Entanglement distribution in the Quantum Symmetric Simple Exclusion Process

Abstract

We study the probability distribution of entanglement in the Quantum Symmetric Simple Exclusion Process, a model of fermions hopping with random Brownian amplitudes between neighboring sites. We consider a protocol where the system is initialized in a pure product state of $M$ particles, and focus on the late-time distribution of Rényi-$q$ entropies for a subsystem of size $\ell$. By means of a Coulomb gas approach from Random Matrix Theory, we compute analytically the large-deviation function of the entropy in the thermodynamic limit. For $q>1$, we show that, depending on the value of the ratio $\ell /M$, the entropy distribution displays either two or three distinct regimes, ranging from low- to high-entanglement. These are connected by points where the probability density features singularities in its third derivative, which can be understood in terms of a transition in the corresponding charge density of the Coulomb gas. Our analytic results are supported by numerical Monte Carlo simulations.

6 pages, 3 figures; v2: minor revision