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arXiv:2102.02230 · WORLD SCIENTIFIC eBooks

Non-Bloch PT Symmetry: Universal Threshold and Dimensional Surprise

Fei Song, Hongyi Wang, Zhong Wang

Published Sep 7, 2022• 13 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

In the presence of non-Hermitian skin effect, non-Hermitian lattices generally have complex-valued eigenenergies under periodic boundary condition, but they can have non-Bloch PT symmetry and therefore completely real eigenenergies under open boundary condition. This novel PT symmetry and its breaking have been experimentally observed in one dimension. Here, we find that non-Bloch PT symmetry in two and higher dimensions exhibits drastically different behaviors compared to its one-dimensional counterpart. Whereas Bloch PT breaking and one-dimensional non-Bloch PT breaking generally have nonzero thresholds in the large-size limit, the threshold of two and higher-dimensional non-Bloch PT breaking universally approaches zero as the system size increases. A product measure, namely the product of bare non-Hermiticity and system size, is introduced to quantify the PT breaking tendency. This product being small is required for the perturbation theory to be valid, thus its growth with system size causes the breakdown of perturbation theory, which underlies the universal threshold. That the universal behaviors emerge only in two and higher dimensions indicates an unexpected interplay among PT symmetry, non-Hermitian skin effect, and spatial dimensionality. Our predictions can be confirmed on experimentally accessible platforms.

DOI
10.1142/9789811264153_0017

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In the presence of non-Hermitian skin effect, non-Hermitian lattices generally have complex-valued eigenenergies under periodic boundary condition, but they can have non-Bloch PT symmetry and therefore completely real eigenenergies under open boundary condition. This novel PT symmetry and its breaking have been experimentally observed in one dimension. Here, we find that non-Bloch PT symmetry in two and higher dimensions exhibits drastically different behaviors compared to its one-dimensional counterpart. Whereas Bloch PT breaking and one-dimensional non-Bloch PT breaking generally have nonzero thresholds in the large-size limit, the threshold of two and higher-dimensional non-Bloch PT breaking universally approaches zero as the system size increases. A product measure, namely the product of bare non-Hermiticity and system size, is introduced to quantify the PT breaking tendency. This product being small is required for the perturbation theory to be valid, thus its growth with system size causes the breakdown of perturbation theory, which underlies the universal threshold. That the universal behaviors emerge only in two and higher dimensions indicates an unexpected interplay among PT symmetry, non-Hermitian skin effect, and spatial dimensionality. Our predictions can be confirmed on experimentally accessible platforms.
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We report a novel mechanism of boundary-sensitive PT symmetry breaking in one-dimensional Floquet systems. By designing a time-periodic driving protocol, we realize a Floquet Hamiltonian that is Hermitian under periodic boundary conditions yet acquires non-Hermitian boundary terms under open boundary conditions due to the non-commutativity of driving Hamiltonians. We establish that a PT symmetry breaking transition occurs when the quasienergy bandwidth expands to cover the entire frequency Brillouin zone. This condition highlights a crucial difference from static non-Hermitian systems, where such transitions typically require band touching. Furthermore, we demonstrate that in the PT-broken phase, the eigenstates exhibit scale-free localization, a phenomenon arising from the specific system-size scaling of non-Hermitian terms. Finally, we provide a general framework for constructing multi-band models that exhibit this boundary-induced phase transition.
In non-Hermitian systems, it is a counterintuitive feature of the non-Hermitian skin effect (NHSE) that the energy spectrum and eigenstates can be totally different under open or periodic boundary conditions, suggesting that non-Hermitian spectra can be extremely sensitive to non-local perturbations. Here, we show that a wide range of non-Hermitian models with NHSE can even be highly sensitive to local perturbation under open boundary conditions. The spectrum of these models is so fragile that it can be significantly modified by adding only exponentially small perturbations on boundaries. Intriguingly, we show that such fragile spectra are quantified by the Green's function exhibiting unconventional V-shape asymptotic behaviors. Accordingly, bi-directional exponential amplification can be observed. As an interesting consequence, we find a real-to-complex transition of the bulk spectrum induced by exponentially small boundary perturbations. Finally, we reveal a hierarchy of the asymptotic behaviors of non-Hermitian Green's functions, which restricts the frequency range for the presence of unconventional Green's functions.
Non-Hermitian skin effect is one of the most captivating phenomena in non-Hermitian systems, characterized by the extensive localization of eigenstates near open boundaries. In its conventional form, the localization length of a skin mode is independent of the system size. Remarkably, however, when the open boundaries are coupled to realize a generalized boundary condition, the localization length can undergo a drastic transformation, becoming proportional to the system length. This intriguing regime is known as the scale-free skin effect (SFSE). Although SFSE has been observed in numerous one-dimensional non-Hermitian models through case-by-case studies, a unified theoret ical framework capable of predicting its emergence and characteristic properties remains absent. In this work, we take a firm step forward by establishing a model-independent framework for the ana lytic determination of scale-free localization lengths in certain regimes. Our key insight is to treat generalized boundary conditions as a perturbation of the periodic boundary conditions, thereby circumventing the singular response-to-perturbation that would otherwise arise if they were pertur batively treated relative to open boundary conditions. Our work sheds new light on understanding SFSE in non-Hermitian systems.
Symmetry-protected ideal flat bands in one-dimensional (1D) Hermitian lattices are populated by compact localized states (CLS) - a special class of localization with wavefunctions confined within a small region. In this work, we discover that the non-Hermitian skin effect (NHSE) can appear in a flat band. Unlike conventional NHSEs for dispersive bands that are protected by nontrivial point-gap topology, the flat band remains a point on the complex-energy plane and is therefore always topologically trivial. We found that, intriguingly, the flat-band skin effect (FBSE) is associated with the non-trivial spectral topology of the dispersive bands enclosing the flat band on the complex-energy plane, so it only emerges within a finite range of non-Hermitian parameters and can counterintuitively disappear at large non-Hermiticity. Moreover, the gaps between the flat and the dispersive bands can close at higher-order exceptional points under both periodic and open boundary conditions. The flat-band wavefunctions are discontinuous in quantum distance across these exceptional points, signifying that the gap-closing is singular. The FBSE was experimentally observed in a non-Hermitian mechanical lattice. Our work reveals flat-band phenomena unique to non-Hermitian systems and highlights new possibilities in quantum geometry and localization control.