Non-Hermitian systems exhibit spectral and topological phenomena absent in Hermitian physics; however, their geometric characterization remains subtle due to the intrinsic ambiguity of biorthogonal eigenspaces. Since left and right eigenvectors are not related by Hermitian conjugation, the associated Berry connection is generally nonunique, leading to complex geometric phases and ambiguously defined holonomies. Here we formulate a covariant geometric framework for non-Hermitian quantum systems based on the metric structure of the underlying Hilbert space. We show that, in the quantum regime with continuous state evolution, the conventional Berry connection and the associated Berry holonomy over closed parameter-space loops can be consistently defined only in the pseudo-Hermitian limit, where the spectrum is real. For generic non-Hermitian Hamiltonians with complex spectra, the relevant geometric object is instead the Aharonov--Anandan holonomy associated with cyclic evolution in projective Hilbert space. Within the pseudo-Hermitian regime, we construct a unique Hermitian Berry connection that is covariant under arbitrary ${\rm GL}(N,\mathbb C)$ frame transformations and reduces to the standard Berry connection in the Hermitian limit. The resulting formalism separates the intrinsic geometry of the Hamiltonian eigenspace from contributions arising from the parameter dependence of the Hilbert-space metric, revealing that the conventional biorthogonal formulation generally mixes these distinct geometric effects. Consequently, geometric phases, synthetic gauge fields, and topological characteristics commonly attributed to non-Hermitian eigenspace geometry may, in part, originate from the underlying metric structure. Our framework therefore provides a consistent geometric foundation for Berry phases, non-Abelian holonomies, and topological invariants in non-Hermitian quantum systems.
Non-Hermitian systems exhibit spectral and topological phenomena absent in Hermitian physics; however, their geometric characterization remains subtle due to the intrinsic ambiguity of biorthogonal eigenspaces. Since left and right eigenvectors are not related by Hermitian conjugation, the associated Berry connection is generally nonunique, leading to complex geometric phases and ambiguously defined holonomies. Here we formulate a covariant geometric framework for non-Hermitian quantum systems based on the metric structure of the underlying Hilbert space. We show that, in the quantum regime with continuous state evolution, the conventional Berry connection and the associated Berry holonomy over closed parameter-space loops can be consistently defined only in the pseudo-Hermitian limit, where the spectrum is real. For generic non-Hermitian Hamiltonians with complex spectra, the relevant geometric object is instead the Aharonov--Anandan holonomy associated with cyclic evolution in projective Hilbert space. Within the pseudo-Hermitian regime, we construct a unique Hermitian Berry connection that is covariant under arbitrary GL(N,C) frame transformations and reduces to the standard Berry connection in the Hermitian limit. The resulting formalism separates the intrinsic geometry of the Hamiltonian eigenspace from contributions arising from the parameter dependence of the Hilbert-space metric, revealing that the conventional biorthogonal formulation generally mixes these distinct geometric effects. Consequently, geometric phases, synthetic gauge fields, and topological characteristics commonly attributed to non-Hermitian eigenspace geometry may, in part, originate from the underlying metric structure. Our framework therefore provides a consistent geometric foundation for Berry phases, non-Abelian holonomies, and topological invariants in non-Hermitian quantum systems.
Non-Hermitian systems exhibit spectral and topological phenomena absent in Hermitian physics; however, their geometric characterization remains subtle due to the intrinsic ambiguity of biorthogonal eigenspaces. Since left and right eigenvectors are not related by Hermitian conjugation, the associated Berry connection is generally nonunique, leading to complex geometric phases and ambiguously defined holonomies. Here, we formulate a covariant geometric framework for non-Hermitian quantum systems based on the metric structure of the underlying Hilbert space. We show that, in the quantum regime with continuous state evolution, the conventional Berry connection and the associated Berry holonomy over closed parameter-space loops can be consistently defined only in the pseudo-Hermitian limit, where the spectrum is real. For generic non-Hermitian Hamiltonians with complex spectra, the relevant geometric object is instead the Aharonov-Anandan holonomy associated with cyclic evolution in projective Hilbert space. Within the pseudo-Hermitian regime, we construct a unique Hermitian Berry connection that is covariant under arbitrary GL(N,C) frame transformations and reduces to the standard Berry connection in the Hermitian limit. The resulting formalism separates the intrinsic geometry of the Hamiltonian eigenspace from contributions arising from the parameter dependence of the Hilbert-space metric, revealing that the conventional biorthogonal formulation generally mixes these distinct geometric effects. Consequently, geometric phases, synthetic gauge fields, and topological characteristics commonly attributed to non-Hermitian eigenspace geometry may, in part, originate from the underlying metric structure. Our framework therefore provides a consistent geometric foundation for Berry phases, non-Abelian holonomies, and topological invariants in non-Hermitian quantum systems.
Non-Hermitian systems exhibit spectral and topological phenomena absent in Hermitian physics; however, their geometric characterization remains subtle due to the intrinsic ambiguity of biorthogonal eigenspaces. Since left and right eigenvectors are not related by Hermitian conjugation, the associated Berry connection is generally nonunique, leading to complex geometric phases and ambiguously defined holonomies. Here, we formulate a covariant geometric framework for non-Hermitian quantum systems based on the metric structure of the underlying Hilbert space. We show that, in the quantum regime with continuous state evolution, the conventional Berry connection and the associated Berry holonomy over closed parameter-space loops can be consistently defined only in the pseudo-Hermitian limit, where the spectrum is real. For generic non-Hermitian Hamiltonians with complex spectra, the relevant geometric object is instead the Aharonov-Anandan holonomy associated with cyclic evolution in projective Hilbert space. Within the pseudo-Hermitian regime, we construct a unique Hermitian Berry connection that is covariant under arbitrary GL(N,C) frame transformations and reduces to the standard Berry connection in the Hermitian limit. The resulting formalism separates the intrinsic geometry of the Hamiltonian eigenspace from contributions arising from the parameter dependence of the Hilbert-space metric, revealing that the conventional biorthogonal formulation generally mixes these distinct geometric effects. Consequently, geometric phases, synthetic gauge fields, and topological characteristics commonly attributed to non-Hermitian eigenspace geometry may, in part, originate from the underlying metric structure. Our framework therefore provides a consistent geometric foundation for Berry phases, non-Abelian holonomies, and topological invariants in non-Hermitian quantum systems.
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, while the Berry curvature shows a weaker, subleading divergence ∼∣εμ∣−3/2, with εμ 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.
We formulate the geometric structure of non-compact bosonic quantum systems in regimes where vacuum instability renders the relevant quantum states non-normalizable, causing conventional state-space quantum geometry -- described by the Berry connection, curvature, and quantum metric -- to become ill-defined. To overcome this breakdown, we develop a formulation of quantum geometry at the level of canonical operator frames, allowing for complexified Bogoliubov-Valatin transformations that lift the requirement that creation operators be Hermitian conjugates of annihilation operators. Canonical operator frames are defined as choices of bosonic creation and annihilation operators realizing the canonical commutation relations. A natural equivalence relation among such frames generalizes the phase ambiguity of quantum states and determines a parameter space that analytically extends the stable-regime parameter space. The space of canonical operator frames forms a principal bundle over parameter space -- the operator-frame bundle -- equipped with a natural Ehresmann connection that defines parallel transport while preserving the canonical commutation relations. In the stable regime, this construction reduces to the Berry connection, while more generally it yields a well-defined operator-space quantum geometric tensor (QGT) that remains valid across vacuum instabilities. Using the framework of rigged Hilbert spaces, we define a notion of quantum frame vacuum and obtain a consistent state-space QGT. Focusing on a single bosonic mode, we demonstrate analyticity of the QGT across the quantum frame-vacuum phase transition and present the corresponding phase diagram on the complexified squeezing-parameter plane. We further introduce a realistic physical setting that allows continuous paths connecting stable and unstable regimes, along which the QGT evolves smoothly across Stokes lines.
The ability to control matter at the quantum level is a central requirement for the continued advance of quantum technologies. Recent experimental progress has enabled continuous monitoring of quantum systems in time, giving rise to dynamics conditioned on measurement outcomes. Such measurement-conditioned evolution is naturally described by non-Hermitian Hamiltonians, whose complex eigenvalues encode gain and loss of population associated with the measurement record. Non-Hermitian quantum dynamics exhibit geometric features without Hermitian counterparts, including non-orthogonal eigenspaces, exceptional points, and complex geometric phases. This thesis investigates geometric structures underlying non-Hermitian quantum dynamics from two complementary perspectives: the geometry of quantum states under measurement-conditioned evolution, and the geometry of Hamiltonians and parameter spaces relevant for control in experimentally accessible platforms. First, measurement-conditioned non-Hermitian dynamics are formulated within quantum information geometry. The normalized evolution preserves the rank of the density operator, confining the dynamics to fixed-rank manifolds with a natural geometric structure. This framework enables optimization of the success probability of prescribed non-Hermitian trajectories and, via a purification-bundle formulation, leads to a non-Hermitian quantum speed limit expressed in terms of the Bures geometry. Explicit shortest geodesics and their associated non-Hermitian generators are derived, including results on the existence of time-independent generators in finite dimensions. The thesis then addresses control of non-Hermitian dynamics from a complementary geometric viewpoint focused on Hamiltonians and parameter spaces. A complex mixing angle is introduced for the detuned parity--time-symmetric dimer, providing a transparent mapping between parameter space and eigenspaces and enabling implementable counter-diabatic control on a superconducting transmon qubit. This approach is validated experimentally through accurate eigenstate tracking and exceptional-point encircling, and is subsequently generalized to arbitrary two-level systems, bipartite lattice models, and multilevel transmons. Finally, the geometric origin of complex Berry phases is identified, with predictions indicating their observability on the transmon platform and their role in purity stabilization and noise-assisted chiral transfer. Overall, the thesis establishes geometry as a unifying and operational language for the analysis and control of non-Hermitian quantum systems, addressing both foundational theory and experimentally relevant protocols.
Abstract: This work develops a unified and gauge-invariant framework in which quantum interference is described as a measurement of relative holonomy between two coherent evolutions in a combined configuration space X = M × Λ. Both the Aharonov–Bohm (Abelian) and Wilczek–Zee (non-Abelian) effects appear as limits of a single Wilson-loop observable. A block connection is introduced on the direct-sum bundle E = H ⊕ (T X ⊗ ℂ), with structure group U(n) × O(p,q), thereby unifying Berry parallel transport and Levi-Civita geometry within one connection. The formalism ensures gauge and diffeomorphism covariance, analytic well-posedness under back-reaction, and establishes conditions for reconstructing the spacetime metric from holonomy data. The resulting theory provides a mathematically consistent and experimentally testable synthesis of geometric phase, interference, and spacetime connection. Potential physical implementations include mesoscopic rings, cold-atom systems, and superconducting circuits. Keywords: geometric phase; holonomy; Aharonov–Bohm effect; Berry phase; Wilczek–Zee connection; differential geometry; quantum interference; gauge theory.