Universal Quantum Birthmark: Ghost of the quantum past
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arXiv
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2026
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| _version_ | 1866910007582261248 |
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| author | Xiaoya, Ivy Graf, Anton M. Heller, Eric J. Keski-Rahkonen, Joonas |
| author_facet | Xiaoya, Ivy Graf, Anton M. Heller, Eric J. Keski-Rahkonen, Joonas |
| contents | Quantum dynamics retains a permanent and universal memory of its initial conditions, even in systems whose spectra display fully chaotic, random-matrix behavior. This effect, known as the quantum birthmark, appears as an enhancement of the long-time return probability of any non-stationary state compared to the overlap with a typical ergodic state. In this work, we develop the full theoretical foundation for this universal contribution that depends only on the global symmetry class and accessible Hilbert-space dimension, not on the microscopic dynamics. Our findings reveal that quantum evolution preserves an unavoidable, symmetry-controlled imprint of its origin, a quantum effect calling into question classical expectations of ergodicity and the resulting thermalization scenarios. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_00891 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Universal Quantum Birthmark: Ghost of the quantum past Xiaoya, Ivy Graf, Anton M. Heller, Eric J. Keski-Rahkonen, Joonas Quantum Physics Quantum dynamics retains a permanent and universal memory of its initial conditions, even in systems whose spectra display fully chaotic, random-matrix behavior. This effect, known as the quantum birthmark, appears as an enhancement of the long-time return probability of any non-stationary state compared to the overlap with a typical ergodic state. In this work, we develop the full theoretical foundation for this universal contribution that depends only on the global symmetry class and accessible Hilbert-space dimension, not on the microscopic dynamics. Our findings reveal that quantum evolution preserves an unavoidable, symmetry-controlled imprint of its origin, a quantum effect calling into question classical expectations of ergodicity and the resulting thermalization scenarios. |
| title | Universal Quantum Birthmark: Ghost of the quantum past |
| topic | Quantum Physics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.00891 |