Geometric Operator Quantum Speed Limit, Wegner Hamiltonian Flow and Operator Growth

Abstract

Quantum speed limits (QSLs) provide lower bounds on the minimum time required for a process to unfold by using a distance between quantum states and identifying the speed of evolution or an upper bound to it. We introduce a generalization of QSL to characterize the evolution of a general operator when conjugated by a unitary. The resulting operator QSL (OQSL) admits a geometric interpretation, is shown to be tight, and holds for operator flows induced by arbitrary unitaries, i.e., with time- or parameter-dependent generators. The derived OQSL is applied to the Wegner flow equations in Hamiltonian renormalization group theory and the operator growth quantified by the Krylov complexity.