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arXiv · 2112.15024

Simulating non-Hermitian quasicrystals with single-photon quantum walks

Quan Lin·Tianyu Li·Lei Xiao·Kunkun Wang·Wei Yi·Peng Xue
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Abstract

Non-Hermiticity significantly enriches the properties of topological models, leading to exotic features such as the non-Hermitian skin effects and non-Bloch bulk-boundary correspondence that have no counterparts in Hermitian settings. Its impact is particularly illustrating in non-Hermitian quasicrystals where the interplay between non-Hermiticity and quasiperiodicity results in the concurrence of the delocalization-localization transition, the parity-time (PT)-symmetry breaking, and the onset of the non-Hermitian skin effects. Here we experimentally simulate non-Hermitian quasicrystals using photonic quantum walks. Using dynamic observables, we demonstrate that the system can transit from a delocalized, PT-symmetry broken phase that features non-Hermitian skin effects, to a localized, PT-symmetry unbroken phase with no non-Hermitian skin effects. The measured critical point is consistent with the theoretical prediction through a spectral winding number, confirming the topological origin of the phase transition. Our work opens the avenue of investigating the interplay of non-Hermiticity, quasiperiodicity, and spectral topology in open quantum systems.

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Quan Lin, Tianyu Li, Lei Xiao, Kunkun Wang, Wei Yi, Peng Xue. 2021-12-30. Simulating non-Hermitian quasicrystals with single-photon quantum walks. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.129.113601

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