Hayden--Preskill Model via Local Quenches

Abstract

We model the Hayden--Preskill (HP) information recovery protocol in 2d CFTs via local joining quenches. Euclidean path integrals with slits prepare the HP subsystems: the message $M$, its reference $N$, the Page-time black hole $B$, the early radiation $E$, and the late radiation $R$; the remaining black hole after emitting $R$ is denoted as $B'$. The single-slit geometry provides an analytically tractable toy model, while the bounded-slit geometry more closely captures the HP setup. In the free Dirac fermion 2d CFT, the mutual information $I(N\!:\!B')$ shows quasi-particle dynamics with partial or full revivals, whereas that in holographic 2d CFTs, which are expected to be maximally chaotic, exhibit sharp transitions: in the bounded-slit case, when the size of the late radiation becomes comparable to that of the reference $N$, $I(N\!:\!B')$ does vanish at late time, otherwise it remains finite. This contrast between free CFTs and holographic CFTs gives a clear characterization of the HP recovery threshold.