Information scrambling in a partially confined quantum link model

Abstract Quantum link models (QLMs) serve as experimentally accessible platforms for studying lattice gauge theories with finite-dimensional Hilbert spaces. In this work, we investigate information scrambling in the partially confined phase of a spin-1 quantum link model by calculating the dynamics of out-of-time-ordered correlators (OTOCs) and entanglement entropy. We observe that, in the partially confined phase, information scrambling exhibits significant asymmetry, manifested as the unidirectional propagation of both OTOCs and entanglement entropy. This phenomenon stands in stark contrast to the isotropic spreading observed in the deconfined phase and the localization characteristic of the confined phase. Furthermore, the simultaneous occurrence of the unidirectional propagation of both OTOCs and entanglement entropy, together with the θ -induced asymmetric excitation propagation, reveals a direct connection between information scrambling and charge confinement.