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arXiv:2602.14056

Interaction-Enabled Two- and Three-Fold Exceptional Points

Musashi Kato, Tsuneya Yoshida

cond-mat.mes-hallcond-mat.str-elquant-phSubmitted Feb 15, 2026• Announced Feb 17, 2026
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Abstract

We propose a novel type of exceptional points, dubbed interaction-enabled $n$-fold exceptional points [EP$n$s ($n=2,3$)] -- EP$n$s protected by topology that are prohibited at the non-interacting level. Specifically, we demonstrate that both bosonic and fermionic systems host such interaction-enabled EP$n$s ($n=2,3$) in parameter space that are protected by charge U(1), pseudo-spin-parity, and $PT$ symmetries. The interaction-enabled EP2s are protected by zero-dimensional topology and give rise to qualitative changes in the loss rate, an experimentally measurable quantity for cold atoms. Furthermore, we reveal that interactions enable EP3s protected by one-dimensional topology beyond the point-gap topological classifications, suggesting the potential presence of a broader class of interaction-enabled non-Hermitian degeneracies.

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7+11 pages, 3+6 figures

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We propose a novel type of exceptional points, dubbed interaction-enabled nnn-fold exceptional points [EPnnns (n=2,3n=2,3n=2,3)] -- EPnnns protected by topology that are prohibited at the non-interacting level. Specifically, we demonstrate that both bosonic and fermionic systems host such interaction-enabled EPnnns (n=2,3n=2,3n=2,3) in parameter space that are protected by charge U(1), pseudo-spin-parity, and PTPTPT symmetries. The interaction-enabled EP2s are protected by zero-dimensional topology and give rise to qualitative changes in the loss rate, an experimentally measurable quantity for cold atoms. Furthermore, we reveal that interactions enable EP3s protected by one-dimensional topology beyond the point-gap topological classifications, suggesting the potential presence of a broader class of interaction-enabled non-Hermitian degeneracies.
Non-Hermitian quantum systems can exhibit spectral degeneracies known as exceptional points, where two or more eigenvectors coalesce, leading to a nondiagonalizable Jordan block. It is known that symmetries can enhance the abundance of exceptional points in noninteracting systems. Here we investigate the fate of such symmetry protected exceptional points in the presence of a symmetry preserving interaction between fermions and find that (i) exceptional points are stable in the presence of the interaction. Their propagation through the parameter space leads to the formation of characteristic exceptional ``fans.'' In addition, (ii) we identify a new source for exceptional points which are only present due to the interaction. These points emerge from diagonalizable degeneracies in the noninteracting case. Beyond their creation and stability, (iii) we also find that exceptional points can annihilate each other if they meet in parameter space with compatible many-body states forming a third order exceptional point at the endpoint. These phenomena are well captured by an ``exceptional perturbation theory'' starting from a noninteracting Hamiltonian.
Non-Hermtian (NH) Hamiltonians effectively describing the physics of dissipative systems have become an important tool with applications ranging from classical metamaterials to quantum many-body systems. Exceptional points, the NH counterpart of spectral degeneracies, are among the paramount phenomena unique to the NH realm. While realizations of second-order exceptional points have been reported in a variety of microscopic models, higher-order ones have largely remained elusive in the many-body context, as they in general require fine tuning in high-dimensional parameter spaces. Here, we propose a microscopic model of correlated fermions in three spatial dimensions and demonstrate the occurrence of interaction-induced fourth-order exceptional points that are protected by chiral symmetry. We demonstrate their stability against symmetry-breaking perturbations and investigate their characteristic analytical and topological properties.
The appearance of topological singularities, namely exceptional points (EPs) is an intriguing feature of parameter-dependent open quantum or wave systems. EPs are the special type of nonHermitian degeneracies where two (or more) eigenstates of the underlying system coalesce. In this paper, we present a three level non-Hermitian Hamiltonian which hosts three interacting eigenstates. The matrix elements are optimized in such a way that the intermediate eigenstate interacts with both the other states and the underlying system hosts at least two different second order EPs. The impact of quasi-static parameter variation along a cyclic contour around the embedded EPs on the dynamics of interacting eigenvalues is well investigated in the context of cascaded state conversion. Such dynamics of the eigenvalues shows a clear signature of the third order EP with a combined effect of both the second order EPs. Moreover, we examine the accumulation of phases around the identified EPs and study the hallmark of phase exchange during cascaded state conversions accompanied by the parametric encirclement of the third order EP.
Exceptional points (EPs) have seen substantial advances in both experiment and theory. However, in quantum systems, higher-order EPs remain of great interest and possess numerous intriguing properties yet to be fully explored. Here we describe a parity-time symmetry-protected three-level non-Hermitian system with dissipative spin-orbit-coupled fermions in which a third-order exceptional point (EP3) emerges when both the eigenvalues and eigenstates of the system collapse into one. The band structure and its spin dynamics are explored for the 173Yb^{173}\mathrm{Yb}173Yb fermion. We highlight the enhanced sensitivity to the external perturbation of the EP3 with cubic-root energy dispersion. Additionally, we investigate the second-order EP (EP2) with square-root energy dispersion in a three-level quantum system in the absence of parity symmetry, which proves that the enhanced sensitivity closely relates to the symmetries of the non-Hermitian system. Furthermore, we analyze the encircling behavior of the EP3 in terms of the slowly evolving limit and the nonadiabatic dynamics beyond the slowly evolving limit and discover some results different from those of the EP2.
Strong interactions can give rise to new fermionic symmetry protected topological phases which have no analogs in free fermion systems. As an example, we have systematically studied a spinless fermion model with U(1) charge conservation and time reversal symmetry on a three-leg ladder using density-matrix renormalization group. In the non-interacting limit, there are no topological phases. Turning on interactions, we found two gapped phases. One is trivial and is adiabatically connected to a band insulator, while another one is a nontrivial symmetry protected topological phase resulting from strong interactions.
We give a brief overview on interacting symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases. In particular, we will focus on various cases where the classification of non-interacting fermionic systems breaks down in the presence of interactions. The examples include topological (and trivial) superconductors in one, two and three spatial dimensions, protected by various symmetries such as time-reversal, spin parity, and reflection symmetries. Common to these examples is the ‘collapse’ of the non-interacting classification, where an integer classification (‘’) at non-interacting level reduces to or in the presence of interactions. We make use of these examples to illustrate various approaches to interacting SPT phases.