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Classical Simulability from Operator Entanglement Scaling

arXiv Quantum Physics
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⚡ Quantum Brief
Neil Dowling’s March 2026 study establishes rigorous bounds linking local-operator entanglement (LOE) to classical simulability via matrix-product operators (MPOs), bridging quantum chaos and computational efficiency. Volume-law scaling in α≥1 Rényi LOE entropies proves operators cannot be efficiently approximated as MPOs while preserving all expectation values, setting fundamental limits for classical simulations. For restricted state ensembles (e.g., infinite-temperature autocorrelations or out-of-time-ordered correlators), logarithmic α<1 Rényi LOE scaling ensures MPO simulability, offering a practical pathway for classical emulation. Numerical evidence and a random matrix model extend these findings to out-of-equilibrium systems, suggesting logarithmic α<1 LOE typically guarantees simulability even in dynamic scenarios. The work formalizes the intuition that low operator entanglement enables tensor-network-based classical simulations, advancing foundational ties between many-body physics and quantum computational complexity.
Classical Simulability from Operator Entanglement Scaling

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Quantum Physics arXiv:2603.05656 (quant-ph) [Submitted on 5 Mar 2026] Title:Classical Simulability from Operator Entanglement Scaling Authors:Neil Dowling View a PDF of the paper titled Classical Simulability from Operator Entanglement Scaling, by Neil Dowling View PDF HTML (experimental) Abstract:Local-operator entanglement (LOE) quantifies the nonlocal structure of Heisenberg operators and serves as a diagnostic of many-body chaos. We provide rigorous bounds showing when an operator can be well-approximated by a matrix-product operator (MPO), given asymptotic scaling of its LOE $\alpha$-Rényi entropies. Specifically, we prove that a volume law scaling for $\alpha\geq 1$ implies that the operator cannot be approximated efficiently as an MPO while faithfully reproducing all expectation values. On the other hand, if we restrict to correlations over a relevant sub-class of (ensembles of) states, then logarithmic scaling of the $\alpha new | recent | 2026-03 Change to browse by: cond-mat cond-mat.stat-mech hep-th References & Citations INSPIRE HEP NASA ADSGoogle Scholar Semantic Scholar export BibTeX citation Loading... BibTeX formatted citation × loading... Data provided by: Bookmark Bibliographic Tools Bibliographic and Citation Tools Bibliographic Explorer Toggle Bibliographic Explorer (What is the Explorer?) Connected Papers Toggle Connected Papers (What is Connected Papers?) Litmaps Toggle Litmaps (What is Litmaps?) scite.ai Toggle scite Smart Citations (What are Smart Citations?) Code, Data, Media Code, Data and Media Associated with this Article alphaXiv Toggle alphaXiv (What is alphaXiv?) Links to Code Toggle CatalyzeX Code Finder for Papers (What is CatalyzeX?) DagsHub Toggle DagsHub (What is DagsHub?) GotitPub Toggle Gotit.pub (What is GotitPub?) Huggingface Toggle Hugging Face (What is Huggingface?) Links to Code Toggle Papers with Code (What is Papers with Code?) ScienceCast Toggle ScienceCast (What is ScienceCast?) Demos Demos Replicate Toggle Replicate (What is Replicate?) Spaces Toggle Hugging Face Spaces (What is Spaces?) Spaces Toggle TXYZ.AI (What is TXYZ.AI?) Related Papers Recommenders and Search Tools Link to Influence Flower Influence Flower (What are Influence Flowers?) Core recommender toggle CORE Recommender (What is CORE?) Author Venue Institution Topic About arXivLabs arXivLabs: experimental projects with community collaborators arXivLabs is a framework that allows collaborators to develop and share new arXiv features directly on our website. Both individuals and organizations that work with arXivLabs have embraced and accepted our values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is committed to these values and only works with partners that adhere to them. Have an idea for a project that will add value for arXiv's community? Learn more about arXivLabs. Which authors of this paper are endorsers? | Disable MathJax (What is MathJax?)

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Source: arXiv Quantum Physics