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arXiv:2104.11265 · Journal of Physics Conference Series

Conserved quantities, exceptional points, and antilinear symmetries in non-Hermitian systems

František Růžička, Kaustubh S. Agarwal, Yogesh N. Joglekar

Published Oct 1, 2021• 14 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Abstract Over the past two decades, open systems that are described by a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian have become a subject of intense research. These systems encompass classical wave systems with balanced gain and loss, semiclassical models with mode selective losses, and minimal quantum systems, and the meteoric research on them has mainly focused on the wide range of novel functionalities they demonstrate. Here, we address the following questions: Does anything remain constant in the dynamics of such open systems? What are the consequences of such conserved quantities? Through spectral-decomposition method and explicit, recursive procedure, we obtain all conserved observables for general PT -symmetric systems. We then generalize the analysis to Hamiltonians with other antilinear symmetries, and discuss the consequences of conservation laws for open systems. We illustrate our findings with several physically motivated examples.

DOI
10.1088/1742-6596/2038/1/012021

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Abstract Over the past two decades, open systems that are described by a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian have become a subject of intense research. These systems encompass classical wave systems with balanced gain and loss, semiclassical models with mode selective losses, and minimal quantum systems, and the meteoric research on them has mainly focused on the wide range of novel functionalities they demonstrate. Here, we address the following questions: Does anything remain constant in the dynamics of such open systems? What are the consequences of such conserved quantities? Through spectral-decomposition method and explicit, recursive procedure, we obtain all conserved observables for general PT -symmetric systems. We then generalize the analysis to Hamiltonians with other antilinear symmetries, and discuss the consequences of conservation laws for open systems. We illustrate our findings with several physically motivated examples.
Open classical and quantum systems have attracted great interest in the past two decades. These include systems described by non-Hermitian Hamiltonians with parity-time (PT) symmetry that are best understood as systems with balanced, separated gain and loss. Here, we present an alternative way to characterize and derive conserved quantities, or intertwining operators, in such open systems. As a consequence, we also obtain non-Hermitian or Hermitian operators whose expectations values show single exponential time dependence. By using a simple example of a PT-symmetric dimer that arises in two distinct physical realizations, we demonstrate our procedure for static Hamiltonians and generalize it to time-periodic (Floquet) cases where intertwining operators are stroboscopically conserved. Inspired by the Lindblad density matrix equation, our approach provides a useful additionto the well-established methods for characterizing time-invariants in non-Hermitian systems.
In this work, taking the most general non-Hermitian Hamiltonian without parity-time symmetry and with non-Hermitian off-diagonal elements into account, we study the exceptional points of the model system. We find that there exists an exceptional ellipse in theory, compared with the exceptional ring studied in non-Hermitian symmetry Hamiltonian, in which the parameters in the model Hamiltonian take particular values. We also report on the dynamics of the model Hamiltonian and symmetry Hamiltonian. We find that they display different dynamical behaviors under different parameters. Moreover, there exists an unstable behavior of the system. The unstable behavior has a surprising property by which the gain always dominates at long times no matter how small the gain is. This phenomenon enables the compensation for losses in dissipative systems and opens a wide range of applications in quantum optics, plasmonics, and optoelectronics, where the loss is inevitable but can be compensated by the gain.
The exploration of non-Hermitian physics has predominantly been a frontier in quantum mechanics, revealing exotic phenomena not observed in conventional Hermitian systems. However, its extension to classical mechanics offers a rich and largely untapped avenue for understanding open and active systems characterized by dissipation and gain. This paper systematically investigates the theoretical foundations of non-Hermitian classical mechanics, focusing on the emergence and implications of dissipation and gain symmetries. We demonstrate how concepts like parity-time (PT) symmetry and pseudo-Hermiticity, originally quantum mechanical, find natural classical analogues in systems with balanced energy loss and amplification. The study delves into the modification of classical Hamiltonian and Lagrangian formalisms to accommodate non-conservative forces, leading to complex-valued potentials and phase space trajectories. We explore the role of exceptional points as spectral degeneracies in these classical systems, showing how they govern the dynamics and give rise to unique phenomena such as unidirectional transport and enhanced sensitivity. Furthermore, we discuss the practical implications for designing classical mechanical systems with tailored dissipative and amplification properties, opening new possibilities for classical sensing, energy harvesting, and wave manipulation. This work aims to establish a robust theoretical framework for non-Hermitian classical mechanics, highlighting its potential to unveil emergent symmetries and complex dynamics in macroscopic systems.
We discuss how introducing an equilibrium frame, in which a given Hamiltonian has balanced loss and gain terms, can reveal PT symmetry hidden in non-Hermitian Hamiltonians of dissipative systems. Passive PT-symmetric Hamiltonians, in which only loss is present and gain is absent, can also display exceptional points, just like PT-symmetric systems, and therefore are extensively investigated. We demonstrate that non-Hermitian Hamiltonians, which can be divided into a PT-symmetric term and a term commuting with the Hamiltonian, possess hidden PT symmetries. These symmetries become apparent in the equilibrium frame. We also show that the number of eigenstates having the same value in an exceptional point is usually smaller in the initial frame than in the equilibrium frame. This property is associated with the second part of the Hamiltonian.
Abstract The dynamics of an open quantum system with balanced gain and loss is not described by a PT-symmetric Hamiltonian but rather by Lindblad operators. Nevertheless the phenomenon of PT-symmetry breaking and the impact of exceptional points can be observed in the Lindbladean dynamics. Here we briefly review the development of PT symmetry in quantum mechanics, and the characterisation of PT-symmetry breaking in open quantum systems in terms of the behaviour of the speed of evolution of the state.
Non-Hermitian systems can manifest rich static and dynamical properties at their exceptional points (EPs). Here, we identify yet another class of distinct phenomena that is hinged on EPs, namely, the emergence of a series of non-Hermitian conservation laws. We demonstrate these distinct phenomena concretely in the non-Hermitian Heisenberg chain and formulate a general theory for identifying these emergent non-Hermitian conservation laws at EPs. By establishing a one-to-one correspondence between the constants of motion (COMs) at EPs and those in corresponding auxiliary Hermitian systems, we trace their physical origin back to the presence of emergent symmetries in the auxiliary systems. Concrete simulations on quantum circuits show that these emergent conserved dynamics can be readily observed in current digital quantum computing systems.