Many-body Chaos in Thermalised Fluids

Abstract

Linking thermodynamic variables like temperature $T$ and the measure of chaos, the Lyapunov exponents $\lambda$, is a question of fundamental importance in many-body systems. By using nonlinear fluid equations in one and three dimensions, we prove that in thermalised flows $\lambda \propto \sqrt{T}$, in agreement with results from frustrated spin systems. This reveals an underlying universality and provides evidence for recent conjectures on the thermal scaling of $\lambda$. We also reconcile seemingly disparate effects -- equilibration on one hand and pushing systems out-of-equilibrium on the other -- of many-body chaos by relating $\lambda$ to $T$ through the dynamical structures of the flow.