Complexity and Information in Quantum and Classical Trajectories

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that quantum trajectories exhibit unique complexity and sustained information sharing at high drive-to-decay ratios, unlike classical models, providing a trajectory-level signature of quantum effects.

Contribution

It introduces a method to distinguish quantum from classical dynamics using complexity and information measures from trajectory data.

Findings

Quantum trajectories show enhanced complexity at high drive-to-decay ratios.

Classical correlations are short-lived and suppressed by strong drive.

Quantum systems exhibit a strong correlation between complexity and information.

Abstract

We analyze emission trajectories from a driven-dissipative two-qubit system and a classical telegraph model with matched rates. Using Lempel-Ziv complexity, mutual information, and temporal correlations, we show that both models undergo a transition from independent to synchronized dynamics as coupling increases, but only the quantum trajectories develop enhanced complexity and sustained information sharing at large drive-to-decay ratio. Classical correlations are short-lived and quickly suppressed by strong drive. A strong complexity-information correlation appears uniquely in the quantum case, providing a clear trajectory-level signature of quantum effects. These results show that complexity and information measures extracted directly from jump records provide an efficient way to distinguish quantum and classical dynamics in open systems.