Work

Universality, robustness, and limits of the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis in open quantum systems

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: The eigenstate thermalization hypothesis (ETH) underpins much of our modern understanding of the thermalization of closed quantum many-body systems. Here, we investigate the statistical properties of observables in the eigenbasis of the Lindbladian operator of a Markovian open quantum system. We demonstrate the validity of a Lindbladian ETH ansatz through extensive numerical simulations of several physical models. To highlight the robustness of Lindbladian ETH, we consider what we dub the dilute-click regime of the model, in which one postselects only quantum trajectories with a finite fraction of quantum jumps. The average dynamics are generated by a nontrace-preserving Liouvillian, and we show that the Lindbladian ETH ansatz still holds in this case. On the other hand, the no-click limit is a singular point at which the Lindbladian reduces to a doubled non-Hermitian Hamiltonian and Lindbladian ETH breaks down.

Source: Physical review. E

DOI: 10.1103/qy19-nc4r

Authors: Gabriel Almeida, Pedro Ribeiro, Masudul Haque, Lucas Sá

Institutions: University of Lisbon, Instituto Superior Técnico, Beijing Computational Science Research Center, Technische Universität Dresden, University of Cambridge

Language: English

Topic: Quantum many-body systems

Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Federación Española de Enfermedades Raras, Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia

Awards: G2760856516, G3188652533, G936330020