Complexity and Operator Growth for Quantum Systems in Dynamic Equilibrium

TL;DR

This paper investigates Krylov complexity in a PT-symmetric oscillator system, revealing its ability to distinguish phase transitions and characterize the system's properties through operator growth analysis.

Contribution

It introduces a method to compute Krylov complexity in PT-symmetric systems using generalized algebra and coherent states, highlighting its effectiveness in identifying phase transitions.

Findings

Krylov complexity differentiates PT-symmetric and PT-broken phases.

Complexity signals the ill-defined vacuum of the Bateman oscillator.

Method applies algebraic and coherent state techniques to analyze operator growth.

Abstract

Krylov complexity is a measure of operator growth in quantum systems, based on the number of orthogonal basis vectors needed to approximate the time evolution of an operator. In this paper, we study the Krylov complexity of a $\mathsf{PT}$-symmetric system of oscillators, which exhibits two phase transitions that separate a dissipative state, a Rabi-oscillation state, and an ultra-strongly coupled regime. We use a generalization of the $su(1,1)$ algebra associated to the Bateman oscillator to describe the Hamiltonian of the coupled system, and construct a set of coherent states associated with this algebra. We compute the Krylov (spread) complexity using these coherent states, and find that it can distinguish between the $\mathsf{PT}$-symmetric and $\mathsf{PT}$ symmetry-broken phases. We also show that the Krylov complexity reveals the ill-defined nature of the vacuum of the Bateman oscillator, which is a special case of our system. Our results demonstrate the utility of Krylov complexity as a tool to probe the properties and transitions of $\mathsf{PT}$-symmetric systems.