Emergent non-Hermitian localization phenomena in the synthetic space of zero-dimensional bosonic systems

Abstract

Phase transitions in non-Hermitian systems are at the focus of cutting edge theoretical and experimental research. On the one hand, parity-time- $(\mathcal{PT}\ensuremath{-})$ and $\mathrm{anti}\ensuremath{-}\mathcal{PT}\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{symmetric}$ physics have gained ever-growing interest, due to the existence of non-Hermitian spectral singularities called exceptional points (EPs). On the other hand, topological and localization transitions in non-Hermitian systems reveal new phenomena, e.g., the non-Hermitian skin effect and the absence of conventional bulk-boundary correspondence. The great majority of previous studies exclusively focus on non-Hermitian Hamiltonians, whose realization requires an a priori fine-tuned extended lattice to exhibit topological and localization transition phenomena. In this work, we show how the non-Hermitian localization phenomena can naturally emerge in the synthetic field moment space of zero-dimensional bosonic systems, e.g., in $\mathrm{anti}\ensuremath{-}\mathcal{PT}$- and $\mathcal{PT}\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{symmetric}$ quantum dimers. This offers an opportunity to simulate localization transitions in low-dimensional systems, without the need to construct complex arrays of, e.g., coupled cavities or waveguides. Indeed, the field moment equations of motion can describe an equivalent (quasi)particle moving in a one-dimensional (1D) synthetic lattice. This synthetic field moment space can exhibit nontrivial localization phenomena, such as non-Hermitian skin effect, induced by the presence of highly degenerate EPs. We demonstrate our findings on the example of an $\mathrm{anti}\ensuremath{-}\mathcal{PT}\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{symmetric}$ two-mode system, whose higher-order field moment eigenspace is emulated by a synthetic 1D non-Hermitian Hamiltonian having a Sylvester matrix shape. Our results can be directly verified in state-of-the-art optical setups, such as superconducting circuits and toroidal resonators, by measuring photon moments or correlation functions.