglement-breaking channels, and others. Finally, as a physical application we numerically study dissipative many-body spin-chains and show how the competing entropic effects can be used to differentiate between integrable and chaotic regimes.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2021

Quantum coherence as a signature of chaos

We establish a rigorous connection between quantum coherence and quantum chaos by employing coherence measures originating from the resource theory framework as a diagnostic tool for quantum chaos. We quantify this connection at two different levels: quantum states and quantum channels. At the level of states, we show how several well-studied quantifiers of chaos are, in fact, quantum coherence measures in disguise (or closely related to them). We further this connection for all quantum coherence measures by using tools from majorization theory. Then, we numerically study the coherence of chaotic-vs-integrable eigenstates and find excellent agreement with random matrix theory in the bulk of the spectrum. At the level of channels, we show that the coherence-generating power (CGP) -- a measure of how much coherence a dynamical process generates on average -- emerges as a subpart of the out-of-time-ordered correlator (OTOC), a measure of information scrambling in many-body systems. Via numerical simulations of the (nonintegrable) transverse-field Ising model, we show that the OTOC and CGP capture quantum recurrences in quantitatively the same way. Moreover, using random matrix theory, we analytically characterize the CGP-OTOC connection for the Haar and Gaussian ensembles. In closing, we remark on how our coherence-based signatures of chaos relate to other diagnostics, namely the Loschmidt echo, OTOC, and the Spectral Form Factor.

quant-ph↗