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Universal distributions of overlaps from generic dynamics in quantum many-body systems

Alexios Christopoulos1,*, Amos Chan2,3,†, and Andrea De Luca1,‡

  • *Contact author: alexios.christopoulos@cyu.fr
  • †Contact author: amos.chan@warwick.ac.uk
  • ‡Contact author: andrea.de-luca@cyu.fr
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Phys. Rev. Research 7, 043035 – Published 9 October, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/kl64-xnsz

Abstract

We study the distribution of overlaps with the computational basis of a quantum state generated under generic quantum many-body chaotic dynamics, without conserved quantities, for a finite time t. We argue that, scaling time logarithmically with the system size t∝logL, the overlap distribution converges to a universal form in the thermodynamic limit, forming a one-parameter family that generalizes the celebrated Porter-Thomas distribution. The form of the overlap distribution only depends on the spatial dimensionality and, remarkably, on the boundary conditions. This picture is justified in general by a mapping to Ginibre ensemble of random matrices and corroborated by the exact solution of a random quantum circuit. Our results derive from an analysis of arbitrary overlap moments, enabling the reconstruction of the distribution. Our predictions also apply to Floquet circuits, i.e., in the presence of mild quenched disorder. Finally, numerical simulations of two distinct random circuits show excellent agreement, thereby demonstrating universality.

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Phys. Rev. Research 7, 043035– Published 9 October, 2025
  • Received 8 May 2024
  • Revised 7 March 2025
  • Accepted 2 July 2025
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