Statistics of matrix elements of local operators in integrable models

F. H. L. Essler, A. J. J. M. de Klerk

Published 2023-07-23Version 1

We study the statistics of matrix elements of local operators in the basis of energy eigenstates in a paradigmatic integrable many-particle quantum theory, the Lieb-Liniger model of bosons with repulsive delta-function interaction. Using methods of quantum integrability we determine the scaling of matrix elements with system size. As a consequence of the extensive number of conservation laws the structure of matrix elements is fundamentally different from, and much more intricate than, the predictions of the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis for generic models. We uncover an interesting connection between this structure for local operators in interacting integrable models, and the one for local operators that are not local with respect to the elementary excitations in free theories. We find that typical off-diagonal matrix elements $\langle\boldsymbol{\mu}|O|\boldsymbol{\lambda}\rangle$ in the same macro-state scale as $\exp(-c^{ O}L\ln(L)-LM^{O}_{\boldsymbol{\mu},\boldsymbol{\lambda}})$ where the probability distribution function for $M^{O}_{\boldsymbol{\mu},\boldsymbol{\lambda}}$ are well described by Fr\'echet distributions and $c^{O}$ depends only on macro-state information. In contrast, typical off-diagonal matrix elements between two different macro-states scale as $\exp(-d^{ O}L^2)$, where $d^{O}$ depends only on macro-state information. Diagonal matrix elements depend only on macro-state information up to finite-size corrections.