Observable and computable entanglement in time
Abstract
We propose a novel family of entanglement measures for time-separated subsystems. Our definitions are applicable to any quantum system, continuous or discrete. To illustrate their utility, we derive upper and lower bounds on time-separated correlation functions, akin to the bound on spatially separated correlators in terms of the mutual information. In certain cases our bounds are tight. For relativistic quantum field theories our definition agrees with the analytic continuation from spacelike to timelike separated regions. We provide relevant measurement protocols and execute them on the IBM quantum device ibm_sherbrooke for a simple qubit system. Also we perform explicit computations for an Ising spin chain, free fermions, (1+1)-dimensional conformal field theories and holographic theories. Finally we explain how the proposed entanglement in time provides a microscopic definition for the recently introduced timelike pseudoentropy.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2502.12240,
title = {Observable and computable entanglement in time},
author = {Alexey Milekhin and Zofia Adamska and John Preskill},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2502.12240},
year = {2025}
}
Comments
v1: 13 pages + appendices, 13 figures; v2: references added