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arXiv:1604.01885 · New Journal of Physics

Quasiclassical analysis of Bloch oscillations in non-Hermitian tight-binding lattices

Eva-Maria Graefe, H. J. Korsch, A Rush

Published Jul 11, 2016• 16 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Many features of Bloch oscillations in one-dimensional quantum lattices with a static force can be described by quasiclassical considerations for example by means of the acceleration theorem, at least for Hermitian systems. Here the quasiclassical approach is extended to non-Hermitian lattices, which are of increasing interest. The analysis is based on a generalised non-Hermitian phase space dynamics developed recently. Applications to a single-band tight-binding system demonstrate that many features of the quantum dynamics can be understood from this classical description qualitatively and even quantitatively. Two non-Hermitian and PT -symmetric examples are studied, a Hatano–Nelson lattice with real coupling constants and a system with purely imaginary couplings, both for initially localised states in space or in momentum. It is shown that the time-evolution of the norm of the wave packet and the expectation values of position and momentum can be described in a classical picture.

DOI
10.1088/1367-2630/18/7/075009

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Many features of Bloch oscillations in one-dimensional quantum lattices with a static force can be described by quasiclassical considerations for example by means of the acceleration theorem, at least for Hermitian systems. Here the quasiclassical approach is extended to non-Hermitian lattices, which are of increasing interest. The analysis is based on a generalised non-Hermitian phase space dynamics developed recently. Applications to a single-band tight-binding system demonstrate that many features of the quantum dynamics can be understood from this classical description qualitatively and even quantitatively. Two non-Hermitian and PT -symmetric examples are studied, a Hatano–Nelson lattice with real coupling constants and a system with purely imaginary couplings, both for initially localised states in space or in momentum. It is shown that the time-evolution of the norm of the wave packet and the expectation values of position and momentum can be described in a classical picture.
Bloch oscillation (BO), i.e., the oscillatory motion of a quantum particle in a periodic potential, is one of the most striking effects of coherent quantum transport in matter. In the semiclassical picture, it is well known that BOs can be explained owing to the periodic band structure of the crystal and the so-called acceleration theorem: since in the momentum space the particle wave packet drifts with a constant speed without being distorted, in real space the probability distribution of the particle undergoes a periodic motion following a trajectory which exactly reproduces the shape of the lattice band. In non-Hermitian lattices with a complex (i.e., not real) energy band, extension of the semiclassical model is not intuitive. Here we show that the acceleration theorem holds for non-Hermitian lattices with a complex energy band only on average, and that the periodic wave-packet motion of the particle in real space is described by a trajectory in the complex plane, i.e., it generally corresponds to reshaping and breathing of the wave packet in addition to a transverse oscillatory motion. The concept of BOs involving complex trajectories is exemplified by considering two examples of non-Hermitian lattices with a complex band dispersion relation, including the Hatano-Nelson tight-binding Hamiltonian describing the hopping motion of a quantum particle on a linear lattice with an imaginary vector potential and a tight-binding lattice with imaginary hopping rates.
In this thesis, we study semiclassical phase-space methods for quantum evolution in Hermitian and non-Hermitian systems. We first present the dynamics of Gaussian wave packets under non-Hermitian Hamiltonians and interpret them as a classical dynamics for complex Hamiltonians. We use these to derive exact dynamics for wave packets in the quadratic Swanson oscillator. We show that in the case of unbroken PT-symmetry there can be periodic divergences in this system and relate this to the fact that any operator mapping the system to a Hermitian counterpart is unbounded. We apply the semiclassical wave-packet dynamics to two further anharmonic example systems: a PT-symmetric wave guide, a version of which we propose as a filtering device for optical beams, and a non-Hermitian single-band tight-binding model, for which we use classical equations of motion to model both narrowly and widely distributed initial states. We further develop an exact quantum propagator for non-Hermitian dynamics using lattices of wave packets, whose evolution is governed by the semiclassical equations of motion. We demonstrate that this accurately reproduces quantum dynamics compared to the split operator method. Finally we study a Hermitian two-mode many-particle model for bosonic atom-molecule conversion, for which the classical phase-space structure is an orbifold. We show that standard semiclassical tools may be applied to recover features such as the dynamics, spectrum and density of states of the many-particle system.
Non-Hermitian (NH) systems have attracted great attention due to their exotic phenomena beyond Hermitian domains. Here we study the wave-packet dynamics in general one-dimensional NH lattices and uncover several unexpected phenomena. The group velocity of a wave packet during the time evolution in such NH lattices is not only governed by the real part of the band structure but also by its imaginary part. The momentum also evolves due to the imaginary part of the band structure, which can lead to a self-induced Bloch oscillation in the absence of external fields. Furthermore, we discover the wave-packet dynamics can exhibit disorder-free NH jumps even when the energy spectra are entirely real. Finally, we show that the NH jumps can lead to both positive and negative temporal Goos--Hänchen shifts at the edge.
Bloch oscillations (BOs) represent a paradigmatic manifestation of force-driven band dynamics in lattices, conventionally characterized by continuous quasimomentum evolution and smooth periodic trajectories. Here we show that non-Hermiticity qualitatively changes this paradigm, introducing nonsmooth BOs characterized by cusp-like real-space trajectories and abrupt momentum jumps. Reversing the force switches the dynamics between smooth and nonsmooth BOs, enabling strongly nonreciprocal dynamics. We derive a universal relation for the critical force that governs the nonsmooth-to-smooth dynamical transition in general one-dimensional lattices, which is induced by a pitchfork bifurcation in momentum space. Our work establishes a unified framework for non-Hermitian BOs and uncovers a fundamental bifurcation mechanism that can generate nonsmooth wave transport in entirely linear systems.
The static and dynamical properties of a one-dimensional quantum system described by a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian of the so-called Hatano-Nelson type; a tight-binding model with asymmetric (or non-reciprocal) hopping, are studied.The static properties of the model have been much studied; the complex spectrum, skin effect and its topological interpretation, etc. Effects of disorder and interparticle interaction, especially, when they coexist, may be less understood.Here, we will also focus on its dynamical properties and reveal some unique features in the wave-packet and entanglement (entropy) dynamics.For that some latest (original) results based on improved numerics (with this a system of larger system size L becomes accessible) are shown.
We investigate the quantum dynamics of a one-dimensional tight-binding lattice driven by a spatially quadratic and time-periodic potential. Both Hermitian (J1=J2J_1 = J_2J1​=J2​) and non-Hermitian (J1≠J2J_1 \neq J_2J1​=J2​) hopping regimes are analyzed. Within the framework of Floquet theory, the time-dependent Hamiltonian is mapped onto an effective static Floquet Hamiltonian, enabling a detailed study of the quasi-energy spectrum as function of the driving frequency ωωω. By applying a gauge transformation, we find that critical frequencies ωcω_cωc​ emerge, at which nearly equidistant quasi-energy ladders appear, as revealed by a pronounced minimum in the normalized variance Δ(ω)Δ(ω)Δ(ω) of the level spacings. This spectral regularity leads to robust periodic revivals and Bloch-like oscillations in the time evolution. Numerical simulations confirm that such coherent oscillations persist even in the non-Hermitian regime, where the periodic driving stabilizes an almost real and uniformly spaced quasi-energy ladder.