Savannah Garmon

Analysis Technique for Exceptional Points in Open Quantum Systems and QPT Analogy for the Appearance of Irreversibility

We propose an analysis technique for the exceptional points (EPs) occurring in the discrete spectrum of open quantum systems (OQS), using a semi-infinite chain coupled to an endpoint impurity as a prototype. We outline our method to locate the EPs in OQS, further obtaining an eigenvalue expansion in the vicinity of the EPs that gives rise to characteristic exponents. We also report the precise number of EPs occurring in an OQS with a continuum described by a quadratic dispersion curve. In particular, the number of EPs occurring in a bare discrete Hamiltonian of dimension nD is given by nD(nD−1); if this discrete Hamiltonian is then coupled to continuum (or continua) to form an OQS, the interaction with the continuum generally produces an enlarged discrete solution space that includes a greater number of EPs, specifically

Bound states, scattering states, and resonant states inPT-symmetric open quantum systems

2^{n_{\mathrm{C}}} (n_{\mathrm{C}} + n_{\mathrm{D}} ) [ 2^{n_{\mathrm{C}}} (n_{\mathrm{C}} + n_{\mathrm{D}} ) - 1]

Landau-Zener transitions mediated by an environment: Population transfer and energy dissipation

, in which nC is the number of (non-degenerate) continua to which the discrete sector is attached. Finally, we offer a heuristic quantum phase transition analogy for the emergence of the resonance (giving rise to irreversibility via exponential decay) in which the decay width plays the role of the order parameter; the associated critical exponent is then determined by the above eigenvalue expansion.

Fano resonances and entanglement entropy

We study a simple open quantum system with a PT-symmetric defect potential as a prototype to illustrate general features of PT-symmetric open quantum systems; however, the potential could be mimicked by a number of recent PT experiments. One key feature is the resonance in continuum (RIC), which appears in both the discrete spectrum and scattering spectrum. The RIC forms a standing wave extending throughout the spatial extent of the system, representing a resonance between the open environment and the central PT-symmetric potential. We illustrate that as one deforms the system parameters, the RIC may exit the continuum by splitting into a bound state and a virtual bound state at the band edge, a process that should be experimentally observable. We also study the exceptional points (EPs) at which two eigenvalues coalesce; we categorize these as either EP2As, at which two real-valued solutions coalesce before becoming complex-valued, or EP2Bs, for which the two solutions are complex on either side of the EP. The EP2As are associated with PT-symmetry breaking; we argue that these are more stable against parameter perturbation than the EP2Bs. We also study complex-valued solutions of the discrete spectrum for which the wave function is nevertheless spatially localized, something not allowed in traditional open quantum systems; we illustrate that these may form quasi-bound states in continuum (QBICs) under some circumstances. We also study the scattering properties of the system, including states that support invisible propagation and some general features of perfect transmission states. We finally construct scattering states that satisfy PT-symmetric boundary conditions; while these states do not conserve the traditional probability current, we introduce the PT-current that is preserved. The perfect transmission states appear as a special case of the PT-symmetric scattering states.

Higher-order time-symmetry-breaking phase transition due to meeting of an exceptional point and a Fano resonance

We study Landau-Zener transitions between two states with the addition of a shared discretized continuum. The continuum allows for population decay from the initial state as well as indirect transitions between the two states. The probability of nonadiabatic transition in this multichannel model preserves the standard Landau-Zener functional form except for a shift in the usual exponential factor, reflecting population transfer into the continuum. We provide an intuitive explanation for this behavior assuming individual, independent transitions between pairs of states. In contrast, the ground state survival probability at long time shows a novel, non-monotonic, functional form with an oscillatory behavior in the sweep rate at low sweep rate values. We contrast the behavior of this open-multistate model to other generalized Landau-Zener models incorporating an environment: the stochastic Landau-Zener model and the dissipative case, where energy dissipation and thermal excitations affect the adiabatic region. Finally, we present evidence that the continuum of states may act to shield the two-state Landau-Zener transition probability from the effect of noise.

Fano absorption spectrum with the complex spectral analysis

We study the entanglement in the ground state of a chain of free spinless fermions with a single side-coupled impurity. We find a logarithmic scaling for the entanglement entropy of a segment neighboring the impurity. The prefactor of the logarithm varies continuously and contains an impurity contribution described by a one-parameter function while the contribution of the unmodified boundary enters additively. The coefficient is found explicitly by pointing out similarities with other models involving interface defects. The proposed formula gives excellent agreement with our numerical data. If the segment has an open boundary, one finds a rapidly oscillating subleading term in the entropy that persists in the limit of large block sizes. The particle-number fluctuation inside the subsystem is also reported. It is analogous with the expression for the entropy scaling, however, with a simpler functional form for the coefficient.

Exact description of coalescing eigenstates in open quantum systems in terms of microscopic Hamiltonian dynamics

We have theoretically investigated the time-symmetry breaking phase transition process for two discrete states coupled with a one-dimensional continuum by solving the nonlinear eigenvalue prob- lem for the effective Hamiltonian associated with the discrete spectrum. We obtain the effective Hamiltonian with use of the Feshbach-Brillouin-Wigner projection method. Strong energy depen- dence of the self-energy appearing in the effective Hamiltonian plays a key role in the time-symmetry breaking phase transition: as a result of competition in the decay process between the Van Hove singularity and the Fano resonance, the phase transition becomes a higher-order transition when both the two discrete states are located near the continuum threshold.

Amplification of non-Markovian decay due to bound state absorption into continuum

A new aspect of understanding a Fano absorption spectrum is presented in terms of the complex spectral analysis. The absorption spectrum of an impurity embedded in semi-infinite superlattice is investigated. The boundary condition on the continuum causes a large energy dependence of the self-energy, enhances the nonlinearity of the eigenvalue problem of the effective Hamiltonian, yielding several nonanalytic resonance states. The overall spectral features is perfectly reproduced by the direct transitions to these discrete resonance states. Even with a single optical transition path the spectrum exhibits an asymmetric Fano profile, which is enhanced for the transition to the nonanalytic resonance states. Since this is the genuine eigenstates of the total Hamiltonian, there is no ambiguity in the interpretation of the absorption spectrum, avoiding the arbitrary interpretation based on the quantum interference. The spectral change around the exceptional point is well understood when we extract the resonant state component.

Density of states and quantum phase transition in the thermodynamic limit of the Mermin central-spin model

At the exceptional point where two eigenstates coalesce in open quantum systems, the usual diagonalization scheme breaks down and the Hamiltonian can only be reduced to the Jordan block form. Most of the studies on the exceptional point appearing in the literature introduce a phenomenological effective Hamiltonian that essentially reduces the problem to that of a finite non-Hermitian matrix for which it is straightforward to obtain the Jordan form. In this paper, we demonstrate how the microscopic total Hamiltonian of an open quantum system reduces to the Jordan block form at an exceptional point in an exact manner that treats the continuum without any approximation by extending the problem to include eigenstates with complex eigenvalues that reside outside the Hilbert space. Our method relies on the Brillouin-Wigner-Feshbach projection method according to which we can obtain a finite-dimensional effective Hamiltonian that shares the discrete sector of the spectrum with the total Hamiltonian. Because of t...