non-Hermitian Systems Research Articles

Homotopy, symmetry, and non-Hermitian band topology

Non-Hermitian matrices are ubiquitous in the description of nature ranging from classical dissipative systems, including optical, electrical, and mechanical metamaterials, to scattering of waves and open quantum many-body systems. Seminal line-gap and point-gap classifications of non-Hermitian systems using K-theory have deepened the understanding of many physical phenomena. However, ample systems remain beyond this description; reference points and lines do not in general distinguish whether multiple non-Hermitian bands exhibit intriguing exceptional points, spectral braids and crossings. To address this we consider two different notions: non-Hermitian band gaps and separation gaps that crucially encompass a broad class of multi-band scenarios, enabling the description of generic band structures with symmetries. With these concepts, we provide a unified and comprehensive classification of both gapped and nodal systems in the presence of physically relevant parity-time ( PT ) and pseudo-Hermitian symmetries using homotopy theory. This uncovers new stable topology stemming from both eigenvalues and wave functions, and remarkably also implies distinct fragile topological phases. In particular, we reveal different Abelian and non-Abelian phases in PT -symmetric systems, described by frame and braid topology. The corresponding invariants are robust to symmetry-preserving perturbations that do not induce (exceptional) degeneracy, and they also predict the deformation rules of nodal phases. We further demonstrate that spontaneous PT symmetry breaking is captured by Chern–Euler and Chern–Stiefel–Whitney descriptions, a fingerprint of unprecedented non-Hermitian topology previously overlooked. These results open the door for theoretical and experimental exploration of a rich variety of novel topological phenomena in a wide range of physical platforms.

Machine learning of knot topology in non-Hermitian band braids

The deep connection among braids, knots and topological physics has provided valuable insights into studying topological states in various physical systems. However, identifying distinct braid groups and knot topology embedded in non-Hermitian systems is challenging and requires significant efforts. Here, we demonstrate that an unsupervised learning with the representation basis of su(n) Lie algebra on n-fold extended non-Hermitian bands can fully classify braid group and knot topology therein, without requiring any prior mathematical knowledge or any pre-defined topological invariants. We demonstrate that the approach successfully identifies different topological elements, such as unlink, unknot, Hopf link, Solomon ring, trefoil, and so on, by employing generalized Gell-Mann matrices in non-Hermitian models with n=2 and n=3 energy bands. Moreover, since eigenstate information of non-Hermitian bands is incorporated in addition to eigenvalues, the approach distinguishes the different parity-time symmetry and breaking phases, recognizes the opposite chirality of braids and knots, and identifies out distinct topological phases that were overlooked before. Our study shows significant potential of machine learning in classification of knots, braid groups, and non-Hermitian topological phases.

Chiral quantum heating and cooling with an optically controlled ion

Quantum heat engines and refrigerators are open quantum systems, whose dynamics can be well understood using a non-Hermitian formalism. A prominent feature of non-Hermiticity is the existence of exceptional points (EPs), which has no counterpart in closed quantum systems. It has been shown in classical systems that dynamical encirclement in the vicinity of an EP, whether the loop includes the EP or not, could lead to chiral mode conversion. Here, we show that this is valid also for quantum systems when dynamical encircling is performed in the vicinity of their Liouvillian EPs (LEPs), which include the effects of quantum jumps and associated noise—an important quantum feature not present in previous works. We demonstrate, using a Paul-trapped ultracold ion, the first chiral quantum heating and refrigeration by dynamically encircling a closed loop in the vicinity of an LEP. We witness the cycling direction to be associated with the chirality and heat release (absorption) of the quantum heat engine (quantum refrigerator). Our experiments have revealed that not only the adiabaticity breakdown but also the Landau–Zener–Stückelberg process play an essential role during dynamic encircling, resulting in chiral thermodynamic cycles. Our observations contribute to further understanding of chiral and topological features in non-Hermitian systems and pave a way to exploring the relation between chirality and quantum thermodynamics.

A brief report on nanophotonics and metamaterials landscape in India

AbstractHere, we describe a set of research results in the domain of Nanophotonics and Metamaterials that represent the broad N &M landscape in India. These results were presented in an online BRICS meeting, and were collated based on the criteria deemed appropriate for the said forum. Results presented at the meeting encompass various areas, including nano-optics, nano-opto-mechanics, integrated photonic devices, plasmonics, metal-enhanced fluorescence, bio relevant photonics and metamaterials. Research topics such as Anderson localization of light, exceptional points in non-Hermitian systems, manipulation of nanoscale mechanical motion, efficient mode coupling in integrated photonics etc are discussed. Furthermore, miniaturized SPR sensors, coupling between metal nanostructures and semiconductor quantum dots, biosensing applications, metamaterials and random lasing, and customizable optical functionalities for sensing, and energy conversion are also elaborated upon. In the end, a brief listing of more recent selected publications is presented. This review article highlights the diverse and promising avenues in nanophotonics and metamaterials research in India.

Non-Hermitian dynamical topological winding in photonic mesh lattices.

Topological winding in non-Hermitian systems is generally associated to the Bloch band properties of lattice Hamiltonians. However, in certain non-Hermitian models, topological winding naturally arises from the dynamical evolution of the system and is related to a new form of geometric phase. Here we investigate dynamical topological winding in non-Hermitian photonic mesh lattices, where the mean survival time of an optical pulse circulating in coupled fiber loops is quantized and robust against Hamiltonian deformations. The suggested photonic model could provide an experimentally accessible platform for the observation of non-Hermitian dynamical topological windings.

Exceptional Nexus in Bose-Einstein Condensates with Collective Dissipation.

In multistate non-Hermitian systems, higher-order exceptional points and exotic phenomena with no analogues in two-level systems arise. A paradigm is the exceptional nexus (EX), a third-order EP as the cusp singularity of exceptional arcs (EAs), that has a hybrid topological nature. Using atomic Bose-Einstein condensates to implement a dissipative three-state system, we experimentally realize an EX within a two-parameter space, despite the absence of symmetry. The engineered dissipation exhibits density dependence due to the collective atomic response to resonant light. Based on extensive analysis of the system's decay dynamics, we demonstrate the formation of an EX from the coalescence of two EAs with distinct geometries. These structures arise from the different roles played by dissipation in the strong coupling limit and quantum Zeno regime. Our Letter paves the way for exploring higher-order exceptional physics in the many-body setting of ultracold atoms.

The funneling effect in a non-Hermitian Anderson model

The topological funneling effect, i.e., the motion of an arbitrary excitation to a focal point of the lattice no matter where the lattice is excited, is a dynamical effect due to the non-Hermitian skin effect. This effect disappears in the presence of strong disorder where the system is topologically trivial. In Anderson localized regime with complex spectrum, the motion shows jumpy behavior and the focal point can be any point along the lattice as it is not possible to say its exact place in an experiment a priori. We study transport phenomena in a non-Hermitian system, exhibiting both funneling effect and non-Hermitian jumps. We show that the competition between the skin and Anderson localizations may result in the creation of an extended eigenstate. This can lead to disorder-induced dynamical delocalization in topologically nontrivial region.

Biorthogonal topological charge pumping in non-Hermitian systems

Biorthogonal topological charge pumping in non-Hermitian systems

Chiral dynamics of three-mode non-Hermitian systems with a periodical driving

Chiral dynamics of three-mode non-Hermitian systems with a periodical driving

Extremely asymmetric absorption and reflection near the exceptional point for three-dimensional metamaterial

In recent years, particular physical phenomena enabled by non-Hermitian metamaterial systems have attracted significant research interests. In this paper, a non-Hermitian three-dimensional metamaterial near the exceptional point (EP) is proposed to demonstrate extremely asymmetric absorption and reflection. Unlike its conventional counterparts, this proposed metamaterial is constructed with a loss-assisted design. Localized losses are introduced into the structure by combining our technique of graphene-based resistive inks with conventional printed circuit board process. Extremely asymmetric absorption and reflection near the EP are experimentally observed by tuning the loss between split ring resonators in the meta-atoms. Simultaneously, by linking the equivalent circuit model (ECM) with the quantum model, an equivalent non-Hermitian transmission matrix is constructed. We show that tuning the structure parameters of the ECM produces a metamaterial system with EP response. Our system can be used in the design of unidirectional metamaterial absorbers. Our work contributes to future works on the manipulation of EP to develop precision sensing and other applications in the 3D metamaterial platform.

Non-Hermitian Casimir effect of magnons

There has been a growing interest in non-Hermitian quantum mechanics. The key concepts of quantum mechanics are quantum fluctuations. Quantum fluctuations of quantum fields confined in a finite-size system induce the zero-point energy shift. This quantum phenomenon, the Casimir effect, is one of the most striking phenomena of quantum mechanics in the sense that there are no classical analogs and has been attracting much attention beyond the hierarchy of energy scales, ranging from elementary particle physics to condensed matter physics, together with photonics. However, the non-Hermitian extension of the Casimir effect and the application to spintronics have not yet been investigated enough, although exploring energy sources and developing energy-efficient nanodevices are its central issues. Here we fill this gap. By developing a magnonic analog of the Casimir effect into non-Hermitian systems, we show that this non-Hermitian Casimir effect of magnons is enhanced as the Gilbert damping constant (i.e., the energy dissipation rate) increases. When the damping constant exceeds a critical value, the non-Hermitian Casimir effect of magnons exhibits an oscillating behavior, including a beating one, as a function of the film thickness and is characterized by the exceptional point. Our result suggests that energy dissipation serves as a key ingredient of Casimir engineering.

Spectral properties and non-Hermitian skin effect in the Hatano–Nelson model

At present, non-Hermitian topological systems continue to be actively studed. In a rigorous approach, we study one of the key non-Hermitian systems — the Hatano–Nelson model $H$. We find the Green function for this Hamiltonian. Using the Green function, we analytically obtain the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of $H$ for finite and semi-infinite chains, as well as for an infinite chain with a local potential. We discuss the non-Hermitian skin effect for the models mentioned above. We also describe the boundary between localized and resonant eigenfunctions (for the zero spectral parameter, this is the boundary between non-Hermitian topological phases).

Solid-state continuous time crystal in a polariton condensate with a built-in mechanical clock.

Time crystals (TCs) are many-body systems that display spontaneous breaking of time translation symmetry. We demonstrate a TC by using driven-dissipative condensates of microcavity exciton-polaritons, spontaneously formed from an incoherent particle bath. The TC phases are controlled by the power of a continuous-wave nonresonant optical drive exciting the condensate and the interaction with cavity phonons. Those phases are, for increasing power, Larmor-like precession of the condensate pseudo-spins-a signature of continuous TC; locking of the frequency of precession to self-sustained coherent phonons-stabilized TC; and doubling of TC's period by phonons-a discrete TC with continuous excitation. These results establish microcavity polaritons as a platform for the investigation of time-broken symmetry in nonhermitian systems.

Hermitian Preconditioning for a Class of Non-Hermitian Linear Systems

Hermitian Preconditioning for a Class of Non-Hermitian Linear Systems

Parameterized QHSS Iteration Method and Its Variants for Non-Hermitian Positive Definite Linear Systems of Strong Skew-Hermitian Parts

Parameterized QHSS Iteration Method and Its Variants for Non-Hermitian Positive Definite Linear Systems of Strong Skew-Hermitian Parts

Biorthogonal Dynamical Quantum Phase Transitions in Non-Hermitian Systems.

By utilizing biorthogonal bases, we develop a comprehensive framework for studying biorthogonal dynamical quantum phase transitions in non-Hermitian systems. With the help of the previously overlooked associated state, we define the automatically normalized biorthogonal Loschmidt echo. This approach is capable of handling arbitrary non-Hermitian systems with complex eigenvalues and naturally eliminates the negative value of Loschmidt rate obtained without the biorthogonal bases. Taking the non-Hermitian Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model as a concrete example, a 1/2 change of dynamical topological order parameter in biorthogonal bases is observed which is not shown in self-normal bases. Furthermore, we discover that the periodicity of biorthogonal dynamical quantum phase transitions depends on whether the two-level subsystem at the critical momentum oscillates or reaches a steady state.

Dynamical encircling of multiple exceptional points in anti-PT symmetry system

Exceptional points (EPs) in non-Hermitian systems have turned out to be at the origin of many intriguing effects with no counterparts in Hermitian cases. A typically interesting behavior is the chiral mode switching by dynamically winding the EP. Most encircling protocols focus on the two-state or parity-time (PT) symmetry systems. Here, we propose and investigate the dynamical encircling of multiple EPs in an anti-PT-symmetric system, which is constructed based on a one-dimensional lattice with staggered lossy modulation. We reveal that dynamically encircling the multiple EPs results in the chiral dynamics via multiple non-Hermiticity-induced nonadiabatic transitions, where the output state is always on the lowest-loss energy sheet. Compared with the PT-symmetric systems that require complicated variation of the gain/loss rate or on-site potentials, our system only requires modulations of the couplings which can be readily realized in various experimental platforms. Our scheme provides a route to study non-Hermitian physics by engineering the EPs and implement novel photonic devices with unconventional functions.

Quantum metric of non-Hermitian Su-Schrieffer-Heeger systems

Topological insulators have been studied intensively over the last decades. Earlier research focused on Hermitian Hamiltonians, but recently, peculiar and interesting properties were found by introducing non-Hermiticity. In this work, we apply a quantum geometric approach to various Hermitian and non-Hermitian versions of the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) model. We find that this method allows one to correctly identify different topological phases and topological phase transitions for all SSH models, but only when using the metric tensor containing both left and right eigenvectors. Whereas the quantum geometry of Hermitian systems is Riemannian, introducing non-Hermiticity leads to pseudo-Riemannian and complex geometries, thus significantly generalizing from the quantum geometries studied thus far. One remarkable example of this is the mathematical agreement between topological phase transition curves and lightlike paths in general relativity, suggesting a possibility of simulating space-time in non-Hermitian systems. We find that the metric in non-Hermitian phases degenerates in such a way that it effectively reduces the dimensionality of the quantum geometry by one. This implies that within linear response theory, one can perturb the system by a particular change of parameters while maintaining a zero excitation rate. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Self acceleration from spectral geometry in dissipative quantum-walk dynamics

The dynamic behavior of a physical system often originates from its spectral properties. In open systems, where the effective non-Hermitian description enables a wealth of spectral structures in the complex plane, the concomitant dynamics are significantly enriched, whereas the identification and comprehension of the underlying connections are challenging. Here we experimentally demonstrate the correspondence between the transient self-acceleration of local excitations and the non-Hermitian spectral topology using lossy photonic quantum walks. Focusing first on one-dimensional quantum walks, we show that the measured short-time acceleration of the wave function is proportional to the area enclosed by the eigenspectrum. We then reveal a similar correspondence in two-dimension quantum walks, where the self-acceleration is proportional to the volume enclosed by the eigenspectrum in the complex parameter space. In both dimensions, the transient self-acceleration crosses over to a long-time behavior dominated by a constant flow at the drift velocity. Our results unveil the universal correspondence between spectral topology and transient dynamics, and offer a sensitive probe for phenomena in non-Hermitian systems that originate from spectral geometry.

Symmetry-induced higher-order exceptional points in two dimensions

Exceptional points of order n (EPns) appear in non-Hermitian systems as points where the eigenvalues and eigenvectors coalesce. They emerge if 2(n−1) real constraints are imposed, such that EP2s generically appear in two dimensions (2D). Local symmetries have been shown to reduce this number of constraints. In this work, we provide a complete characterization of the appearance of symmetry-induced higher-order EPs in 2D parameter space. We find that besides EP2s only EP3s, EP4s, and EP5s can be stabilized in 2D. Moreover, these higher-order EPs must always appear in pairs with their dispersion determined by the symmetries. Upon studying the complex spectral structure around these EPs, we find that depending on the symmetry, EP3s are accompanied by EP2 arcs, and two- and three-level open Fermi structures. Similarly, EP4s and closely related EP5s, which arise due to multiple symmetries, are accompanied by exotic EP arcs and open Fermi structures. For each case, we provide an explicit example. We also comment on the topological charge of these EPs, and discuss similarities and differences between symmetry-protected higher-order EPs and EP2s. Published by the American Physical Society 2024