Quantum Chaos

Quantum Chaos

Quantum chaos provides a powerful lens through which to understand quantum gravity. The chaotic dynamics of black holes, characterized by quantities like the Lyapunov exponent, spectral correlations and wave-function statistics, reveals deep connections between gravity and quantum information theory.

We investigate how chaos emerges in strongly coupled quantum systems, its manifestation in thermal physics and thermalization, and its surprising connections to gravitational phenomena.

key questions

  • What is the relationship between chaos and gravity?
  • How do black holes scramble quantum information?
  • What universal features characterize quantum chaotic systems?
  • How does thermalization occur in isolated quantum systems?

Key Publications

  • Gravity as a mesoscopic system

    P. Pelliconi, J. Sonner, H. Verlinde

    arXiv:2409.13808 JHEP 04 (2025) 097 (2025)

  • Matrix models for eigenstate thermalization

    D. L. Jafferis, D. K. Kolchmeyer, B. Mukhametzhanov, J. Sonner

    arXiv:2209.02130 Phys. Rev. X 13, 031033 (2023)

  • Quantum chaos in 2D gravity

    A. Altland, B. Post, J. Sonner, J. van der Heijden, E. Verlinde

    arXiv:2204.07583 SciPost Phys. 15, 064 (2023)

  • Eigenstate thermalization in the Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev model

    J. Sonner, M. Vielma

    arXiv:1707.08013 JHEP 11 (2017) 149 (2017)