Equivalence of Stabilizer and Shannon Reńyi Entropies: Exact Results for Quantum Critical Chains
Phys. Rev. Lett. 137, 090403 – Published 26 August, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/2frt-tdg9
Abstract
Shannon-Rényi and stabilizer entropies are key diagnostics of structure, “nonstabilizerness,” phase transitions, and universality in quantum many-body states. We establish an exact correspondence for quadratic fermions: for any Gaussian eigenstate, the stabilizer Rényi entropy equals the Shannon-Rényi entropy of a number-conserving free-fermion eigenstate on a doubled system, evaluated in the computational basis. Specializing to the transverse-field Ising (TFI) chain, the TFI ground-state stabilizer entropies map to the Shannon-Rényi entropies of the XX-chain ground state of length . Building on this correspondence, together with other exact identities we prove, we derive closed expressions for the stabilizer entropy at indices , 4 for a broad class of critical closed free-fermion systems. Each of these can be written with respect to the universal functions of the TFI chain. We further derive conformal-field-theory scaling laws for the stabilizer entropy at arbitrary Rényi index under both periodic and open boundary conditions. At , these scaling forms display a discontinuity for both open and periodic boundary conditions.