Non-commutative Index of Measurement-only Entanglement Phase Transition

Abstract

Measurement-only models offer an ideal platform for exploring entanglement dynamics in the absence of unitary evolution. Despite extensive numerical evidence for entanglement phase transitions in measurement-only dynamics, the underlying mechanism attributed to non-commutativity among multi-site projective measurements has remained qualitative and coarse-grained. In this work, we identify a quantitative non-commutative index. By applying this index into three representative measurement-only models, we elucidate the role of non-commutativity in measurement-only dynamics: the emergence of a volume-law phase is governed by the non-commutative structure of the measurement ensemble, while the transition point is quantitatively determined by the amount of critical non-commutativity. More strikingly, the critical non-commutativity exhibits a universal linear scaling with the measurement range, independent of the microscopic details of the measurement ensembles. Our findings deepen the understanding of the fundamental mechanism behind the measurement-only entanglement phase transition.