Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:1810.10729 · Physical Review A

Non-Hermitian quantum systems and their geometric phases

Qi Zhang, Biao Wu

Published Mar 26, 2019• 30 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We discuss the basic theoretical framework for non-Hermitian quantum systems with particular emphasis on the diagonalizability of non-Hermitian Hamiltonians and their general linear $\text{GL}(1,\mathbb{C})$ gauge freedom, which are relevant to the adiabatic evolution of non-Hermitian quantum systems. We find that the adiabatic evolution is possible only when the eigenenergies are real. The accompanying geometric phase is found to be generally complex and associated with not only the phase of a wave function but also its amplitude. The condition for the real geometric phase is laid out. Our results are illustrated with two examples of non-Hermitian $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric systems, the two-dimensional non-Hermitian Dirac fermion model and bosonic Bogoliubov quasiparticles.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.99.032121

Related papers

The adiabatic theorem for non-Hermitian quantum systems with real eigenvalues and the complex geometric phase

Minyi Huang, Ray-Kuang Lee

The adiabatic theorem is one of the most interesting and significant theorems in quantum mechanics. However, the adiabatic theorem can fail for general non-Hermitian quantum systems. In this paper, by utilizing the complex geometric phase, the functional calculus for biorthogonal systems and the Grönwall inequality, we prove rigorously that the adiabatic theorem is still valid for diagonalizable non-Hermitian systems with real eigenvalues. The proof also justifies the definition of a complex Berry phase for non-Hermitian systems, in both Abelian and non-Abelian cases.

quant-pharXiv:2511.00968•Nov 4, 2025•0 citations

Periodic pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonian: Nonadiabatic geometric phase

Mustapha Maamache

It is well known that Hermitian operators have real eigenvalues while non-Hermitian ones may have complex eigenvalues. Recently, numerical and analytical results indicated that the spectra of many non-Hermitians Hamiltonians $H$ are indeed real if they are invariant under the combined action of self-adjoint parity $P$ and time reversal $T.$ The concept of a pseudo-Hermitian operator showed that the remarkable spectral properties of the $PT$-symmetric Hamiltonians follow from their pseudo-Hermiticity. It is possible to explain these observations by the concept of pseudo-Hermitian operators and to formulate completeness and orthonormality relations. Most of the effort has been devoted to study time-independent non-Hermitian systems. In this paper, we study the exactly solvable time-dependent periodic pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonians. The method introduced, to make the reality of eigenvalues and phases, is based on a Floquet decomposition of the evolution operator ${U}^{H}(t)={Z}^{H}(t)exp(i{M}^{H}t)$ associated with the periodic pseudo-hermitian Hamiltonian $H(t)=H(t+T)$. One of the results found in this paper concerns a calculation of Berry's phase for periodic, but not necessarily adiabatic, pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonians. A two-level pseudo-Hermitian system is discussed as an illustrative example.

Physical Review A•Sep 8, 2015•29 citations

1 A New Class of Adiabatic Cyclic States and Geometric Phases for Non-Hermitian Hamiltonians

For a T-periodic non-Hermitian Hamiltonian H(t), we construct a class of adiabatic cyclic states of period T which are not eigenstates of the initial Hamiltonian H(0). We show that the corresponding adiabatic geometric phase angles are real and discuss their relationship with the conventional complex adiabatic geometric phase angles. We present a detailed calculation of the new adiabatic cyclic states and their geometric phases for a non-Hermitian analog of the spin 1/2 particle in a precessing magnetic field. Since the publication of Berry’s paper [1] on the adiabatic geometrical phase, the subject has undergone a rapid development. Berry’s adiabatic geometric phase for periodic Hermitian Hamiltonians with a discrete nondegenerate spectrum has been generalized to arbitrary changes of a quantum state. In particular, the conditions on the adiabaticity [2] and cyclicity [3, 4, 5] of the evolution, Hermiticity of the Hamiltonian [6], and degeneracy [7] and discreteness [8] of its spectrum have been lifted. Moreover, the classical [9] and relativistic [10] analogues of the geometric phase have been considered. The purpose of this note is to offer an alternative generalization of Berry’s treatment of the adiabatic geometric phase for a non-Hermitian parametric Hamiltonian H[R] with a nondegenerate discrete spectrum. The parameters R = (R1, · · ·, Rn) are assumed to be real ∗E-mail address:

•Jan 1, 1999•0 citations

Hermitian hamiltonians and imaginary eigenvalues beyond the Hilbert space

Mustapha Maamache

In a quantum system initially in the $n$-th eigenstate, an adiabatic evolution of the Hamiltonian ensures that the system remains in the corresponding instantaneous eigenstate while acquiring a phase factor. This phase has two components: one resulting from standard time evolution and another associated with the dependence of the eigenstate on the varying Hamiltonian, known as the Berry phase. In this work, we explore the concept of geometric amplitudes in the context of a Hermitian Hamiltonian. We introduce the notion of geometric amplitude and provide a novel derivation of this concept. Our study reveals that a system undergoing cyclic evolution under adiabatic conditions acquires an additional amplitude factor of purely geometric origin. To illustrate this idea, we apply it to a concrete case: a generalized inverted harmonic oscillator. Although a pseudo-inner product can be introduced to make resonance states formally normalizable, this procedure relies on a non-unitary metric operator and defines a modified Hilbert space; it does not restore normalizability nor self-adjointness in the standard $L^2(R)$ framework.

Revista Mexicana de Física•Sep 1, 2026•0 citations

Geometric phases in non-Hermitian quantum mechanics

Xiaodong Cui, Yujun Zheng

We generally derive complex geometric phases in non-Hermitian quantum mechanics. The formalism of complex geometric phases for non-Hermitian quantum systems is general and can be applied in the cases of cyclic and noncyclic states in non-Hermitian quantum mechanics. As an example, we show the interpretation of complex geometric phases by a generalized density matrix defined on a two-level non-Hermitian quantum system and the two-level Bethe-Lamb model. Also, in the Hermitian case, our theoretical framework of a complex geometric phase reduces to the counterpart of the Pancharatnam phase.

Physical Review A•Dec 20, 2012•44 citations

A Gauge-Covariant Geometric Framework for Non-Hermitian Quantum Systems

Gargi Das, Sudhanshu Shekhar, Bhabani Prasad Mandal

We develop a comprehensive, gauge-covariant geometric framework for non-Hermitian quantum systems in the quasi-Hermitian regime, that is, the region of parameter space where the non-Hermitian Hamiltonian admits a real spectrum and a positive-definite metric operator. We build this framework by elevating the Dyson map to a central geometric object. This map is the transformation that converts a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian into an equivalent Hermitian one. From it we construct the Dyson connection and decompose it into Hermitian and anti-Hermitian parts, identified respectively as {\it stretching } and {\it rotation } components. This decomposition cleanly separates the genuine physical metric deformations from the unitary gauge redundancies. Working with manifestly gauge-covariant states, we then derive the complex non-Hermitian Berry phase and the quantum geometric tensor (QGT), and show that the non-Hermitian geometric curvature originates from the non-commutativity of the stretching components at the operator level. We further analyse the geometric singularities near an exceptional point (EP) and uncover a distinct hierarchy of divergences. For a general two-level non-Hermitian model, the quantum metric tensor (QMT) exhibits a leading-order divergence $\sim |ε_μ|^{-2}$, while the Berry curvature shows a weaker, subleading divergence $\sim |ε_μ|^{-3/2}$, with $ε_μ$ denoting the parameter displacement from the EP along an individual parameter axis $μ$. Finally, we examine physical realizations of this model, including the non-Hermitian Su--Schrieffer--Heeger (SSH) and Hatano--Nelson (HN) models, where exact analytical results confirm the predicted critical scaling laws and illustrate the metric-deformation-driven non-Hermitian geometries.

quant-pharXiv:2606.15922•Jun 16, 2026•0 citations
We discuss the basic theoretical framework for non-Hermitian quantum systems with particular emphasis on the diagonalizability of non-Hermitian Hamiltonians and their general linear GL(1,C)\text{GL}(1,\mathbb{C})GL(1,C) gauge freedom, which are relevant to the adiabatic evolution of non-Hermitian quantum systems. We find that the adiabatic evolution is possible only when the eigenenergies are real. The accompanying geometric phase is found to be generally complex and associated with not only the phase of a wave function but also its amplitude. The condition for the real geometric phase is laid out. Our results are illustrated with two examples of non-Hermitian PT\mathcal{PT}PT-symmetric systems, the two-dimensional non-Hermitian Dirac fermion model and bosonic Bogoliubov quasiparticles.
The adiabatic theorem is one of the most interesting and significant theorems in quantum mechanics. However, the adiabatic theorem can fail for general non-Hermitian quantum systems. In this paper, by utilizing the complex geometric phase, the functional calculus for biorthogonal systems and the Grönwall inequality, we prove rigorously that the adiabatic theorem is still valid for diagonalizable non-Hermitian systems with real eigenvalues. The proof also justifies the definition of a complex Berry phase for non-Hermitian systems, in both Abelian and non-Abelian cases.
It is well known that Hermitian operators have real eigenvalues while non-Hermitian ones may have complex eigenvalues. Recently, numerical and analytical results indicated that the spectra of many non-Hermitians Hamiltonians HHH are indeed real if they are invariant under the combined action of self-adjoint parity PPP and time reversal T.T.T. The concept of a pseudo-Hermitian operator showed that the remarkable spectral properties of the PTPTPT-symmetric Hamiltonians follow from their pseudo-Hermiticity. It is possible to explain these observations by the concept of pseudo-Hermitian operators and to formulate completeness and orthonormality relations. Most of the effort has been devoted to study time-independent non-Hermitian systems. In this paper, we study the exactly solvable time-dependent periodic pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonians. The method introduced, to make the reality of eigenvalues and phases, is based on a Floquet decomposition of the evolution operator UH(t)=ZH(t)exp(iMHt){U}^{H}(t)={Z}^{H}(t)exp(i{M}^{H}t)UH(t)=ZH(t)exp(iMHt) associated with the periodic pseudo-hermitian Hamiltonian H(t)=H(t+T)H(t)=H(t+T)H(t)=H(t+T). One of the results found in this paper concerns a calculation of Berry's phase for periodic, but not necessarily adiabatic, pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonians. A two-level pseudo-Hermitian system is discussed as an illustrative example.
For a T-periodic non-Hermitian Hamiltonian H(t), we construct a class of adiabatic cyclic states of period T which are not eigenstates of the initial Hamiltonian H(0). We show that the corresponding adiabatic geometric phase angles are real and discuss their relationship with the conventional complex adiabatic geometric phase angles. We present a detailed calculation of the new adiabatic cyclic states and their geometric phases for a non-Hermitian analog of the spin 1/2 particle in a precessing magnetic field. Since the publication of Berry’s paper [1] on the adiabatic geometrical phase, the subject has undergone a rapid development. Berry’s adiabatic geometric phase for periodic Hermitian Hamiltonians with a discrete nondegenerate spectrum has been generalized to arbitrary changes of a quantum state. In particular, the conditions on the adiabaticity [2] and cyclicity [3, 4, 5] of the evolution, Hermiticity of the Hamiltonian [6], and degeneracy [7] and discreteness [8] of its spectrum have been lifted. Moreover, the classical [9] and relativistic [10] analogues of the geometric phase have been considered. The purpose of this note is to offer an alternative generalization of Berry’s treatment of the adiabatic geometric phase for a non-Hermitian parametric Hamiltonian H[R] with a nondegenerate discrete spectrum. The parameters R = (R1, · · ·, Rn) are assumed to be real ∗E-mail address:
In a quantum system initially in the nnn-th eigenstate, an adiabatic evolution of the Hamiltonian ensures that the system remains in the corresponding instantaneous eigenstate while acquiring a phase factor. This phase has two components: one resulting from standard time evolution and another associated with the dependence of the eigenstate on the varying Hamiltonian, known as the Berry phase. In this work, we explore the concept of geometric amplitudes in the context of a Hermitian Hamiltonian. We introduce the notion of geometric amplitude and provide a novel derivation of this concept. Our study reveals that a system undergoing cyclic evolution under adiabatic conditions acquires an additional amplitude factor of purely geometric origin. To illustrate this idea, we apply it to a concrete case: a generalized inverted harmonic oscillator. Although a pseudo-inner product can be introduced to make resonance states formally normalizable, this procedure relies on a non-unitary metric operator and defines a modified Hilbert space; it does not restore normalizability nor self-adjointness in the standard L2(R)L^2(R)L2(R) framework.
We generally derive complex geometric phases in non-Hermitian quantum mechanics. The formalism of complex geometric phases for non-Hermitian quantum systems is general and can be applied in the cases of cyclic and noncyclic states in non-Hermitian quantum mechanics. As an example, we show the interpretation of complex geometric phases by a generalized density matrix defined on a two-level non-Hermitian quantum system and the two-level Bethe-Lamb model. Also, in the Hermitian case, our theoretical framework of a complex geometric phase reduces to the counterpart of the Pancharatnam phase.
We develop a comprehensive, gauge-covariant geometric framework for non-Hermitian quantum systems in the quasi-Hermitian regime, that is, the region of parameter space where the non-Hermitian Hamiltonian admits a real spectrum and a positive-definite metric operator. We build this framework by elevating the Dyson map to a central geometric object. This map is the transformation that converts a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian into an equivalent Hermitian one. From it we construct the Dyson connection and decompose it into Hermitian and anti-Hermitian parts, identified respectively as {\it stretching } and {\it rotation } components. This decomposition cleanly separates the genuine physical metric deformations from the unitary gauge redundancies. Working with manifestly gauge-covariant states, we then derive the complex non-Hermitian Berry phase and the quantum geometric tensor (QGT), and show that the non-Hermitian geometric curvature originates from the non-commutativity of the stretching components at the operator level. We further analyse the geometric singularities near an exceptional point (EP) and uncover a distinct hierarchy of divergences. For a general two-level non-Hermitian model, the quantum metric tensor (QMT) exhibits a leading-order divergence ∼∣εμ∣−2\sim |ε_μ|^{-2}∼∣εμ​∣−2, while the Berry curvature shows a weaker, subleading divergence ∼∣εμ∣−3/2\sim |ε_μ|^{-3/2}∼∣εμ​∣−3/2, with εμε_μεμ​ denoting the parameter displacement from the EP along an individual parameter axis μμμ. Finally, we examine physical realizations of this model, including the non-Hermitian Su--Schrieffer--Heeger (SSH) and Hatano--Nelson (HN) models, where exact analytical results confirm the predicted critical scaling laws and illustrate the metric-deformation-driven non-Hermitian geometries.