A quantum information perspective on meson melting

TL;DR

This paper introduces a quantum information approach to study meson melting at high temperatures, using tensor networks within the Ising quantum field theory to identify equilibrium and non-equilibrium signatures of bound state dissociation.

Contribution

It applies quantum information concepts and tensor network methods to analyze meson melting, providing new insights into in-medium meson phenomena in quantum many-body and high-energy physics.

Findings

Thermal-state second Rénnyi entropy shifts from exponential to power-law scaling with temperature.

Reflected entropy transitions from oscillatory to linear growth after a thermal quench.

Methodology applicable to broader in-medium meson phenomena.

Abstract

We propose to use quantum information notions to characterize thermally induced melting of nonperturbative bound states at high temperatures. We apply tensor networks to investigate this idea in static and dynamical settings within the Ising quantum field theory, where bound states are confined fermion pairs - mesons. An equilibrium signature of meson melting is identified in the temperature dependence of the thermal-state second R\'enyi entropy, which varies from exponential to power-law scaling. Out of equilibrium, we identify as the relevant signature the transition from an oscillatory to a linear growing behavior of reflected entropy after a thermal quench. These analyses apply more broadly, which brings new ways of describing in-medium meson phenomena in quantum many-body and high-energy physics.