We propose a non-singular representation for a non-Hermitian operator even if the parameter space contains exceptional points (EPs), at which the operator cannot be diagonalized and the usual spectral representation ceases to exist. Our representation has a generalized Jordan block form and is written in terms of extended pseudo-eigenstates. Our method is free from divergence in the spectral representation at EPs, at which multiple eigenvalues and eigenvectors coalesce and the eigenvectors cannot be normalized. Our representation improves the accuracy of numerical calculations of physical quantities near EPs. We also find that our method is applicable to various problems related to EPs in the parameter space of non-Hermitian operators. We demonstrate the usefulness of our representation by investigating Boltzmann's collision operator in a 1D quantum Lorentz gas in the weak-coupling approximation.
Exceptional points (EPs) are singularities in the spectra of non-Hermitian operators where eigenvalues and eigenvectors coalesce. Open quantum systems have recently been explored as EP testbeds due to their non-Hermitian nature. However, most studies focus on the Markovian limit, leaving a gap in understanding EPs in the non-Markovian regime. This work addresses this gap by proposing a general framework based on two numerically exact descriptions of non-Markovian dynamics: the pseudomode equation of motion (PMEOM) and the hierarchical equations of motion (HEOM). The PMEOM is particularly useful due to its Lindblad-type structure, aligning with previous studies in the Markovian regime while offering deeper insights into EP identification. This framework incorporates non-Markovian effects through auxiliary degrees of freedom, enabling the discovery of additional or higher-order EPs that are inaccessible in the Markovian regime. We demonstrate the utility of this approach using the spin-boson model and linear bosonic systems. The full description of exceptional points in the non-Markovian regime is complicated by the unclear applicability of standard techniques such as spectral analysis. Here, the authors fill this gap by proposing a general framework that combines the pseudomode equation of motion and the hierarchical equations of motion.
We investigate the exceptional points (EPs) and their pseudospectra in black hole perturbation theory. By considering a Gaussian bump modification to the Regge-Wheeler potential with variable amplitude, position, and width parameters,
(ε,d,σ0), a continuous line of EPs (exceptional line, EL) in this three-dimensional parameter space is revealed. Notably, the EL exhibits an anisotropic spectral response: parameters migrating along the EL direction leaves the coalesced QNM spectra nearly unchanged, while moving parameters away from the EL induces the characteristic
ε1/2 scaling, highlighting the directional nature of spectral instability in exceptional structures. We find that the vorticity
ν=±1/2 and the Berry phase
γ=π for loops encircling the EL, while
ν=0 and
γ=0 for those do not encircle the EL. In the neighborhood of an eigenvalue, through matrix perturbation theory, we prove that the
ε-pseudospectrum contour size scales as
ε1/q at an EP , where
q is the order of the largest Jordan block of the Hamiltonian-like operator associated with that eigenvalue, contrasting with the linear
ε scaling at non-EPs. Numerical implements confirm this observation, demonstrating enhanced spectral instability at EPs for non-Hermitian systems including black holes.
We consider the non-Hermitian XY spin chain with open boundary conditions when the anisotropy parameter is extended to complex values. By analyzing the quasi-Hamiltonian matrix, we demonstrate that the free-fermion structure of the quasi-energy spectrum coincides with that of the Hermitian model and construct the corresponding biorthogonal fermionic basis away from exceptional points (EPs). We make use of an explicit Chebyshev-polynomial representation of the open-boundary eigenvectors in which the quasi-energy
ε is the natural spectral variable. This quasi-energy polynomial form is particularly useful at EPs, because EPs correspond to repeated roots of the same boundary polynomial, making the construction of generalized eigenvectors by
ε-differentiation transparent. At EPs, where the quasi-Hamiltonian becomes defective, we derive the Jordan normal form and construct the associated generalized eigenvectors, which yields the correct counting of independent many-body eigenstates. We further show that EPs act as branch points in the complex anisotropy plane, leading to the characteristic permutation of eigenenergies and eigenstates upon encirclement. The branch-cut structure of the biorthogonal eigenstates provides direct evidence for the exchange of eigenstates when an EP is encircled. These results provide an analytically controlled many-body platform for studying EP physics and non-Hermitian topology beyond momentum-space descriptions.
Abstract The exceptional points (EPs) of non-Hermitian systems, where n different energy eigenstates merge into an identical one, have many intriguing properties that have no counterparts in Hermitian systems. In particular, the ϵ 1 / n dependence of the energy level splitting on a perturbative parameter ϵ near an n th order EP stimulates the idea of metrology with arbitrarily high sensitivity, since the susceptibility d ϵ 1/ n /d ϵ diverges at the EP. Here we theoretically study the sensitivity of parameter estimation near the EPs, using the exact formalism of quantum Fisher information (QFI). The QFI formalism allows the highest sensitivity to be determined without specifying a specific measurement approach. We find that the EP bears no dramatic enhancement of the sensitivity. Instead, the coalescence of the eigenstates exactly counteracts the eigenvalue susceptibility divergence and makes the sensitivity a smooth function of the perturbative parameter.
Exceptional points (EPs) are non-Hermitian spectral singularities exhibiting fractional-power responses, yet their implications for multipartite entanglement of interacting quantum many-body systems remain largely unexplored. Here we develop a general framework that links higher-order non-Hermitian degeneracies to the scaling behavior of genuine multipartite entanglement in interacting identical-qubit systems. Permutation symmetry of the identical qubits decomposes the exponentially large Hilbert space into independent irreducible-representation sectors, thereby constraining the maximal EP order of
N qubits to
N+1 rather than
2N. Near an
nth-order EP, genuine multipartite entanglement inherits the spectral response and generically exhibits a fractional-power scaling under weak perturbations. Explicit examples show that conventional two-body interactions support third- and fourth-order EPs with the corresponding entanglement responses, whereas higher-order EPs with genuine multipartite-entangled coalesced states require additional independent interaction channels, such as three-body interactions. Our results establish a fundamental connection among non-Hermitian degeneracies, multipartite entanglement, and symmetry, extending higher-order EP physics from spectral singularities to genuine many-body quantum correlations.