Tensor product random matrix theory

Abstract

The evolution of complex correlated quantum systems such as random circuit networks is governed by the dynamical buildup of both entanglement and entropy. We here introduce a real-time field theory approach—essentially a fusion of the GΣ functional of the SYK model and the field theory of disordered systems—engineered to microscopically describe the full range of such crossover dynamics: from initial product states to a maximum entropy ergodic state. To showcase this approach in the simplest nontrivial setting, we consider a tensor product of coupled random matrices, and compare to exact diagonalization.