We introduce a complex-plane generalization of the consecutive level-spacing distribution, used to distinguish regular from chaotic quantum spectra. Our approach features the distribution of complex-valued ratios between nearest-and next-to-nearest neighbor spacings. We show that this quantity can successfully detect the chaotic or regular nature of complex-valued spectra. This is done in two steps. First, we show that, if eigenvalues are uncorrelated, the distribution of complex spacing ratios is flat within the unit circle, whereas random matrices show a strong angular dependence in addition to the usual level repulsion. The universal fluctuations of Gaussian Unitary and Ginibre Unitary universality classes in the large-matrix-size limit are shown to be well described by Wigner-like surmises for small-size matrices with eigenvalues on the circle and on the two-torus, respectively. To study the latter case, we introduce the Toric Unitary Ensemble, characterized by a flat joint eigenvalue distribution on the two-torus. Second, we study different physical situations where nonhermitian matrices arise: dissipative quantum systems described by a Lindbladian, non-unitary quantum dynamics described by nonhermitian Hamiltonians, and classical stochastic processes. We show that known integrable models have a flat distribution of complex spacing ratios whereas generic cases, expected to be chaotic, conform to Random Matrix Theory predictions. Specifically, we were able to clearly distinguish chaotic from integrable dynamics in boundary-driven dissipative spin-chain Liouvillians and in the classical asymmetric simple exclusion process and to differentiate localized from delocalized phases in a nonhermitian disordered many-body system.

We study generic open quantum systems with Markovian dissipation, focusing on a class of stochastic Liouvillian operators of Lindblad form with independent random dissipation channels (jump operators) and a random Hamiltonian. We establish that the global spectral features, the spectral gap, and the steady-state properties follow three different regimes as a function of the dissipation strength, whose boundaries depend on the particular quantity. Within each regime, we determine the scaling exponents with the dissipation strength and system size. We find that, for two or more dissipation channels, the spectral gap increases with the system size. The spectral distribution of the steady state is Poissonian at low dissipation strength and conforms to that of a random matrix once the dissipation is sufficiently strong. Our results can help to understand the long-time dynamics and steady-state properties of generic dissipative systems.

We explicitly construct an integrable and strongly interacting dissipative quantum circuit via a trotterization of the Hubbard model with imaginary interaction strength. To prove integrability, we build an inhomogeneous transfer matrix, from which conserved superoperator charges can be derived, in particular, the circuit's dynamical generator. After showing the trace preservation and complete positivity of local maps, we reinterpret them as the Kraus representation of the local dynamics of free fermions with single-site dephasing. The integrability of the map is broken by adding interactions to the local coherent dynamics or by removing the dephasing. In particular, even circuits built from convex combinations of local free-fermion unitaries are nonintegrable. Moreover, the construction allows us to explicitly build circuits belonging to different non-Hermitian symmetry classes, which are characterized by the behavior under transposition instead of complex conjugation. We confirm all our analytical results by using complex spacing ratios to examine the spectral statistics of the dissipative circuits.

The study of dissipation and decoherence in generic open quantum systems recently led to the investigation of spectral and steady-state properties of random Lindbladian dynamics. A natural question is then how realistic and universal those properties are. Here, we address these issues by considering a different description of dissipative quantum systems, namely, the discrete-time Kraus map representation of completely positive quantum dynamics. Through random matrix theory (RMT) techniques and numerical exact diagonalization, we study random Kraus maps, allowing for a varying dissipation strength, and their local circuit counterpart. We find the spectrum of the random Kraus map to be either an annulus or a disk inside the unit circle in the complex plane, with a transition between the two cases taking place at a critical value of dissipation strength. The eigenvalue distribution and the spectral transition are well described by a simplified RMT model that we can solve exactly in the thermodynamic limit, by means of non-Hermitian RMT and quaternionic free probability. The steady state, on the contrary, is not affected by the spectral transition. It has, however, a perturbative crossover regime at small dissipation, inside which the steady state is characterized by uncorrelated eigenvalues. At large dissipation (or for any dissipation for a large-enough system), the steady state is well described by a random Wishart matrix. The steady-state properties thus coincide with those already observed for random Lindbladian dynamics, indicating their universality. Quite remarkably, the statistical properties of the local Kraus circuit are qualitatively the same as those of the nonlocal Kraus map, indicating that the latter, which is more tractable, already captures the realistic and universal physical properties of generic open quantum systems.

Using a variational approach, we obtain the self-focusing critical power for a single and for any number of interacting Laguerre-Gauss beams propagating in a Kerr nonlinear optical medium. As is known, the critical power for freely propagating higher-order modes is always greater than that of the fundamental Gaussian mode. Here, we generalize that result for an arbitrary incoherent superposition of Laguerre-Gauss beams, adding interactions between them. This leads to a vast and rich spectrum of self-focusing phenomena, which is absent in the single-beam case. Specifically, we find that interactions between different modes may increase or decrease the required critical power relative to the sum of individual powers. In particular, high-orbital angular momentum modes can be focused with less power in the presence of low-orbital angular momentum beams than when propagating alone. The decrease in required critical power can be made arbitrarily large by choosing the appropriate combinations of modes. Additionally, in the presence of interactions, an equilibrium configuration of stationary spot size for all modes in a superposition may not even exist, a fundamental difference from the single-beam case in which a critical power for self-focusing always exists.