Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: We study how conservation laws shape the spreading of quantum coherence in many-body dynamics. Focusing on $U(1)$-symmetric random circuits, charge-and-dipole conserving circuits, as well as ergodic Hamiltonian dynamics, we probe coherences both globally, via the participation entropy, and locally, via the relative entropy of coherence. Combining exact vector evolution, matrix product state simulations, and replica tensor networks methods, we find that conservation laws replace the logarithmic saturation of unconstrained circuits with slow hydrodynamic relaxation of the global coherence measures. Locally, symmetry-constrained circuits show a clean rise-peak-fall structure whose peak time grows algebraically with subsystem size. In contrast, ergodic Hamiltonians broaden the peak into an extended plateau at larger subsystems, highlighting a qualitatively distinct mechanism. Coherence thus emerges as a sensitive probe of symmetry-constrained thermalization, linking quantum resource dynamics to many-body transport.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Topic: Quantum many-body systems
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7157363590
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