Local Markov Order and Global Inference in Many-Body Dynamics

Abstract

We consider how the presence of conserved charges affects memory in a classical stochastic process, the symmetric exclusion process, with an observer constantly measuring a single site. We find that the observer's measurement record becomes Markovian (i.e., loses memory) on a timescale that depends on their knowledge of the global charge, namely the total particle number. In particular, when the global charge is unknown a priori, the observer's time series Markovianizes on a timescale constrained by their ability to learn it from their measurement record. Augmenting the observer's record with bulk measurements drives a charge-learnability transition between charge-fuzzy and -sharp phases. We show that the memory timescale tracks the learnability timescale, diverging in the fuzzy phase and remaining finite in the sharp phase.

5+2 pages, 4+2 figures