Information phases of partial projected ensembles generated from random quantum states and scrambling dynamics

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new framework using Holevo information to characterize quantum information distribution in tripartite systems, revealing distinct information phases and transitions in random states and chaotic circuit dynamics.

Contribution

It extends the concept of projected ensembles to tripartite systems, uncovering novel information phases and transitions not captured by traditional entanglement measures.

Findings

Identifies exponential and linear scaling phases of Holevo information in random states.

Discovers a measurement-invisible quantum-correlated phase indicating many-body information scrambling.

Shows emergence of these information phases in chaotic quantum circuit dynamics.

Abstract

The projected ensemble -- an ensemble of pure states on a subsystem conditioned on projective measurement outcomes on its complement -- provides a finer probe of ergodicity and information structure than the reduced density matrix of the subsystem in bipartite quantum states. This framework can be generalised to partial projected ensembles in tripartite settings, where outcomes from part of the measured subsystem are discarded, leading to ensembles of mixed states. We show that information measures defined for such ensembles, in particular the Holevo information, yield a more detailed characterisation of how quantum information is distributed between subsystems compared to conventional entanglement measures. Using exact analytical results supported by numerical results, we uncover a qualitative change in the scaling of the Holevo information with system size in partial projected ensembles generated by Haar-random states, as the relative sizes of the subsystem are varied. In one phase, the Holevo information decays exponentially with system size, while in the other it grows linearly, thereby defining distinct information phases separated by sharp transitions signalled by non-analyticities in the Holevo information. The exponentially decaying phase rigorously establishes the existence of a measurement-invisible quantum-correlated phase -- a manifestation of many-body information scrambling with no bipartite analogue. We contrast this information-phase diagram with the entanglement-phase structure of tripartite Haar-random states obtained from logarithmic negativity, and show that the Holevo information reveals additional fine structure beyond conventional entanglement measures. Finally, we show that these information phases, as characterised by the Holevo information, emerge in the dynamics of chaotic quantum circuits and discuss the associated timescales.