Bose–Einstein condensates under a non-Hermitian spin–orbit coupling

We study the properties of Bose–Einstein condensates under a non-Hermitian spin–orbit coupling(SOC), induced by a dissipative two-photon Raman process. We focus on the dynamics of the condensate at short times, when the impact of decoherence induced by quantum jumps is negligible and the dynamics is coherently driven by a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian. Given the significantly modified single-particle physics by dissipative SOC, the interplay of non-Hermiticity and interaction leads to a quasi-steady-state phase diagram different from its Hermitian counterpart. In particular, we find that dissipation can induce a phase transition from the stripe phase to the plane-wave phase. We further map out the phase diagram with respect to the dissipation and interaction strengths, and finally investigate the stability of quasi-steady states through the time-dependent dissipative Gross–Pitaevskii equation. Our results are readily accessible based on standard experiments with synthetic spin–orbit couplings.     

Crossing scenario for a nonlinear non-Hermitian two-level system

The diabolic crossing scenario of two-state quantum systems can be generalized to a non-Hermitian case as well as to a nonlinear one. In the non-Hermitian case two different crossing types appear, distinguished according to the crossing or anticrossing of real parts or imaginary parts of the eigenvalues. In the nonlinear case additional stationary states can emerge, leading to looped structures in the eigenvalues. Here we discuss the basic properties of the most general situation, the combined nonlinear and non-Hermitian system. It is shown that the eigenvalues and eigenstates can be achieved from the real roots of a quartic equation. The corresponding crossing scenario is quite intricate and can be understood as a hybrid of the ones for the nonlinear Hermitian and the linear non-Hermitian systems. In addition, the implications of combined nonlinearity and non-Hermiticity on the system dynamics is studied in terms of a generalized Landau—Zener probability.     

Non-Hermitian topological Anderson insulators

Non-Hermitian systems can exhibit exotic topological and localization properties.Here we elucidate the non-Hermitian effects on disordered topological systems using a nonreciprocal disordered Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model.We show that the non-Hermiticity can enhance the topological phase against disorders by increasing bulk gaps.Moreover,we uncover a topological phase which emerges under both moderate non-Hermiticity and disorders,and is characterized by localized insulating bulk states with a disorder-averaged winding number and zero-energy edge modes.Such topological phases induced by the combination of non-Hermiticity and disorders are dubbed non-Hermitian topological Anderson insulators.We reveal that the system has unique non-monotonous localization behavior and the topological transition is accompanied by an Anderson transition.These properties are general in other non-Hermitian models.     

Topological properties of non-Hermitian Creutz ladders

We study topological properties of the one-dimensional Creutz ladder model with different non-Hermitian asymmetric hoppings and on-site imaginary potentials,and obtain phase diagrams regarding the presence and absence of an energy gap and in-gap edge modes.The non-Hermitian skin effect(NHSE),which is known to break the bulk-boundary correspondence(BBC),emerges in the system only when the non-Hermiticity induces certain unbalanced non-reciprocity along the ladder.The topological properties of the model are found to be more sophisticated than that of its Hermitian counterpart,whether with or without the NHSE.In one scenario without the NHSE,the topological winding is found to exist in a two-dimensional plane embedded in a four-dimensional space of the complex Hamiltonian vector.The NHSE itself also possesses some unusual behaviors in this system,including a high spectral winding without the presence of long-range hoppings,and a competition between two types of the NHSE,with the same and opposite inverse localization lengths for the two bands,respectively.Furthermore,it is found that the NHSE in this model does not always break the conventional BBC,which is also associated with whether the band gap closes at exceptional points under the periodic boundary condition.     

Non-Hermitian Kitaev chain with complex periodic and quasiperiodic potentials

We study the topological properties of the one-dimensional non-Hermitian Kitaev model with complex either periodic or quasiperiodic potentials. We obtain the energy spectrum and the phase diagrams of the system by using the transfer matrix method as well as the topological invariant. The phase transition points are given analytically. The Majorana zero modes in the topological nontrivial regimes are obtained. Focusing on the quasiperiodic potential, we obtain the phase transition from the topological superconducting phase to the Anderson localization, which is accompanied with the Anderson localization–delocalization transition in this non-Hermitian system. We also find that the topological regime can be reduced by increasing the non-Hermiticity.     

Topology of a parity-time symmetric non-Hermitian rhombic lattice

We investigate the topological properties of a trimerized parity–time(PT)symmetric non-Hermitian rhombic lattice.Although the system is PT-symmetric,the topology is not inherited from the Hermitian lattice;in contrast,the topology can be altered by the non-Hermiticity and depends on the couplings between the sublattices.The bulk–boundary correspondence is valid and the Bloch bulk captures the band topology.Topological edge states present in the two band gaps and are predicted from the global Zak phase obtained through the Wilson loop approach.In addition,the anomalous edge states compactly localize within two diamond plaquettes at the boundaries when all bands are flat at the exceptional point of the lattice.Our findings reveal the topological properties of the??PT-symmetric non-Hermitian rhombic lattice and shed light on the investigation of multi-band non-Hermitian topological phases.     

Quantum Dynamics in Noisy Backgrounds: from Sampling to Dissipation and Fluctuations

We investigate the dynamics of a quantum system coupled linearly to Gaussian white noise using functional methods. By performing the integration over the noisy field in the evolution operator, we get an equivalent non-Hermitian Hamiltonian, which evolves the quantum state with a dissipative dynamics. We also show that if the integration over the noisy field is done for the time evolution of the density matrix, a gain contribution from the fluctuations can be accessed in addition to the loss one from the non-hermitian Hamiltonian dynamics. We illustrate our study by computing analytically the effective non-Hermitian Hamiltonian, which we found to be the complex frequency harmonic oscillator, with a known evolution operator. It leads to space and time localisation, a common feature of noisy quantum systems in general applications.     

Quantum Entanglement in a Non-Hermitian One-axis Twisting Hamiltonian

We investigate the entanglement dynamics in a non-Hermitian one-axis twisting Hamiltonian. Especially, we focus on the dependence of quantum entanglement on the non-Hermitian term. Its shown that the non-Hermitian term play an important role in the process of generating quantum entanglement and the more entanglement can be achieved by enhancing the non-Hermitian term.     

Matrix Algebras in Non-Hermitian Quantum Mechanics

In principle, non-Hermitian quantum equations of motion can be formulated using as a starting point either the Heisenberg's or the Schrödinger's picture of quantum dynamics. Here it is shown in both cases how to map the algebra of commutators, defining the time evolution in terms of a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian, onto a non-Hamiltonian algebra with a Hermitian Hamiltonian. The logic behind such a derivation is reversible, so that any Hermitian Hamiltonian can be used in the formulation of non-Hermitian dynamics through a suitable algebra of generalized (non-Hamiltonian) commutators.
These results provide a general structure (a template) for non-Hermitian equations of motion to be used in the computer simulation of open quantum systems dynamics.     

Effect of Environment on the Scattering of Electrons by a Junction of Different Topological Materials

The studies of electron transport through a junction of topological materials in the literature so far ignore the coupling of a topological material to its surrounding environment. Here, the dynamics of an open system through a stochastic Hamiltonian are simulated to investigate the influence of the environment on the scattering of electrons by a junction of different topological materials, such as a Dirac–Weyl magnetic junction and a topological insulator. It is found that, although the detrimental effect of the environment is inevitable, the Landauer conductance can be enhanced via adjusting the system–environment coupling strength. This result supplies the possibilty of changing the transport feature of topological materials by modulating the surrounded environment. It is also demonstrated that a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian can be used to replace the stochastic Hamiltonian for this study, when the system and the environment coupling are weak.     

Mobility edges and reentrant localization in one-dimensional dimerized non-Hermitian quasiperiodic lattice

The mobility edges and reentrant localization transitions are studied in one-dimensional dimerized lattice with nonHermitian either uniform or staggered quasiperiodic potentials.We find that the non-Hermitian uniform quasiperiodic disorder can induce an intermediate phase where the extended states coexist with the localized ones,which implies that the system has mobility edges.The localization transition is accompanied by the PT symmetry breaking transition.While if the non-Hermitian quasiperiodic disorder is staggered,we demonstrate the existence of multiple intermediate phases and multiple reentrant localization transitions based on the finite size scaling analysis.Interestingly,some already localized states will become extended states and can also be localized again for certain non-Hermitian parameters.The reentrant localization transitions are associated with the intermediate phases hosting mobility edges.Besides,we also find that the non-Hermiticity can break the reentrant localization transition where only one intermediate phase survives.More detailed information about the mobility edges and reentrant localization transitions are presented by analyzing the eigenenergy spectrum,inverse participation ratio,and normalized participation ratio.     

Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model with imaginary gauge field

We consider Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) model in the presence of an imaginary gauge field. This model is non-Hermitian and has chiral symmetry. We investigate the influence of non-Hermiticity parameter on topologically trivial and nontrivial phases. We find topological edge states with real energy spectrum and obtain the topological invariant of the system.     

Quantum coherence and correlation dynamics of two-qubit system in spin bath environment

The quantum entanglement,discord,and coherence dynamics of two spins in the model of a spin coupled to a spin bath through an intermediate spin are studied.The effects of the important physical parameters including the coupling strength of two spins,the interaction strength between the intermediate spin and the spin bath,the number of bath spins and the temperature of the system on quantum coherence and correlation dynamics are discussed in different cases.The frozen quantum discord can be observed whereas coherence does not when the initial state is the Bell-diagonal state.At finite temperature,we find that coherence is more robust than quantum discord,which is better than entanglement,in terms of resisting the influence of environment.Therefore,quantum coherence is more tenacious than quantum correlation as an important resource.     

New application of non-Hermitian Hamiltonian operator in solving master equation for laser process

We find that laser process can be equivalently described by a symplectic evolution in the context of thermo field dynamics, and the corresponding coherent state evolution for the corresponding master equation is recognized. More interestingly, this embodies a new application of non-Hermitian Hamiltonian operator which can well expose the entanglement between the system and its environment.     

Dissipative dynamics of an entangled three-qubit system via non-Hermitian Hamiltonian: Its correspondence with Markovian and non-Markovian regimes

We investigate an entangled three-qubit system in which only one of the qubits experiences the decoherence effect by considering a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian,while the other two qubits are isolated,i.e.,do not interact with environment,directly.Then,the time evolution of the density matrix(for the pure as well as mixed initial density matrix)and the corresponding reduced density matrices are obtained,by which we are able to utilize the dissipative non-Hermitian Hamiltonian model with Markovian and non-Markovian regimes via adjusting the strange of the non-Hermitian term of the total Hamiltonian of the under-considered system.     

On the Relation between a Non-Hermitian Hamiltonian and a Stochastic Differential Equation in the Theory of Open Systems

Optics and Spectroscopy - We show that a number of particle decay problems, which are described by the non-Hermitian Hamiltonian (correspondingly, the nonunitary dynamics is spoken of), can be...     

Non-Markovian entanglement dynamics of two spin-1/2 particles embedded in two separate spin star baths with tunable external magnetic fields

The exact entanglement dynamics of two spin qubits in two independent spin star baths via a Heisenberg XY interaction in the thermodynamic limit has been investigated by using an operator technique. After the Holstein-Primakoff transformation, the transformed Hamiltonian is effectively equivalent to the Hamiltonian of a Jaynes-Cummings model. The results show that the dynamics of the entanglement exhibits strong non-Markovian behavior and depends on the environmental temperature, the coupling strength between the center spin and the bath, the detuning controlled by a locally applied external magnetic field, as well as the initial state of the two qubits.     

Topological Phase Transition of Non-Hermitian Crosslinked Chain

The contents of topological classification of matter are enriched by non-Hermiticity, such as exceptional points, bulk-edge correspondence, and skin effects. Physically, gain and loss can be introduced by imaginary on-site potentials of lattice Hamiltonians, and the topological phase transition for a cross-linked chain in the presence of such non-Hermiticity is investigated. The topological phase diagram in terms of a winding number is obtained analytically with phase boundaries coinciding with the surfaces of exceptional points. The topologically original edge states with distribution mainly at the joints between domains of different phases are protected even for long chains. The non-Hermitian topological feature can also be reflected by vortex structures in the vector fields of complex eigenenergies, expected values of Pauli matrices, and trajectories of these quantities. This model may be implemented in coupled photonic crystals, fermions trapped in optical lattice, or non-Hermitian electrical-circuit lattices, and the edge states are immune to various kinds of disorders until topological phase transition occurs. This work gives insight into the influence of non-Hermiticity on topological phase of matter.     

Entanglement Dynamics of Two Coupled Spins in a Spin Star Environment

We theoretically study the entanglement dynamics of two coupled spins in a spin star environment, whose elements are coupled to local bosonic baths. It is shown that the dynamics of the entanglement depends on the initial state of the system and the coupling strength between the two coupled central spins, the interactions between the central system and the environment, as well as interactions between the bath spin and the reservoir. We also investigate the effect of non-Markovian dynamics in contrast with the Markovian case. It is found that the non-Markovian dynamics has a significant effect on the disentanglement between the two central spins.