Measurement-induced phase transition in a disordered XX spin chain: A real-space renormalization group study

Read full text
Authors: Siddharth Tiwary, Joel E. Moore
Cited by: 1
References: 67

Abstract

Spin chains with quenched disorder exhibit rich critical behavior, often captured by real-space renormalization group (RSRG) techniques. However, the physics of such systems in the presence of random measurements (i.e., non-Hermitian dephasing) remains largely unexplored. The interplay between measurements and unitary dynamics gives rise to novel phases and phase transitions in monitored quantum systems. In this work, we investigate the disordered XX spin chain subject to stochastic local measurements in the $X$ and $Y$ bases. By mapping the monitored chain to a non-Hermitian spin ladder with complex couplings, we propose an RSRG-for-excited-states (RSRG-X) approach for this open-system setting. Our analysis reveals a new class of strongly disordered fixed points that emerge due to non-unitarity, broadening the landscape of critical phenomena accessible via RSRG.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Theoretical and Computational Physics Quantum many-body systems Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics

Publication details

Journal / source
Physical review. B./Physical review. B
Publisher
American Physical Society (APS)
Volume
113
Issue
10
Publication date
26 February 2026
Language
EN