arXiv subjects

Shan-Ming Ruan

Publications and source records attributed to Shan-Ming Ruan.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Explicit Connections Between Krylov and Nielsen Complexity

We establish a direct correspondence between Krylov and Nielsen complexity by choosing the Krylov basis to be part of the elementary gate set of Nielsen geometry and selecting a Nielsen complexity metric compatible with the Krylov metric. Up to normalization, the Krylov complexity of a Hermitian operator then equals the length squared of a straight-line trajectory on the manifold of unitaries that connects the identity operator with a precursor operator. The corresponding length provides an upper bound on Nielsen complexity that saturates whenever the straight line is a minimal geodesic. While for general systems we can only establish saturation in the limit of small precursors, we provide evidence that in broad classes of models and for suitable initial operators there is a precise correspondence between Krylov complexity and (the square of) Nielsen complexity for a finite range of precursors.

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arXiv2026

Holography in flipped AdS/$\mathbb{Z}$: Another approach to dS holography

Motivated by the subtleties in the conventional dS/CFT correspondence, we explore analytic continuation as a constructive route to de Sitter holography. We show that quantum field theories in de Sitter space and in a spacetime that we call flipped $\mathrm{AdS}/\mathbb{Z}$ (fAdS) are related by analytic continuation. We then develop a holographic description of fAdS in terms of a boundary theory referred to as flipped CFT (fCFT). In particular, we construct the extrapolate dictionary for general asymptotically fAdS spacetimes and compute the holographic two-point functions, finding agreement with an independent derivation based on the conformal symmetry of fCFT. The analytic continuation relation between fAdS and dS further suggests that fCFT may provide a starting point for an alternative holographic description of de Sitter physics. As a nontrivial check of this picture, we show that the Cardy formula of fCFT$_2$ reproduces the Bekenstein--Hawking entropies of the cosmological horizons in both pure dS$_3$ and Kerr-dS$_3$.

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arXiv2026

Universal Time Evolution of Holographic and Quantum Complexity

Holographic complexity, as the bulk dual of quantum complexity, encodes the geometric structure of black hole interiors. Motivated by the complexity=anything proposal, we introduce the spectral representation for generating functions associated with codimension-one and codimension-zero holographic complexity measures. These generating functions exhibit a universal slope-ramp-plateau structure, analogous to the spectral form factor in chaotic quantum systems. In such systems, quantum complexity evolves universally, displaying long-time linear growth followed by saturation at late times. By employing the generating function formalism, we demonstrate that this universal behavior originates from random matrix universality in spectral statistics and from a particular pole structure of the matrix elements of the generating functions in the energy eigenbasis. Using the residue theorem, we prove that the existence of this pole structure is both a necessary and sufficient condition for the linear growth of complexity measures. Furthermore, we show that the late-time saturation plateau arises directly from the spectral level repulsion, a hallmark of quantum chaos.

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arXiv2025

Toward a Consistent Definition of Holographic Entanglement Entropy in de Sitter Space

We investigate a new definition of holographic entanglement entropy in the framework of static patch holography for de Sitter space. Using the replica trick and twist operator formalism, we derive an entropy functional in three-dimensional de Sitter space expressed through de Sitter Green's functions. Since the naive Ryu-Takayanagi prescription in de Sitter spacetime fails to satisfy strong subadditivity, we demand that our proposed formula be consistent with the fundamental entropic inequalities. The resulting conditions place nontrivial constraints on the undetermined parameter space of static patch holography. Our results demonstrate that entanglement inequalities provide a sharp diagnostic for candidate definitions of entanglement entropy in de Sitter holography and offer quantitative evidence in support of static patch holography as a consistent framework.

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arXiv2025

Non-perturbative Overlaps in JT Gravity: From Spectral Form Factor to Generating Functions of Complexity

The interplay between black hole interior dynamics and quantum chaos provides a crucial framework for probing quantum effects in quantum gravity. In this work, we investigate non-perturbative overlaps in Jackiw-Teitelboim (JT) gravity to uncover universal signatures of quantum chaos and quantum complexity. Taking advantage of universal spectral correlators from random matrix theory, we compute the overlaps between the thermofield double (TFD) state and two distinct classes of states: fixed-length states, which encode maximal volume slices, and time-shifted TFD states. The squared overlaps naturally define probability distributions that quantify the expectation values of gravitational observables. Central to our results is the introduction of generating functions for quantum complexity measures, such as $\langle e^{-α\ell} \rangle$. The time evolution of these generating functions exhibits the universal slope-ramp-plateau structure, mirroring the behavior of the spectral form factor (SFF). Using generating functions, we further demonstrate that the universal time evolution of complexity for chaotic systems, which is characterized by a linear growth followed by a late-time plateau, arises from the disappearance of the linear ramp as the regularization parameter $α$ decreases. With regard to the time-shifted TFD state, we derive a surprising result: the expectation value of the time shift, which classically grows linearly, vanishes when non-perturbative quantum corrections are incorporated. This cancellation highlights a fundamental distinction between semiclassical and quantum gravitational descriptions of the black hole interior. All our findings establish generating functions as powerful probes of quantum complexity and chaos in gravitational and quantum systems.

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arXiv2025

Non-extremal Island in de Sitter Gravity

This paper investigates the challenges and resolutions in computing the entanglement entropy for the quantum field theory coupled to de Sitter (dS) gravity along a timelike boundary. The conventional island formula, originally designed to calculate the fine-grained entropy for a non-gravitational system coupled to anti-de Sitter (AdS) gravity, encounters difficulties in de Sitter gravitational spacetime, failing to provide a physically plausible extremal island. To overcome these problems, we introduce a doubly holographic model by embedding a dS$_2$ braneworld in an AdS$_3$ bulk spacetime. This approach facilitates the computation of entanglement entropy through holographic correlation functions, effectively circumventing the constraints of the island formula. We demonstrate that the correct recipe for calculating entanglement entropy with dS gravity involves the non-extremal island, whose boundary is instead defined at the edge of the dS gravitational region. Our findings indicate that, during the island phase, the entanglement wedge of the non-gravitational bath includes the entire dS gravitational space. Using the second variation formula, we further show that the existence of a locally minimal surface anchored on the gravitational brane is intrinsically linked to the extrinsic curvature of the brane.

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arXiv2024

Complexity Equals (Almost) Anything

Recent investigations [arXiv:2111.02429][arXiv:2210.09647][arXiv:2304.05453] have introduced an infinite class of novel gravitational observables in Asymptotically anti-de Sitter (AdS) space that reside on codimension-one or -zero regions of the bulk spacetime. These observables encompass well-established holographic complexity measures such as the maximum volume of the extremal hypersurfaces and the action or spacetime volume of the Wheeler-DeWitt (WDW) patch. Furthermore, this family of observables exhibits two universal properties when applied to the thermofield double (TFD) state: they exhibit linear growth at late times and faithfully reproduce the switchback effect. This implies that any observable from this class has the potential to serve as a gravitational dual for the circuit complexity of boundary states.

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arXiv2024

Double Holography of Entangled Universes

We employ double holography to examine a system of two entangled gravitating universes that live on two codimension-one branes in an asymptotically AdS$_3$ spacetime with two disjoint conformal boundaries. There are distinct brane configurations depending on the temperature of the thermofield double (TFD) state between the left and right systems. The topology transition between two branes is naturally identified with the emergence of an Einstein-Rosen bridge connecting the two entangled universes. This doubly holographic construction offers a holographic perspective on gravitational collapse and black hole formation in brane universes. Through this holographic framework, we analyze the quantum information structure of the two gravitating universes. Specifically, we calculate the mutual information between defects present in the boundary theories on the left and right sides. Furthermore, we investigate the decoupling process in the Hayden-Preskill protocol applied to the two copies of the defect field theory and discuss the interpretation of the Yoshida-Kitaev decoding protocol.

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arXiv2024

Complexity=Anything: Singularity Probes

We investigate how the complexity=anything observables proposed by [arXiv:2111.02429, arXiv:2210.09647] can be used to investigate the interior geometry of AdS black holes. In particular, we illustrate how the flexibility of the complexity=anything approach allows us to systematically probe the geometric properties of black hole singularities. We contrast our results for the AdS Schwarzschild and AdS Reissner-Nordström geometries, i.e., for uncharged and charged black holes, respectively. In the latter case, the holographic complexity observables can only probe the interior up to the inner horizon.

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arXiv2023

A Half de Sitter Holography

A long-standing and intriguing question is: does the holographic principle apply to cosmologies like de Sitter spacetime? In this work, we consider a half dS spacetime wherein a timelike boundary encloses the bulk spacetime, presenting a version of de Sitter holography. By analyzing the holographic entanglement entropy in this space and comparing it with that in AdS/CFT, we argue that gravity on a half dS$_{d+1}$ is dual to a highly non-local field theory residing on dS$_d$ boundary. This non-locality induces a breach in the subadditivity of holographic entanglement entropy. Remarkably, this observation can be linked to another argument that time slices in global de Sitter space overestimate the degrees of freedom by redundantly counting the same Hilbert space multiple times.

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arXiv2023

Gluing AdS/CFT

In this paper, we investigate gluing together two Anti-de Sitter (AdS) geometries along a timelike brane, which corresponds to coupling two brane field theories (BFTs) through gravitational interactions in the dual holographic perspective. By exploring the general conditions for this gluing process, we show that the energy stress tensors of the BFTs backreact on the dynamical metric in a manner reminiscent of the TTbar deformation. In particular, we present explicit solutions for the three-dimensional case with chiral excitations and further construct perturbative solutions with non-chiral excitations.

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arXiv2022

Complexity Equals Anything II

We expand on our results in arXiv:2111.02429 to present a broad new class of gravitational observables in asymptotically Anti-de Sitter space living on general codimension-zero regions of the bulk spacetime. By taking distinct limits, these observables can reduce to well-studied holographic complexity proposals, e.g., the volume of the maximal slice and the action or spacetime volume of the Wheeler-DeWitt patch. As with the codimension-one family found in arXiv:2111.02429, these new observables display two key universal features for the thermofield double state: they grow linearly in time at late times and reproduce the switchback effect. Hence we argue that any member of this new class of observables is an equally viable candidate as a gravitational dual of complexity. Moreover, using the Peierls construction, we show that variations of the codimension-zero and codimension-one observables are encoded in the gravitational symplectic form on the semi-classical phase-space, which can then be mapped to the CFT.

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arXiv2022

Does Complexity Equal Anything?

We present a new infinite class of gravitational observables in asymptotically Anti-de Sitter space living on codimension-one slices of the geometry, the most famous of which is the volume of the maximal slice. We show that these observables display universal features for the thermofield-double state: they grow linearly in time at late times and reproduce the switch-back effect in shock wave geometries. We argue that any member of this class of observables is an equally viable candidate as the extremal volume for a gravitational dual of complexity.

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arXiv2022

Zoo of holographic moving mirrors

We systematically study moving mirror models in two-dimensional conformal field theory (CFT). By focusing on their late-time behavior, we separate the mirror profiles into four classes, named type A (timelike) mirrors, type B (escaping) mirrors, type C (chasing) mirrors, and type D (terminated) mirrors. We analytically explore the characteristic features of the energy flux and entanglement entropy for each type and work out their physical interpretation. Moreover, we construct their gravity duals for which end-of-the-world (EOW) branes play a crucial role. Depending on the mirror type, the profiles of the EOW branes show distinct behaviors. In addition, we also provide a criterion that decides whether the replica method in CFTs computes entanglement entropy or pseudo entropy in moving mirror models.

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arXiv2022

Holographic Complexity in dS$_{d+1}$

We study the CV, CA, and CV2.0 approaches to holographic complexity in $(d+1)$-dimensional de Sitter spacetime. We find that holographic complexity and corresponding growth rate presents universal behaviour for all three approaches. In particular, the holographic complexity exhibits `hyperfast' growth [arXiv:2109.14104] and appears to diverge with a universal power law at a (finite) critical time. We introduce a cutoff surface to regulate this divergence, and the subsequent growth of the holographic complexity is linear in time.

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arXiv2021

On the Page curve under final state projection

The black hole singularity plays a crucial role in formulating Hawking's information paradox. The global spacetime analysis may be reconciled with unitarity by imposing a final state boundary condition on the spacelike singularity. Motivated by the final state proposal, we explore the effect of final state projection in two dimensional conformal field theories. We calculate the time evolution under postselection by employing the real part of pseudo-entropy to estimate the amount of quantum entanglement averaged over histories between the initial and final states. We find that this quantity possesses a Page curve-like behavior.

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arXiv2020

Quantum Extremal Islands Made Easy, PartIII: Complexity on the Brane

We examine holographic complexity in the doubly holographic model introduced in [arXiv:2006.04851][arXiv:2010.00018] to study quantum extremal islands. We focus on the holographic complexity=volume (CV) proposal for boundary subregions in the island phase. Exploiting the Fefferman-Graham expansion of the metric and other geometric quantities near the brane, we derive the leading contributions to the complexity and interpret these in terms of the generalized volume of the island derived from the induced higher-curvature gravity action on the brane. Motivated by these results, we propose a generalization of the CV proposal for higher curvature theories of gravity. Further, we provide two consistency checks of our proposal by studying Gauss-Bonnet gravity and f(R) gravity in the bulk.

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arXiv2020

Evaporating Black Holes Coupled to a Thermal Bath

We study the doubly holographic model of [arXiv:1908.10996] in the situation where a black hole in two-dimensional JT gravity theory is coupled to an auxiliary bath system at arbitrary finite temperature. Depending on the initial temperature of the black hole relative to the bath temperature, the black hole can lose mass by emitting Hawking radiation, stay in equilibrium with the bath or gain mass by absorbing thermal radiation from the bath. In all of these scenarios, a unitary Page curve is obtained by applying the usual prescription for holographic entanglement entropy and identifying the quantum extremal surface for the generalized entropy, using both analytical and numeric calculations. As the application of the entanglement wedge reconstruction, we further investigate the reconstruction of the black hole interior from a subsystem containing the Hawking radiation. We examine the roles of the Hawking radiation and also the purification of the thermal bath in this reconstruction.

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