Symmetry classification of typical quantum entanglement

TL;DR

This paper classifies how symmetry affects typical quantum entanglement in free fermion systems, revealing universal constant terms in entanglement entropy tied to symmetry classes, and shows volume-law scaling is symmetry-independent.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive classification of quantum entanglement based on symmetry classes, highlighting universal features and the interplay between symmetry and entanglement in quantum chaos.

Findings

Volume-law entanglement is unaffected by symmetry.

Constant terms of entanglement entropy are universal for each symmetry class.

Symmetry influences the entanglement spectrum's structure.

Abstract

Entanglement entropy of typical quantum states, also known as the Page curve, plays an important role in quantum many-body systems and quantum gravity. However, little has hitherto been understood about the role of symmetry in quantum entanglement. Here, we establish the comprehensive classification of typical quantum entanglement for free fermions, or equivalently the quadratic Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev model with symmetry, on the basis of the tenfold fundamental symmetry classes of time reversal, charge conjugation, and chiral transformation. Through both analytical and numerical calculations of random matrix theory, we show that the volume-law contribution to average entanglement entropy is robust and remains unaffected by symmetry. Conversely, we uncover that the constant terms of the average and variance of entanglement entropy yield tenfold universal values unique to each symmetry class. These constant terms originate from the combination of a global scaling of the entanglement spectrum due to time-reversal symmetry and a singular peak at the center of the entanglement spectrum due to chiral or particle-hole symmetry. Our work elucidates the interplay of symmetry and entanglement in quantum physics and provides characterization of symmetry-enriched quantum chaos.