Markovian to non-Markovian phase transition in the operator dynamics of a mobile impurity

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Gribben, Dominic, Marino, Jamir, Kelly, Shane P.
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2024
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author Gribben, Dominic
Marino, Jamir
Kelly, Shane P.
author_facet Gribben, Dominic
Marino, Jamir
Kelly, Shane P.
contents We study a random unitary circuit model of an impurity moving through a chaotic medium. The exchange of information between the medium and impurity is controlled by varying the velocity of the impurity, $v_d$, relative to the speed of information propagation within the medium, $v_B$. Above supersonic velocities, $v_d> v_B$, information cannot flow back to the impurity after it has moved into the medium, and the resulting dynamics are Markovian. Below supersonic velocities, $v_d< v_B$, the dynamics of the impurity and medium are non-Markovian, and information is able to flow back onto the impurity. We show the two regimes are separated by a continuous phase transition with exponents directly related to the diffusive spreading of operators in the medium. This is demonstrated by monitoring an out-of-time-order correlator (OTOC) in a scenario where the impurity is substituted at an intermediate time. During the Markovian phase, information from the medium cannot transfer onto the replaced impurity, manifesting in no significant operator development. Conversely, in the non-Markovian phase, we observe that operators acquire support on the newly introduced impurity. We also characterize the dynamics using the coherent information and provide two decoders which can efficiently probe the transition between Markovian and non-Markovian information flow. Our work demonstrates that Markovian and non-Markovian dynamics can be separated by a phase transition, and we propose an efficient protocol for observing this transition.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2401_17066
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Markovian to non-Markovian phase transition in the operator dynamics of a mobile impurity
Gribben, Dominic
Marino, Jamir
Kelly, Shane P.
Quantum Physics
Disordered Systems and Neural Networks
Statistical Mechanics
High Energy Physics - Theory
We study a random unitary circuit model of an impurity moving through a chaotic medium. The exchange of information between the medium and impurity is controlled by varying the velocity of the impurity, $v_d$, relative to the speed of information propagation within the medium, $v_B$. Above supersonic velocities, $v_d> v_B$, information cannot flow back to the impurity after it has moved into the medium, and the resulting dynamics are Markovian. Below supersonic velocities, $v_d< v_B$, the dynamics of the impurity and medium are non-Markovian, and information is able to flow back onto the impurity. We show the two regimes are separated by a continuous phase transition with exponents directly related to the diffusive spreading of operators in the medium. This is demonstrated by monitoring an out-of-time-order correlator (OTOC) in a scenario where the impurity is substituted at an intermediate time. During the Markovian phase, information from the medium cannot transfer onto the replaced impurity, manifesting in no significant operator development. Conversely, in the non-Markovian phase, we observe that operators acquire support on the newly introduced impurity. We also characterize the dynamics using the coherent information and provide two decoders which can efficiently probe the transition between Markovian and non-Markovian information flow. Our work demonstrates that Markovian and non-Markovian dynamics can be separated by a phase transition, and we propose an efficient protocol for observing this transition.
title Markovian to non-Markovian phase transition in the operator dynamics of a mobile impurity
topic Quantum Physics
Disordered Systems and Neural Networks
Statistical Mechanics
High Energy Physics - Theory
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.17066