Transition in Splitting Probabilities of Quantum Walks

Abstract

We investigate the splitting probability of a monitored continuous-time quantum walk with two targets and show that, in stark contrast to a classical random walk, it exhibits a nonanalytic, phase-transition-like behavior controlled by the sampling time at the targets. For large systems and sampling times smaller than a critical value $\tau_c = 2\pi/\Delta E$, where $\Delta E$ is the energy bandwidth, the splitting probability is universal and equal to $1/2$, independent of the initial condition and the sampling time. Above the critical sampling, a nonuniversal regime emerges in which the splitting probability deviates from $1/2$ and develops a fluctuating pattern of pronounced peaks and dips dependent on both the sampling time and the initial condition. These results follow from a nontrivial mapping of the splitting problem onto a pair of single-target detection problems enabled by the superposition principle.