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Geometric Diagnostics of Scrambling-Related Sensitivity in a Bohmian Preparation Space

Quantum Physics 2026-03-24 v1 Chaotic Dynamics Chemical Physics

Abstract

The Out-of-Time-Order Correlator (OTOC) is a standard algebraic diagnostic of quantum information scrambling, but it offers limited direct geometric intuition. In this note, we propose a Bohmian, trajectory-based framework for constructing a geometric diagnostic of scrambling-related sensitivity using Lagrangian Descriptors (LDs). To avoid the uncertainty-principle obstruction to assigning independent initial position and momentum within a single wave function, we evaluate Bohmian dynamics over a two-dimensional preparation space of localized Gaussian wavepackets labeled by their initial center and momentum kick. For the inverted harmonic oscillator, this construction is analytically tractable: the wavepacket-center dynamics and their dependence on preparation parameters can be written explicitly. In particular, away from the equilibrium origin, the exponential growth of the associated preparation-space stability matrix yields an O(eωT)\mathcal{O}(e^{\omega T}) bound on the sensitivity of the wavepacket-center LDs, motivating a semiclassical comparison with sensitivity structures associated with OTOC growth. In this sense, the LD provides a geometric indicator of scrambling-related sensitivity. We conclude by discussing how this preparation-space picture suggests a program for future work regarding the distinct microcanonical regimes previously reported for the inverted harmonic oscillator.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2603.20803,
  title  = {Geometric Diagnostics of Scrambling-Related Sensitivity in a Bohmian Preparation Space},
  author = {Stephen Wiggins},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2603.20803},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

6 pages, 1 figure