Szego limit theorem for operators with discontinuous symbols and applications to entanglement entropy

Abstract

The main result in this paper is a one term Szego type asymptotic formula with a sharp remainder estimate for a class of integral operators of the pseudodifferential type with symbols which are allowed to be non-smooth or discontinuous in both position and momentum. The simplest example of such symbol is the product of the characteristic functions of two compact sets, one in real space and the other in momentum space. The results of this paper are used in a study of the violation of the area entropy law for free fermions in [18]. This work also provides evidence towards a conjecture due to Harold Widom.