A core characteristic of dissipative non-Hermitian topology is that the relaxation dynamics tracks the non-Bloch bulk-boundary correspondence, rendering an algebraic decay in the gapless regime and an exponential falloff in the gapped phase, so that local observables directly diagnose the topology. We show that this correspondence breaks down in a dissipative topological superconductor, where the local observables turn blind to the very topology they are expected to decipher. Via a bond-dissipative dimerized Kitaev chain in a third-quantized rapidity-matrix formulation, we find that at zero chemical potential the Majorana rapidity matrix decomposes into two independent non-Hermitian sectors, each with its own generalized Brillouin zone and non-Bloch winding number, thereby revealing a sector-resolved non-Bloch bulk-boundary correspondence. The local density is a cross-sector covariance and relaxes at the sum of the two sector rates, so it remains sector-blind even when one sector is gapless and topological. For balanced gain and loss, the finite-time zero events of the entanglement spectrum under purely periodic-boundary Lindblad evolution recover this hidden edge content sector by sector, serving as a dynamical invariant that returns the open-boundary edge rapidities without physically opening the chain.
We investigate the effects of dissipation and driving on topological order in superconducting nanowires. Rather than studying the non-equilibrium steady state, we propose a method to classify and detect dynamical signatures of topological order in open quantum systems. Bulk winding numbers for the Lindblad generator \hat{\mathcal{L}} ℒ ̂ of the dissipative Kitaev chain are found to be linked to the presence of Majorana edge master modes – localized eigenmodes of \hat{\mathcal{L}} ℒ ̂ . Despite decaying in time, these modes provide dynamical fingerprints of the topological phases of the closed system, which are now separated by intermediate regions where winding numbers are ill-defined and the bulk-boundary correspondence breaks down. Combining these techniques with the Floquet formalism reveals higher winding numbers and different types of edge modes under periodic driving. Finally, we link the presence of edge modes to a steady state current.
The non-Hermitian skin effect (NHSE) fundamentally invalidates the conventional bulk-boundary correspondence (BBC), leading topological diagnostics into a crisis. While the non-Bloch polarization
Pβ defined on the generalized Brillouin zone restores momentum-space topology, a direct, robust real-space bulk probe has remained elusive. We resolve this by establishing a universal correspondence between
Pβ and the entanglement polarization
χ of the biorthogonal ground state. Introducing a quasi-reciprocal Hamiltonian
H~ that removes the NHSE while preserving bulk topology, we rigorously prove the fundamental identity
Pβ≡χ(H~)(mod1) in the thermodynamic limit under the quasi-locality assumption. Crucially, we demonstrate that this equivalence transcends the locality constraints that limit traditional topological invariants. While the conventional Resta polarization fails when
H~ becomes non-local due to the divergence of position variance, we reveal that
χ(H~) remains robustly quantized, protected by the Fredholm index of Toeplitz operators. Our work thus identifies entanglement as the unique real-space diagnostic capable of capturing non-Bloch topology beyond the breakdown of locality, successfully restoring the BBC across diverse non-Hermitian systems such as line-gap, point-gap, and gapless phases, thereby unifying the geometric and entanglement paradigms in non-Hermitian physics.
We investigate the non-Hermitian Kitaev chain with non-reciprocal hopping amplitudes and asymmetric superconducting pairing. We work out the symmetry structure of the model and show that particle-hole symmetry (PHS) is preserved throughout the entire parameter regime. As a consequence of PHS, the topological phase transition point of a finite open chain coincides with that of the periodic (infinite) system. By explicitly constructing the zero-energy wave functions (Majorana modes), we show that Majorana modes necessarily occur as reciprocal localization pairs accumulating on opposite boundaries, whose combined probability density exhibits an exact cancellation of the non-Hermitian skin effect for the zero energy modes. Excited states, by contrast, generically display skin-effect localization, with particle and hole components accumulating at opposite ends of the system. At the level of bulk topology, we further construct a
Z2 topological invariant in restricted parameter regimes that correctly distinguishes the topological and trivial phases. Finally, we present the topological phase diagram of the non-Hermitian Kitaev chain across a broad range of complex parameters and delineate the associated phase boundaries.
Dynamical quantum phase transitions (DQPTs) of periodic chains are determined by real Bloch momenta. We identify non-Bloch DQPTs, which occur only in open chains and are determined by complex momenta instead. They arise in a Hermitian chain coupled to a simple substrate, whose memory is treated exactly, and originate from the point-gap winding number
W of the projected propagator: for
W=0, open boundaries change both the dynamical free energy and the critical times, even in the thermodynamic limit. We find that both follow from an analytic continuation to complex momenta, and show that
W can be measured by particle counting. This reveals a dynamical bulk-boundary correspondence, in which non-Hermitian topology emerges from Hermitian dynamics with memory.
We present a detailed study of the topological properties of the Kitaev chain with long-range pairing terms and in the presence of an Aubry-André-Harper on-site potential.Specifically, we consider algebraically decaying superconducting pairing amplitudes; the exponent of this decay is found to determine a critical pairing strength, below which the chain remains topologically trivial.Above the critical pairing, topological edge modes are observed in the central gap.For sufficiently fast decay of the pairing, these modes are identified as Majorana zero modes.However, if the pairing term decays slowly, the modes become massive Dirac modes.Interestingly, these massive modes still exhibit a true level crossing at zero energy, which points towards an intimate relation to Majorana physics.We also observe a clear lack of bulk-boundary correspondence in the long-range system, where bulk topological invariants remain constant, while dramatic changes appear in the behavior at the edge of the system.In addition to the central gap around zero energy, the Aubry-André-Harper potential also leads to other energy gaps at nonzero energy.As for the analogous short-range model, the edge modes in these gaps can be characterized through a 2D Chern invariant.However, in contrast to the short-range model, this topological invariant does not correspond to the number of edge mode crossings anymore.This provides another example of the weakening of the bulk-boundary correspondence occurring in this model.Finally, we discuss possible realizations of the model with ultracold atoms and condensed matter systems.
The influence of boundary conditions on bulk properties is generally expected to vanish in the thermodynamic limit. Here we show that this expectation can fail in an open transverse field Ising chain with modified boundary fields. By removing only the transverse fields acting on the two edge spins while leaving the bulk Hamiltonian unchanged, we uncover a boundary-induced switching of the topological spectral degeneracy. In contrast to the conventional open chain, where the topological degeneracy occurs in the ferromagnetic phase (
∣g∣<1), the modified boundary condition shifts it to the paramagnetic phase (
∣g∣>1). We demonstrate that the underlying mechanism originates from two exact local conserved quantities associated with the edge spins, which partition the Hilbert space into invariant sectors. Based on this structure, we establish an exact description in terms of domain-wall excitations, under which the Hamiltonian decomposes into two independent Kitaev chains. Complementarily, the Majorana representation reveals that the spectral switching originates from different unit-cell conventions and boundary terminations of the corresponding effective SSH lattice, leading to distinct boundary zero-mode structures without altering the bulk Hamiltonian. Furthermore, we show that the boundary-induced topological degeneracy remains observable at finite temperatures through non-Hermitian quench dynamics, providing a dynamical manifestation of the bulk-boundary correspondence. These results demonstrate that boundary engineering, through the introduction of local conserved boundary degrees of freedom, provides an effective route for controlling topological degeneracy in quantum spin chains without modifying bulk interactions.