Maximal Entanglement and Frozen Information: A Unified Framework for Dynamical Quantum Phase Transitions

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Authors: Kaiyuan Cao, Mingzhi Li, Xiang-Ping Jiang, Shu Chen, Jian Wang
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Abstract

Dynamical quantum phase transitions (DQPTs) are temporal singularities marked by zeros of the Loschmidt echo, yet their underlying quantum-information structure remains elusive. Here, we introduce a momentum-resolved entanglement entropy as a direct probe of DQPTs in translation-invariant free systems. We analytically establish that every critical momentum mode $k^{*}$ associated with a DQPT saturates its entanglement to the maximal value $\ln{2}$, coinciding with the vanishing of the Loschmidt echo. Crucially, we demonstrate that this maximal entanglement universally suppresses information scrambling: a momentum-resolved out-of-time-ordered correlator (OTOC) vanishes identically for all times at $k^{*}$. These three signatures -- Fisher zeros, maximal entanglement, and vanished OTOC -- are proved to be equivalent in both the transverse-field Ising and Su-Schrieffer-Heeger models, despite their distinct bipartitions (momentum-pair vs. sublattice). Our results establish a unified, information-theoretic framework for DQPTs, revealing them a points where quantum correlations saturate and information flow halts. This work elevates entanglement and scrambling to central dynamical order parameters, offering a universal perspective on nonequilibrium quantum critically.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Quantum many-body systems Quantum Information and Cryptography Statistical Mechanics and Entropy

Publication details

Journal / source
arXiv (Cornell University)
Publication date
8 January 2026
Document type
Preprint