No Arabic abstract
We classify topological defects in non-Hermitian systems with point gap, real gap and imaginary gap for all the Bernard-LeClair classes or generalized Bernard-LeClair classes in all dimensions. The defect Hamiltonian $H(bf{k}, {bf r})$ is described by a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian with spatially modulated adiabatical parameter ${bf r}$ surrounding the defect. While the non-Hermitian system with point gap belongs to any of 38 symmetry classes (Bernard-LeClair classes), for non-Hermitian systems with line-like gap we get 54 non-equivalent generalized Bernard-LeClair classes as a natural generalization of point gap classes. Although the classification of defects in Hermitian systems has been explored in the context of standard ten-fold Altland-Zirnbauer symmetry classes, a complete understanding of the role of the general non-Hermitian symmetries on the topological defects and their associated classification are still lacking. By continuous transformation and homeomorphic mapping, these non-Hermitian defect systems can be mapped to topologically equivalent Hermitian systems with associated symmetries, and we get the topological classification by classifying the corresponding Hermitian Hamiltonians. We discuss some non-trivial classes with point gap according to our classification table, and give explicitly the topological invariants for these classes. We also study some lattice or continuous models and discuss the correspondence between the topological number and zero modes at the topological defect.
The hallmark of symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases is the existence of anomalous boundary states, which can only be realized with the corresponding bulk system. In this work, we show that for every Hermitian anomalous boundary mode of the ten Altland-Zirnbauer classes, a non-Hermitian counterpart can be constructed, whose long time dynamics provides a realization of the anomalous boundary state. We prove that the non-Hermitian counterpart is characterized by a point-gap topological invariant, and furthermore, that the invariant exactly matches that of the corresponding Hermitian anomalous boundary mode. We thus establish a correspondence between the topological classifications of $(d+1)$-dimensional gapped Hermitian systems and $d$-dimensional point-gapped non-Hermitian systems. We illustrate this general result with a number of examples in different dimensions. This work provides a new perspective on point-gap topological invariants in non-Hermitian systems.
We classify topological phases of non-Hermitian systems in the Altland-Zirnbauer classes with an additional reflection symmetry in all dimensions. By mapping the non-Hermitian system into an enlarged Hermitian Hamiltonian with an enforced chiral symmetry, our topological classification is thus equivalent to classifying Hermitian systems with both chiral and reflection symmetries, which effectively change the classifying space and shift the periodical table of topological phases. According to our classification tables, we provide concrete examples for all topologically nontrivial non-Hermitian classes in one dimension and also give explicitly the topological invariant for each nontrivial example. Our results show that there exist two kinds of topological invariants composed of either winding numbers or $mathbb{Z}_2$ numbers. By studying the corresponding lattice models under the open boundary condition, we unveil the existence of bulk-edge correspondence for the one-dimensional topological non-Hermitian systems characterized by winding numbers, however we did not observe the bulk-edge correspondence for the $mathbb{Z}_2$ topological number in our studied $mathbb{Z}_2$-type model.
Greens function in non-Hermitian systems has recently been revealed to be capable of directional amplification in some cases. The exact formulas for end-to-end Greens functions are significantly important for both studies of non-Hermitian systems and their applications. In this work, based on the Widoms formula, we derive exact formulas for the end-to-end Greens functions which depend on the roots of a simple algebraic equation. These exact formulas allow direct and accurate comparisons between theoretical results and experimentally measured quantities. In addition, we verify the prior established integral formula in the bulk region to agree with the result in our framework.
For ordinary hermitian Hamiltonians, the states show the Kramers degeneracy when the system has a half-odd-integer spin and the time reversal operator obeys Theta^2=-1, but no such a degeneracy exists when Theta^2=+1. Here we point out that for non-hermitian systems, there exists a degeneracy similar to Kramers even when Theta^2=+1. It is found that the new degeneracy follows from the mathematical structure of split-quaternion, instead of quaternion from which the Kramers degeneracy follows in the usual hermitian cases. Furthermore, we also show that particle/hole symmetry gives rise to a pair of states with opposite energies on the basis of the split quaternion in a class of non-hermitian Hamiltonians. As concrete examples, we examine in detail NxN Hamiltonians with N=2 and 4 which are non-hermitian generalizations of spin 1/2 Hamiltonian and quadrupole Hamiltonian of spin 3/2, respectively.
Topological stability of the edge states is investigated for non-Hermitian systems. We examine two classes of non-Hermitian Hamiltonians supporting real bulk eigenenergies in weak non-Hermiticity: SU(1,1) and SO(3,2) Hamiltonians. As an SU(1,1) Hamiltonian, the tight-binding model on the honeycomb lattice with imaginary on-site potentials is examined. Edge states with ReE=0 and their topological stability are discussed by the winding number and the index theorem, based on the pseudo-anti-Hermiticity of the system. As a higher symmetric generalization of SU(1,1) Hamiltonians, we also consider SO(3,2) models. We investigate non-Hermitian generalization of the Luttinger Hamiltonian on the square lattice, and that of the Kane-Mele model on the honeycomb lattice, respectively. Using the generalized Kramers theorem for the time-reversal operator Theta with Theta^2=+1 [M. Sato et al., arXiv:1106.1806], we introduce a time-reversal invariant Chern number from which topological stability of gapless edge modes is argued.