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arXiv:2201.05341 · Physical Review Research

Non-Hermitian topology in monitored quantum circuits

Christoph Fleckenstein, Alberto Zorzato, Dániel Varjas, Emil J. Bergholtz, Jens Hjorleifur Bardarson, Apoorv Tiwari

Published Aug 15, 2022• 35 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We demonstrate that genuinely non-Hermitian topological phases and corresponding topological phase transitions can be naturally realized in monitored quantum circuits, exemplified by the paradigmatic non-Hermitian Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model.We emulate this model by a 1D chain of spinless electrons evolving under unitary dynamics and subject to periodic measurements that are stochastically invoked.The non-Hermitian topology is visible in topological invariants adapted to the context of monitored circuits.For instance, the topological phase diagram of the monitored realization of the non-Hermitian Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model is obtained from the biorthogonal polarization computed from an effective Hamiltonian of the monitored system.Importantly, our monitored circuit realization allows direct access to steady-state biorthogonal expectation values of generic observables, and hence, to measure physical properties of a genuine non-Hermitian model.We expect our results to be applicable more generally to a wide range of models that host non-Hermitian topological phases.

DOI
10.1103/physrevresearch.4.l032026

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We demonstrate that genuinely non-Hermitian topological phases and corresponding topological phase transitions can be naturally realized in monitored quantum circuits, exemplified by the paradigmatic non-Hermitian Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model.We emulate this model by a 1D chain of spinless electrons evolving under unitary dynamics and subject to periodic measurements that are stochastically invoked.The non-Hermitian topology is visible in topological invariants adapted to the context of monitored circuits.For instance, the topological phase diagram of the monitored realization of the non-Hermitian Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model is obtained from the biorthogonal polarization computed from an effective Hamiltonian of the monitored system.Importantly, our monitored circuit realization allows direct access to steady-state biorthogonal expectation values of generic observables, and hence, to measure physical properties of a genuine non-Hermitian model.We expect our results to be applicable more generally to a wide range of models that host non-Hermitian topological phases.
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.
Abstract The dynamical and topological properties of non-Hermitian systems have attracted great attention in recent years. In this work, we establish an intrinsic connection between two classes of intriguing phenomena—topological phases and dynamical quantum phase transitions (DQPTs)—in non-Hermitian systems. Focusing on one-dimensional models with chiral symmetry, we find DQPTs following the quench from a trivial to a non-Hermitian topological phase. Moreover, the critical momenta and critical time of the DQPTs are found to be directly related to the topological invariants of the non-Hermitian system. We further demonstrate our theory in three prototypical non-Hermitian lattice models, the lossy Kitaev chain (LKC), the LKC with next-nearest-neighbor hoppings, and the nonreciprocal Su–Schrieffer–Heeger model. Finally, we suggest a proposal to experimentally verify the found connection by a nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond.
The description of states and dynamics in non-Hermitian systems is fundamentally linked to the choice of an appropriate theoretical framework -- a point of ongoing debate in the field. This work addresses this issue by proposing a consistent formulation that reconciles existing controversies and establishes a unified theoretical understanding. Our approach rests on two foundational premises: (i) the dynamics of both left and right-vectors of a non-Hermitian system must satisfy the Schrödinger equation; (ii) the theoretical framework must preserve gauge invariance, ensuring that physical quantities are independent of unobservable phase choices. Building on these physically motivated assumptions, we refine the biorthogonal framework, leading to a gauge-invariant non-Hermitian quantum theory. Our framework naturally encompasses the open-system effective non-Hermitian evolution as a special case, and can naturally reduce to standard quantum mechanics in the Hermitian limit. As a concrete application, we analyze the dynamical phase transition in a one-dimensional Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) model within this gauge-invariant non-Hermitian quantum theory. Notably, our formulation naturally generalizes the known condition for such transitions in Hermitian two-band systems, namely, dki⋅dkf=0\mathbf{d}_{k}^i\cdot\mathbf{d}_{k}^f=0dki​⋅dkf​=0, to the non-Hermitian case, where it takes the form Re[dkidki⋅dkfdkf]=0\mathrm{Re}\Bigl[\frac{\mathbf{d}_{k}^i}{d_{k}^i}\cdot\frac{\mathbf{d}_{k}^f}{d_{k}^f}\Bigr]=0Re[dki​dki​​⋅dkf​dkf​​]=0. Furthermore, we identify entirely new dynamical phase transitions that cannot be characterized by the winding number. We hope that this gauge-invariant non-Hermitian quantum theory will find broad applications in the study of non-Hermitian systems.
We propose a general quantum circuit based on the swap test for measuring the quantity $\ensuremath{\langle}{\ensuremath{\psi}}_{1}|A|{\ensuremath{\psi}}_{2}\ensuremath{\rangle}$ of an arbitrary operator AAA with respect to two quantum states $|{\ensuremath{\psi}}_{1,2}\ensuremath{\rangle}$. This quantity is frequently encountered in many fields of physics, and we dub it the generalized expectation as a two-state generalization of the conventional expectation. We apply the circuit, in the field of non-Hermitian physics, to the measurement of generalized expectations with respect to left and right eigenstates of a given non-Hermitian Hamiltonian. To efficiently prepare the left and right eigenstates as the input to the general circuit, we also develop a quantum circuit via effectively rotating the Hamiltonian pair $(H,\ensuremath{-}{H}^{\ifmmode\dagger\else\textdagger\fi{}})$ in the complex plane. As applications, we demonstrate the validity of these circuits in the prototypical Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model with nonreciprocal hopping by measuring the Bloch and non-Bloch spin textures and the corresponding winding numbers under periodic and open boundary conditions (PBCs and OBCs), respectively. The numerical simulation shows that non-Hermitian spin textures building up these winding numbers can be well captured with high fidelity, and the distinct topological phase transitions between PBCs and OBCs are clearly characterized. We may expect that other non-Hermitian topological invariants composed of non-Hermitian spin textures, such as non-Hermitian Chern numbers, and even significant generalized expectations in other branches of physics would also be measured by our general circuit, providing a different perspective to study novel properties in non-Hermitian as well as other physics realized in qubit systems.
Fock-state lattice (FSL) offers a powerful quantum simulator for topological phenomena due to the unbounded scalability and ease of implementation. Nevertheless, the unique topological properties induced by its site-dependent coupling have remained elusive, mainly due to the challenge of handling an infinite state space without translational symmetry. Here, we rigorously analyze the topological features of a semi-infinite FSL-based Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) model, in both Hermitian and non-Hermitian realms, by mapping it to the solvable Jaynes-Cummings model via a unitary displacement transformation. We find a topological zero mode persisting across all parameter regimes, which is more stable than the conventional SSH model. It originates from the bound state at the inherent domain wall under anisotropic conditions. With gain and loss introduced, we predict a non-Hermitian bound effect, i.e., any state overlapping with the bound state will quickly stabilize to the domain wall, with the minimal stabilization time occurring in the vicinity of exceptional point. The parity-time phase transition can be observed by the oscillating-to-steady crossover of dynamics in the subspace orthogonal to the bound state. Furthermore, a concrete experimental proposal based on the trapped-ion setup is provided.