Exactly solvable quantum many-body dynamics from space-time duality
Rev. Mod. Phys. 98, 025001 – Published 15 April, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/yx73-dk86
Abstract
Recent years have seen significant advances, both theoretical and experimental, in our understanding of quantum many-body dynamics. Given this problem’s high complexity, it is surprising to observe that a substantial amount of this progress can be ascribed to exact analytical results. A key notion in these advances is space-time duality, in which the roles of space and time are exchanged to access relevant dynamical properties of quantum many-body systems. Dual-unitary circuits present a particularly fruitful implementation of this idea. These circuits constitute minimal models in which space and time are treated on an equal footing, yielding exactly solvable yet possibly chaotic evolution. They were the first in which current notions of quantum chaos could be analytically quantified; could allow for a full characterization of the dynamics of thermalization, scrambling, and entanglement (among others); and could be experimentally realized in current quantum simulators. Here dual unitarity and applications of space-time duality are reviewed.
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
Corrections
17 April, 2026
Correction: Figures 9–17 were matched with the incorrect captions and have been fixed, a missing word in the title has been added, and a second affiliation has been added for the second author.
