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:2307.08750 · Communications Physics

Dynamical localization transition in the non-Hermitian lattice gauge theory

Jun-Qing Cheng, Shuai Yin, Dao‐Xin Yao

Published Feb 21, 2024• 9 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Abstract Local constraint in lattice gauge theory provides an exotic mechanism inducing disorder-free localization. However, the nonequilibrium dynamics in the non-Hermition lattice gauge model has not been well understood. Here, we investigate the quench dynamics of spinless fermions with nonreciprocal hopping in the ℤ2 gauge field formed from the bond spins. Based on the effective model from duality mapping, the non-Hermitian skin effect, disorder-free localization-delocalization transition, and the real-complex transition of eigenenergies are explored systematically. By identifying the diverse scaling behaviors of quantum mutual information for fermions and spins, we predict that the non-Hermition quantum disentangled liquid presents both in localized and delocalized phase with completely different physical nature, the first comes from the ℤ2 gauge field and the second originates from the non-Hermitian skin effect. We finally show that the nonreciprocal dissipation of fermions leads the quantum information flowing from the fermions to spins. Our results provide new insights to the nonequilibrium dynamics in the gauge field, and can be experimentally verified using ultracold atoms in optical lattices.

DOI
10.1038/s42005-024-01544-6

Related papers

Dynamical localization in ℤ2 lattice gauge theories

Adam Smith, Johannes Knolle, Roderich Moessner +1 more

We study quantum quenches in two-dimensional lattice gauge theories with fermions coupled to dynamical ${\mathbb{Z}}_{2}$ gauge fields. Through the identification of an extensive set of conserved quantities, we propose a generic mechanism of charge localization in the absence of quenched disorder both in the Hamiltonian and in the initial states. We provide diagnostics of this localization through a set of experimentally relevant dynamical measures, entanglement measures, as well as spectral properties of the model. One of the defining features of the models that we study is a binary nature of emergent disorder, related to ${\mathbb{Z}}_{2}$ degrees of freedom. This results in a qualitatively different behavior in the strong disorder limit compared to typically studied models of localization. For example, it gives rise to a possibility of a delocalization transition via a mechanism of quantum percolation in dimensions higher than 1D. We highlight the importance of our general phenomenology to questions related to dynamics of defects in Kitaev's toric code, and to quantum quenches in Hubbard models. While the simplest models we consider are effectively noninteracting, we also include interactions leading to many-body localizationlike logarithmic entanglement growth. Finally, we consider effects of interactions that generate dynamics for conserved charges, which gives rise to only transient localization behavior, or quasi-many-body localization.

arXiv:1803.06574•Physical review. B./Physical review. B•Jun 22, 2018•75 citations

Non-Hermitian many-body localization with open boundaries

Kuldeep Suthar, Yi-Cheng Wang, Yi-Ping Huang +2 more

The explorations of non-Hermiticity have been devoted to investigate the disorder-induced many-body localization (MBL). However, the sensitivity of the spatial boundary conditions and the interplay of the non-Hermitian skin effect with many-body phenomena are not yet clear. For a MBL system in the presence of nonreciprocal tunnelings and random disorder potential, we identify two different complex-real spectral transitions, one is present for both open and periodic boundaries while the other is present only for open boundaries of coupled non-Hermitian chains. The later is driven due to the interchain coupling at weak disorder where the level statistics of the real eigenenergy phase follows a Gaussian orthogonal ensemble. We further characterize wave functions through the (biorthogonal) inverse participation ratio and fractal dimension, which reveal the suppression of skin effect in the non-Hermitian MBL phase. Finally, we demonstrate that the quench dynamics of the local particle density, spin imbalance, and entanglement entropy also signify the hallmark of the boundary effects and nonergodic character of many-body localization.

arXiv:2202.12675•Physical review. B./Physical review. B•Aug 31, 2022•72 citations

Dissipation-Enhanced Localization in a Disorder-Free $\mathbb{Z}_2$ Lattice Gauge System

Xuanpu Yang, Xiang-Ping Jiang, Lei Pan

The $\mathbb{Z}_2$ lattice gauge model, as the simplest realization of a lattice gauge theory, exhibits rich and unconventional physics. One of its most remarkable features is disorder-free localization, where localization emerges not from explicit quenched disorder but from static background $\mathbb{Z}_2$ gauge charges, leading to persistent memory of the initial state. In this work, we investigate the dissipative dynamics of the $\mathbb{Z}_2$ lattice gauge model by coupling it to a Markovian environment. We find that quantum dissipation can enhance localization: memory of the initial state is retained more robustly under dissipative evolution than under unitary dynamics. This dissipation-induced enhancement of localization persists across a variety of initial states, indicating that the effect is not limited to fine-tuned configurations. Our results demonstrate that dissipation, often associated with decoherence and thermalization, can in fact serve as a powerful tool for stabilizing non-ergodic behavior in gauge-constrained quantum systems.

arXiv:2509.06642•Sep 8, 2025•0 citations

Interplay of Quasiperiodic Criticality and the Non-Hermitian Skin Effect

Zhangyuan Chen, Xianqi Tong, Xiaosen Yang

Quasiperiodic lattices can host critical eigenstates, whereas nonreciprocal hopping in non-Hermitian lattices can induce non-Hermitian skin effect. In this work, we investigate localization phenomena in a Hatano--Nelson model with quasiperiodically modulated hopping amplitudes, where nonreciprocity arises from unequal modulation strengths of the right and left hoppings. Using a non-unitary gauge transformation, we map the non-Hermitian system into a Hermitian quasiperiodic system and obtain an exact analytical expression for the Lyapunov exponent in the thermodynamic limit. Under periodic boundary conditions, inverse participation ratios and finite-size scaling analysis are used to identify the quasiperiodic critical regimes. The comparison shows that parameter regimes hosting quasiperiodic critical states under periodic boundary conditions can exhibit the non-Hermitian skin effect under open boundary conditions. Furthermore, the non-Hermitian skin effect associated with quasiperiodic critical regimes is also observed in representative long-range hopping models and multiband extensions. Our results provide an analytically controlled perspective on how quasiperiodicity, modulated nonreciprocity, and boundary conditions jointly shape the non-Hermitian skin effect in critical regimes.

cond-mat.mes-hallCross-listedarXiv:2607.08294•Jul 10, 2026

Theoretical Prediction of Non-Hermitian Skin Effect in Ultracold Atom Systems

Sibo Guo, Chenxiao Dong, Fu‐Chun Zhang +2 more

Non-Hermitian skin effect, which refers to the phenomenon that an extensive number of eigenstates are localized at the boundary, has been widely studied in lattice models and experimentally observed in several classical systems. In this work, we predict that the existence of the non-Hermitian skin effect in the dissipative ultracold fermions with spin-orbit coupling, a continuous model that has been implemented by the Hong-Kong group in a recent experiment. This skin effect is robust against the variation of external parameters and trapping potentials. We further reveal a dynamic sticky effect in our system, which has a common physical origin with the non-Hermitian skin effect. Our work paves the way for studying novel physical responses of non-Hermitian skin effect in quantum systems.

arXiv:2111.04220•Nov 8, 2021•4 citations

Competing Localizations on Disordered Non-Hermitian Random Graph Lattice

S Rahul, A Harshitha

Phase transitions in one-dimensional lattice systems are well established and have been extensively studied within both Hermitian and non-Hermitian frameworks. In this work, we extend this understanding to a more general setting by investigating localization and delocalization transitions and the behavior of the non-Hermitian skin effect (NHSE) using a tight-binding model on a generalized random graph lattice. Our model incorporates three key parameters, asymmetric hopping $Δ$, on-site disorder $W$, and a random long-range coupling $p$ that together define the underlying random graph structure. By varying $p$, $Δ$, and the disorder strength, we explore the interplay between topology, randomness, and non-Hermiticity in determining localization properties. Our results show a strong competition between skin effect driven and Anderson driven localizations across parameter regimes. Notably, even in the presence of strong disorder, skin effect driven localization coexists with Anderson-driven localization. We further discuss the relevance of these results to machine-learning architectures and information propagation in complex networks and other real-world problems.

cond-mat.dis-nnCross-listedarXiv:2511.10156•Nov 14, 2025
Abstract Local constraint in lattice gauge theory provides an exotic mechanism inducing disorder-free localization. However, the nonequilibrium dynamics in the non-Hermition lattice gauge model has not been well understood. Here, we investigate the quench dynamics of spinless fermions with nonreciprocal hopping in the ℤ2 gauge field formed from the bond spins. Based on the effective model from duality mapping, the non-Hermitian skin effect, disorder-free localization-delocalization transition, and the real-complex transition of eigenenergies are explored systematically. By identifying the diverse scaling behaviors of quantum mutual information for fermions and spins, we predict that the non-Hermition quantum disentangled liquid presents both in localized and delocalized phase with completely different physical nature, the first comes from the ℤ2 gauge field and the second originates from the non-Hermitian skin effect. We finally show that the nonreciprocal dissipation of fermions leads the quantum information flowing from the fermions to spins. Our results provide new insights to the nonequilibrium dynamics in the gauge field, and can be experimentally verified using ultracold atoms in optical lattices.
We study quantum quenches in two-dimensional lattice gauge theories with fermions coupled to dynamical Z2{\mathbb{Z}}_{2}Z2​ gauge fields. Through the identification of an extensive set of conserved quantities, we propose a generic mechanism of charge localization in the absence of quenched disorder both in the Hamiltonian and in the initial states. We provide diagnostics of this localization through a set of experimentally relevant dynamical measures, entanglement measures, as well as spectral properties of the model. One of the defining features of the models that we study is a binary nature of emergent disorder, related to Z2{\mathbb{Z}}_{2}Z2​ degrees of freedom. This results in a qualitatively different behavior in the strong disorder limit compared to typically studied models of localization. For example, it gives rise to a possibility of a delocalization transition via a mechanism of quantum percolation in dimensions higher than 1D. We highlight the importance of our general phenomenology to questions related to dynamics of defects in Kitaev's toric code, and to quantum quenches in Hubbard models. While the simplest models we consider are effectively noninteracting, we also include interactions leading to many-body localizationlike logarithmic entanglement growth. Finally, we consider effects of interactions that generate dynamics for conserved charges, which gives rise to only transient localization behavior, or quasi-many-body localization.
The explorations of non-Hermiticity have been devoted to investigate the disorder-induced many-body localization (MBL). However, the sensitivity of the spatial boundary conditions and the interplay of the non-Hermitian skin effect with many-body phenomena are not yet clear. For a MBL system in the presence of nonreciprocal tunnelings and random disorder potential, we identify two different complex-real spectral transitions, one is present for both open and periodic boundaries while the other is present only for open boundaries of coupled non-Hermitian chains. The later is driven due to the interchain coupling at weak disorder where the level statistics of the real eigenenergy phase follows a Gaussian orthogonal ensemble. We further characterize wave functions through the (biorthogonal) inverse participation ratio and fractal dimension, which reveal the suppression of skin effect in the non-Hermitian MBL phase. Finally, we demonstrate that the quench dynamics of the local particle density, spin imbalance, and entanglement entropy also signify the hallmark of the boundary effects and nonergodic character of many-body localization.
Dissipation-Enhanced Localization in a Disorder-Free Z2\mathbb{Z}_2Z2​ Lattice Gauge System
The Z2\mathbb{Z}_2Z2​ lattice gauge model, as the simplest realization of a lattice gauge theory, exhibits rich and unconventional physics. One of its most remarkable features is disorder-free localization, where localization emerges not from explicit quenched disorder but from static background Z2\mathbb{Z}_2Z2​ gauge charges, leading to persistent memory of the initial state. In this work, we investigate the dissipative dynamics of the Z2\mathbb{Z}_2Z2​ lattice gauge model by coupling it to a Markovian environment. We find that quantum dissipation can enhance localization: memory of the initial state is retained more robustly under dissipative evolution than under unitary dynamics. This dissipation-induced enhancement of localization persists across a variety of initial states, indicating that the effect is not limited to fine-tuned configurations. Our results demonstrate that dissipation, often associated with decoherence and thermalization, can in fact serve as a powerful tool for stabilizing non-ergodic behavior in gauge-constrained quantum systems.
Quasiperiodic lattices can host critical eigenstates, whereas nonreciprocal hopping in non-Hermitian lattices can induce non-Hermitian skin effect. In this work, we investigate localization phenomena in a Hatano--Nelson model with quasiperiodically modulated hopping amplitudes, where nonreciprocity arises from unequal modulation strengths of the right and left hoppings. Using a non-unitary gauge transformation, we map the non-Hermitian system into a Hermitian quasiperiodic system and obtain an exact analytical expression for the Lyapunov exponent in the thermodynamic limit. Under periodic boundary conditions, inverse participation ratios and finite-size scaling analysis are used to identify the quasiperiodic critical regimes. The comparison shows that parameter regimes hosting quasiperiodic critical states under periodic boundary conditions can exhibit the non-Hermitian skin effect under open boundary conditions. Furthermore, the non-Hermitian skin effect associated with quasiperiodic critical regimes is also observed in representative long-range hopping models and multiband extensions. Our results provide an analytically controlled perspective on how quasiperiodicity, modulated nonreciprocity, and boundary conditions jointly shape the non-Hermitian skin effect in critical regimes.
Non-Hermitian skin effect, which refers to the phenomenon that an extensive number of eigenstates are localized at the boundary, has been widely studied in lattice models and experimentally observed in several classical systems. In this work, we predict that the existence of the non-Hermitian skin effect in the dissipative ultracold fermions with spin-orbit coupling, a continuous model that has been implemented by the Hong-Kong group in a recent experiment. This skin effect is robust against the variation of external parameters and trapping potentials. We further reveal a dynamic sticky effect in our system, which has a common physical origin with the non-Hermitian skin effect. Our work paves the way for studying novel physical responses of non-Hermitian skin effect in quantum systems.
Phase transitions in one-dimensional lattice systems are well established and have been extensively studied within both Hermitian and non-Hermitian frameworks. In this work, we extend this understanding to a more general setting by investigating localization and delocalization transitions and the behavior of the non-Hermitian skin effect (NHSE) using a tight-binding model on a generalized random graph lattice. Our model incorporates three key parameters, asymmetric hopping ΔΔΔ, on-site disorder WWW, and a random long-range coupling ppp that together define the underlying random graph structure. By varying ppp, ΔΔΔ, and the disorder strength, we explore the interplay between topology, randomness, and non-Hermiticity in determining localization properties. Our results show a strong competition between skin effect driven and Anderson driven localizations across parameter regimes. Notably, even in the presence of strong disorder, skin effect driven localization coexists with Anderson-driven localization. We further discuss the relevance of these results to machine-learning architectures and information propagation in complex networks and other real-world problems.