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[EQUATION] We choose for all logarithms to be base-2, following Tomamichel_12_Framework The von Neumann entropy is [EQUATION] The min entropy is defined as
[EQUATION] [MATH] denotes the greatest eigenvalue of [MATH] The max entropy is [EQUATION] The Schatten 1-norm is denoted by [MATH] The general Schatten [MATH] -norm of a Hermitian operator
[MATH] is [EQUATION] for [MATH] Bhatia_97_Matrix [MATH] reflects the discrepancy between [MATH] and the maximally mixed state Tomamichel_12_Framework, , p. 60) The fidelity between normalized states
[MATH] and [MATH] is [MATH] [MATH] depends on the fidelity through: [MATH] We notate the detector state’s Rényi entropies as [EQUATION]
following Tomamichel_12_Framework We have now introduced the forward-POVM entropies. The two-detector state [MATH] and the entropy [MATH] are defined analogously.
[MATH] and [MATH] , like [MATH] quantify rates at which information-processing and thermodynamic tasks can be performed. Applications include quantum key distribution, randomness extraction, erasure, work extraction, and work expenditure (e.g., Renner_05_Security delRio_11_Thermodynamic Tomamichel_12_Framework Berta_13...
Smoothing introduces an error tolerance [MATH] into the entropies Renner_05_Security Our uncertainty relations for scrambling generalize to smooth entropies. We focus on nonsmooth entropies for simplicity.
III D Entropic uncertainty relations for QI scrambling We can now reconcile the two notions of quantum operator disagreement, entropic uncertainty relations of pure QI theory and information scrambling of high-energy and condensed-matter theory.
Theorem 1 The forward and reverse POVMs satisfy entropic uncertainty relations for scrambling, [EQUATION] for [MATH] The bound depends on the OTOC quasiprobability:
[EQUATION] The real numbers [MATH] and the rest of the [MATH] terms, depend essentially on classical probabilities. Their forms are given below.
The [MATH] and [MATH] dependences of the [MATH] ’s have been suppressed for conciseness. Inequality ( 25 ) can be smoothed when [MATH]
The uncertainty relations are proved in App. They follow from three general uncertainty relations: Result 7 in Tomamichel_12_Framework Corollary 2.6 in Krishna_01_Entropic , and Ineq. (13) in Rastegin_08_Uncertainty The OTOC POVMs ( 13 ) and ( 14 are substituted into the general uncertainty relations. The POVMs’ maximu...
[EQUATION] We substitute in for the [MATH] ’s from Eq. ( 12 ), then multiply out. In each of several terms, two [MATH] ’s contribute [MATH] ’s, while two [MATH] ’s contribute [MATH] ’s. These terms contain quasiprobaiblity values [MATH] We isolate the terms by Taylor-expanding the logarithm in the [MATH] ’s.
III E Analysis Four points merit analysis: the POVMs’ implications for the butterfly effect, the form of the bound [MATH] simple limits, and conditions that render the bound nontrivial.
Implications for the butterfly effect: The weak measurements strengthen an analogy between the OTOC and the butterfly effect of classical chaos Shenker_Stanford_14_BHs_and_butterfly Roberts_16_Lieb Aleiner_16_Microscopic Campisi_16_Thermodynamics In the classical butterfly effect, a tiny perturbation snowballs into a d...
[MATH] should be associated with a weak measurement, Theorem clarifies. The measurement is perturbative in [MATH] Form of the uncertainty bound [MATH]
for scrambling: The bound ( ) contains three terms dependent on the quasiprobability [MATH] These terms’ proportionality to [MATH]
accords with intuition: Scrambling is a subtle feature of quantum equilibration, detectable in just many-point correlators. Likewise, the OTOC quasiprobability governs high-order terms in the uncertainty bound. As anticipated in Sec. II the quasiprobability [MATH] is evaluated on the identity operator. The bound highli...
The quasiprobability-free terms in ( are “background terms”: They contain classical probabilities, accessible without weak measurements. The [MATH] -independent term,
[EQUATION] dominates [MATH] The Kronecker delta is denoted by [MATH] The two linear terms, [EQUATION] depend on projectors [MATH]
only through classical probabilities [MATH] This [MATH] equals the conditional probability that, if the system begins maximally mixed over the [MATH] eigenspace of [MATH] if [MATH] is measured, outcome [MATH] will obtain. Such classical dependence characterizes also the [MATH] terms suppressed in Eq. ( ),
[EQUATION] The dominance of [MATH] , the [MATH] in [MATH] and the min ensure that [MATH] throughout the min’s argument. The first [MATH] has four arguments,
[MATH] constrained only by the [MATH] In each other [MATH] the first argument must equal the third, even before the minimization is imposed. For example, the second quasiprobability value has the form
[MATH] The [MATH] eigenvalues equal each other, due to Ineq. ( 27 ). One [MATH] comes from the [MATH] and one, from the [MATH] Nontriviality conditions:
The Rényi entropies are nonnegative: [MATH] Hence the bound is nontrivial when positive: [MATH] When the coupling is weak, the bound is positive when its first term is positive. The first term simplifies to
[MATH] The trace is large in the system size, equaling [MATH] in the spin-chain example. One might worry that this trace swells the log, drawing the bound far below zero.
The probabilities [MATH] can offset the enormity. Let us focus on the spin-chain example and approximate [MATH] Nonnegativity of the log term becomes equivalent to
[MATH] or [MATH] Strongly measuring a weak-measurement detector must yield one of [MATH] possible outcomes. Weak measurements as in Aharonov_88_How
satisfy this requirement. Let each detector manifest as a particle, e.g., in a potential that defines a dial. Let [MATH] denote the strongly measured detector observable (e.g., the position [MATH] ). Let [MATH] denote the conjugate observable (e.g., the momentum [MATH] ):
[MATH] Let be prepared in a Gaussian state that peaks sharply at some [MATH] eigenvalue (e.g., a sharp momentum-space wave packet). The probabilities [MATH] can be small enough that [MATH] We present an example in Sec. IV
The [MATH] -free log encodes randomness in a measurement of a detector that has never coupled to the system. Hence the log fails to reflect disagreement between [MATH] and [MATH] The disagreement manifests in the [MATH] -dependent terms.
Simple limits: Three simple limits illuminate the bound’s behavior: early times ( [MATH] ), late times ( [MATH] ), and the weak limit ( [MATH] ). We focus on a chaotic spin chain, for concreteness. Numerical simulations (Sec. IV support these arguments.
Early times [MATH] ): [MATH] and [MATH] nontrivially transform just far-apart subsystems. Hence [MATH] Also, [MATH] so the projectors nearly commute. Hence
[MATH] These traces are large, dragging the [MATH] terms in Eq. ( ), and the negative term in ( 30 ), below zero. The [MATH] ’s mitigate the dragging’s magnitude. Still, the bound is expected to be relatively loose before [MATH]
Late times [MATH] ): [MATH] can fail to commute with [MATH] Traces [MATH] will shrink: Consider a one-qubit system, as a simple illustration. Suppose that [MATH] and that [MATH] Each [MATH]
translates roughly into a [MATH] The traces’ smallness tightens the uncertainty bound, as expected when the system is scrambled (as explained in the introduction).
The bound likely does not remain at its maximum possible value at all [MATH] , however. As [MATH] evolves, the bound should fluctuate around a relatively large value.
Weak limit [MATH] ): The system fails to couple to the detectors. The bound ( ) reduces to [MATH] The probability distribution [MATH]
has a spread quantified by the Shannon entropy [MATH] The left-hand side of Ineq. ( 24 ) reduces to [MATH] IV Numerical simulations of a spin chain
We illustrate Theorem with an interacting spin chain. The setup and weak-measurement implementation are described in Sec. IV A The detector probabilities [MATH] the weak-measurement Kraus operators [MATH] the couplings [MATH] and the entropies [MATH]
are presented in Sec. IV B and calculated in App. We present and analyze results in Sec. IV C IV A Spin-chain setup Consider a one-dimensional (1D) chain of [MATH] qubits. The OTOC operators manifest as single-qubit Pauli operators:
[MATH] , and [MATH] The operators’ precise forms do not impact our chaotic-system results, however. Model: The chain evolves under the power-law quantum Ising Hamiltonian
[EQUATION] Swingle_18_Resilience (see Chen_17_SubsystemDiff for a similar model). Each spin [MATH] interacts with each spin that lies within a distance [MATH] The interaction strength declines with distance as a power law controlled by [MATH] We choose [MATH] [MATH] , and [MATH] as in Swingle_18_Resilience Planck’s con...
flips from site to site. The transverse-field Ising model with a longitudinal field reproduces our results’ qualitative features. But the power-law quantum Ising model mimics all-to-all interactions, such as in the SYK model Sachdev_93_Gapless Kitaev_15_Simple Polchinski_16_Spectrum Maldacena_16_Remarks Around [MATH] ,...
Weak-measurement implementation: Section III E guides our implementation, which parallels Aharonov_88_How We illustrate with the forward-protocol weak measurement, temporarily reinstating operators’ hats.
The detector consists of a particle that scatters off the system. The detector could manifest as a photon, as in circuit QED deLange_14_Reversing
and in purely photonic experiments Lundeen_11_Direct Let [MATH] denote the longitudinal direction, which points from the detector’s initial position to the system.
Let [MATH] denote a transversal direction; and [MATH] , the [MATH] component of the detector’s initial state. [MATH] consists of a Gaussian,
[EQUATION] centered on the transverse-momentum eigenvalue [MATH] [MATH] denotes the Gaussian’s standard deviation. The displaced detector position [MATH]
couples to the system’s [MATH] [The displacement prevents the minimization in ( from choosing the detector-measurement outcome [MATH] This choice would set [MATH] to [MATH] eliminating the weak measurement.] The interaction unitary has the form
[EQUATION] The interaction strength [MATH] governs the outcome-dependent coupling [MATH] Numerical experiments show that [MATH] and [MATH]
keep [MATH] perturbatively small while strengthening the bound. The detector’s [MATH] is measured strongly. Let [MATH] denote the measurement’s precision. Positions [MATH] and [MATH] can be distinguished if they lie a distance [MATH] apart. Hence the classical register has a discrete spectrum [MATH] We simulated a regi...
IV B Analytical ingredients in spin-chain uncertainty relation Analytical results are presented here: the detector probability [MATH] the weak-measurement Kraus operators
[MATH] the coupling strengths [MATH] and the entropies [MATH] We derive these results and check their practicality in App. Consider preparing the detector in [MATH] then measuring [MATH] The measurement has a probability
[MATH] of yielding a position within [MATH] of [MATH] By Eq. ( 32 ), [EQUATION] The weak-measurement Kraus operators have the form
[EQUATION] The outcome-dependent coupling is [EQUATION] The Rényi- [MATH] entropy limits, as [MATH] , to [EQUATION] The other entropies have analogous forms.
Entropies [MATH] Let us remove operators’ hats. We illustrate the entropies’ analytical forms with [EQUATION] The measurement operators have the form
[EQUATION] by Eq. ( 13 ). We substitute in from Eq. ( 12 ), multiply out, and substitute into Eq. ( 40 ): [EQUATION] The other entropies have analogous forms.
IV C Spin-chain results Figures illustrate the entropic uncertainty relations for information scrambling [Ineqs. ( 24 and ( 25 )] in the characteristic parameter regime detailed in Sec. IV B Time is measured in units of the inverse coupling, [MATH] The scrambling time [MATH] as reflected by (i) the quasiprobability’s s...
Figure shows the greatest time-dependent contributions to the bound [MATH] [Eq. ( )]. Choosing [MATH] tightens the bound (see App. ), so we focused on [MATH] and [MATH] The bound grows at [MATH] , confirming expectations: At the scrambling time, the OTOC drops. A decayed OTOC reflects noncommutation of [MATH] and [MATH...
Figure shows the quasiprobability’s contribution to the uncertainty bound ( ). Figure shows the LHS of Ineq. ( 24 [MATH] ), the LHS of Ineq. ( 25 at [MATH]
[MATH] ), and the shared RHS [MATH] . Figure is more zoomed-out than Fig. hence the tightening is too small to detect. This reduced visibility is expected: Scrambling is a subtle, high-order stage of quantum equilibration. It manifests in the [MATH] terms of [MATH] , just as
[MATH] can be inferred from high-order terms in weak-measurement experiments NYH_17_Jarzynski NYH_18_Quasi The LHSs lie [MATH] bits above the bound. The gap stems from the
[MATH] in Eq. ( ). This gap bodes ill for the large-system limit, [MATH] of interest in holography. But the gap scales only linearly, not exponentially, with [MATH] Furthermore, small gaps would follow from many of today’s experiments (e.g., Li_16_Measuring ). Additionally, Sec. VI presents weak-measurement entropic un...
Figure illustrates how tight the bound can grow in an exceptional parameter regime. The top curves represent [MATH] and [MATH] These curves dip at [MATH] because (i) [MATH] is a [MATH] eigenstate and (ii) the POVMs’ [MATH] measurements are fine-grained—are replaced with measurements of
[MATH] The POVM outcomes become highly predictable around [MATH] , so the bound grows tight to within 0.53 bits. Our numerics emphasize the scrambling Hamiltonian [MATH] which is nonintegrable. Integrable Hamiltonians’ OTOCs revive and decay repeatedly, as information recollects from across the system and spreads again...
Extension to higher-point OTOCs Higher-point OTOCs reflect later, subtler stages of QI scrambling and many-body equilibration. [MATH] has been generalized to the [MATH] -fold OTOC
Roberts_16_Chaos Haehl_17_Classification Haehl_17_Thermal NYH_18_Quasi Dressel_18_Strengthening Haehl_18_Fine [EQUATION] We follow the notation in NYH_18_Quasi This [MATH] -point correlator is labeled by
[MATH] The conventional OTOC corresponds to [MATH] If [MATH] the correlator encodes [MATH] time reversals, as concretized in Schwinger-Keldysh path integrals Haehl_17_Classification
and in the weak-measurement scheme NYH_17_Jarzynski NYH_18_Quasi Higher-point OTOCs [MATH] equilibrate at later times [MATH] Haehl_18_Fine
and can be inferred from sequences of [MATH] weak measurements. [MATH] equals a coarse-graining of a quasiprobability distribution
[MATH] NYH_18_Quasi [MATH] governs terms [MATH] in an entropic uncertainty relation for scrambling. Denote the eigenvalues of [MATH]
by [MATH] Denote the eigensubspace projectors by [MATH] The forward POVM consists of a weak measurement of [MATH] followed by a weak measurement of [MATH] and so on, until a weak measurement of [MATH] followed by a strong measurement of [MATH] The reverse POVM consists of a strong measurement of [MATH] followed by a we...
The weak measurement of an observable [MATH] is represented by a Kraus operator [MATH] The [MATH] denotes the weak measurement’s outcome,
[MATH] denotes the detector probability, and [MATH] denotes the outcome-dependent weak-coupling strength. The von Neumann uncertainty relation has the form
[EQUATION] The term [EQUATION] contains the quasiprobability behind the [MATH] -fold OTOC. Hence our entropic uncertainty relations extend to arbitrary-point OTOCs.
VI Entropic uncertainty relations for weak values beyond scrambling Weak values , like OTOCs, involve time reversals and measurement sequences Aharonov_88_How Dressel_14_Understanding Consider preparing a quantum system in a state [MATH] at a time [MATH] evolving the system for a time [MATH] under a unitary [MATH] meas...
[MATH] and obtaining the outcome [MATH] Let [MATH] denote a nondegenerate observable that fails to commute with [MATH] Which value can most reasonably be attributed, retrodictively, to the [MATH] at a time [MATH] given that [MATH] was prepared and that the measurement yielded [MATH] The weak value
[EQUATION] is the expectation value conditioned on the preselection and postselection. [MATH] and [MATH] denote time-evolved states.
Consider eigendecomposing [MATH] then factoring out the sum and eigenvalues. Multiplying the numerator and denominator by [MATH] yields
[EQUATION] wherein [MATH] denotes a conditioned probability. The numerator is a Kirkwood-Dirac quasiprobability Kirkwood_33_Quantum Dirac_45_On an extension of which is the OTOC quasiprobability NYH_18_Quasi The Kirkwood-Dirac quasiprobability governs the conditional quasiprobability
[MATH] that, if [MATH] is prepared and the [MATH] measurement yields [MATH] [MATH] is the value most reasonably attributable to [MATH] retrodictively.
[MATH] generalizes to arbitrary initial states [MATH] and to degenerate observables [MATH] and [MATH] [EQUATION] The time-evolved state
[MATH] and the conditional probability [MATH] One can infer [MATH] experimentally by preparing [MATH] , evolving the system for a time [MATH] measuring [MATH] weakly, evolving the system for a time [MATH] and measuring [MATH] strongly. One performs this protocol in many trials.
[MATH] is inferred from the measurement statistics. [MATH] can range outside the spectrum of [MATH] as advertised in the foundational paper Aharonov_88_How Hence the physical significances of [MATH] have galvanized debate (e.g., Ferrie_14_How Vaidman_14_Comment Cohen_14_Comment Aharonov_14 Sokolovski_14_Comment Brodutc...
and disturbances by measurements Dressel_12_Significance Kirkwood-Dirac quasiprobabilities have been interpreted in terms of operator decompositions Lundeen_11_Direct Lundeen_12_Procedure
and Bayesian retrodiction Aharonov_88_How Johansen_04_Nonclassical Hall_01_Exact Hall_04_Prior Dressel_15_Weak We introduce another physical significance: Weak values govern first-order-in- [MATH] terms in entropic uncertainty bounds for POVMs that involve weak measurements. Kirkwood-Dirac quasiprobabilities play an an...
VI A Entropic uncertainty relations for weak values and Kirkwood-Dirac quasiprobabilities Consider a quantum system associated with a Hilbert space [MATH] Let [MATH] denote any state of the system. Let [MATH]
[MATH] and [MATH] be eigenvalue decompositions of observables. (The index [MATH] signifies “initial” and should not be confused with [MATH] .)
The uncertainty relation for [MATH] features a POVM that we label I. One measures [MATH] weakly, then [MATH] strongly: [MATH] The weak-measurement Kraus operator
[MATH] The [MATH] signifies terms of second order in the Hamiltonian’s coupling parameter (e.g., the [MATH] in the spin-chain example of Sec. IV ). We define as POVM II a strong measurement of [MATH]
[MATH] Define the entropies [MATH] , and [MATH] via analogy with the QI-scrambling entropies (Sec. III C ). One can infer the weak value
[EQUATION] by preparing the state [MATH] measuring [MATH] weakly, and postselecting a strong [MATH] measurement on [MATH] Theorem 2
POVMs I and II obey entropic uncertainty relations dependent on the weak value [MATH] [EQUATION] The bound has the form [EQUATION]
The Rényi orders [MATH] and [MATH] satisfy [MATH] , and [MATH] denotes an arbitrary state. The proof is analogous to the proof of Theorem The forward and reverse POVMs are replaced with POVMs I and II. One can prove analogous uncertainty relations in which Kirkwood-Dirac quasiprobabilities replace [MATH] The weak measu...
VI B Qubit example Let us illustrate the uncertainty relation ( 52 for [MATH] The system, denoted by a subscript [MATH] consists of a qubit. So does the detector, denoted by [MATH] Let [MATH] [MATH] , and
[MATH] The weak measurement manifests as follows: The detector begins in the state [MATH] [MATH] -controlled [MATH] couples the system to the detector weakly, and the detector’s [MATH] is measured strongly. The weak values [MATH]
are imaginary and so nonclassical Dressel_12_Significance [MATH] has only real eigenvalues [MATH] but the conditioned average [MATH] is imaginary.
We illustrate the uncertainty relation’s LHS with [MATH] The inequality is calculated in App. [MATH] If [MATH] , as in Sec. IV the relation approximates to [MATH] The bound is satisfied and is tight at order [MATH]
VII Discussion We have reconciled two measures of disagreement between quantum operators: entropic uncertainty relations and out-of-time-ordered correlators (OTOCs). The reconciliation unites several subfields of physics: (i) quasiprobabilities and weak measurements tie (ii) quantum information theory to (iii) condense...