The exceptional point, known as the non-Hermitian degeneracy, has special topological structure, leading to various counterintuitive phenomena and novel applications, which are refreshing our cognition of quantum physics. One particularly intriguing behavior is the mode switch phenomenon induced by dynamically encircling an exceptional point in the parameter space. While these mode switches have been explored in classical systems, the experimental investigation in the quantum regime remains elusive due to the difficulty of constructing time-dependent non-Hermitian Hamiltonians in a real quantum system. Here we experimentally demonstrate dynamically encircling the exceptional point with a single nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond. The time-dependent non-Hermitian Hamiltonians are realized utilizing a dilation method. Both the asymmetric and symmetric mode switches have been observed. Our Letter reveals the topological structure of the exceptional point and paves the way to comprehensively explore the exotic properties of non-Hermitian Hamiltonians in the quantum regime.
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.
In a recent paper entitled "Winding around non-Hermitian singularities" by Zhong et al., published in Nat. Commun. 9, 4808 (2018), a formalism is proposed for calculating the permutations of eigenstates that arise upon encircling (multiple) exceptional points (EPs) in the complex parameter plane of an analytic non-Hermitian Hamiltonian. The authors suggest that upon encircling EPs one should track the eigenvalue branch cuts that are traversed, and multiply the associated permutation matrices accordingly. In this comment we point out a serious shortcoming of this approach, illustrated by an explicit example that yields the wrong result for a specific loop. A more general method that has been published earlier by us and that does not suffer from this problem, is based on using fundamental loops. We briefly explain the method and list its various advantages. In addition, we argue that this method can be verified in a three wave-guide system, which then also unambiguously establishes the noncommutativity associated with encircling multiple EPs.