arXiv subjects

Henning Schomerus

Publications and source records attributed to Henning Schomerus.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Path Integral Approach to Quantum Fisher Information

We present a real-time path-integral formulation of the quantum Fisher information for dynamical parameter estimation. For pure states undergoing unitary evolution, we show that the quantum Fisher information can be expressed as a connected symmetrized covariance of a time-integrated action deformation, equivalently as an integrated insertion of $\partial_λS$ in the propagator. This reformulation avoids explicit state reconstruction by rewriting the quantum Fisher information in terms of real-time correlators that are natural targets for many-body methods. We further embed the construction into the Schwinger-Keldysh closed-time-path formalism, identifying the quantum Fisher information with the Keldysh component of an appropriate contour-ordered correlator generated by forward and backward propagating sources. Finally, using the Van Vleck-Gutzwiller approximation we re-derive the compact semiclassical quantum Fisher information expression, clarifying how classical trajectory data control leading-order metrological sensitivity.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Biorthogonal scattering and generalized unitarity in non-Hermitian systems

We investigate the two-port scattering process in non-Hermitian dimer models via quantum measurements using external leads. We focus on two exemplary dimer models that preserve parity-time symmetry via spatial gain-loss balance and exhibit non-reciprocity due to directional hopping. The scattering matrix is constructed using the biorthogonality of the left and right scattering states of the Hamiltonian, allowing us to calculate the reflection and transmission probabilities. Our analysis compares the reflection and transmission coefficients derived from the left, right, and combined scattering states, revealing that, unlike in Hermitian systems, the non-Hermitian scattering process does not adhere to unitarity when considering only the right scattering states. Furthermore, non-Hermitian scattering can enhance the reflection and transmission probabilities, with distinct physical contributions arising independently from complex eigenvalues and the non-orthogonality of eigenstates. Our results clarify how biorthogonality restores generalized unitarity and identify distinct physical origins of enhanced transport in PT-symmetric and non-reciprocal dimers, providing new insights into quantum transport in non-Hermitian systems.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2026

Semiclassical Approach to Quantum Fisher Information

Quantum sensors driven into the quantum chaotic regime can have dramatically enhanced sensitivity, which, however, depends intricately on the details of the underlying classical phase space. Here, we develop an accurate semiclassical approach that provides direct and efficient access to the phase-space-resolved quantum Fisher information (QFI), the central quantity that quantifies the ultimate achievable sensitivity. This approximation reveals, in very concrete terms, that the QFI is large whenever a specific dynamical quantity tied to the sensing parameter displays a large variance over the course of the corresponding classical time evolution. Applied to a paradigmatic system of quantum chaos, the kicked top, we show that the semiclassical description is accurate already for modest quantum numbers, i.e., deep in the quantum regime, and it extends seamlessly to very high quantum numbers that are beyond the reach of other methods.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Generalized Petermann factor of non-Hermitian systems at exceptional points

The nonorthogonality of modes in open systems significantly modifies their resonant response, resulting in quantitative and qualitative deviations from Breit-Wigner resonance relations. For isolated resonances with a Lorentzian lineshape, the deviations amount to an enhancement of the resonance linewidth by the Petermann factor (PF), given by the overlap of left and right eigenmodes of the underlying effectively non-Hermitian Hamiltonian. The PF diverges at exceptional points (EPs), where resonance frequencies degenerate, and right and left eigenmodes are orthogonal to each other. This divergence signifies a qualitative departure from a Lorentzian lineshape, which has gained recent attention. In this work, we extend this concept to EPs, and describe how this EP PF manifests in a variety of physical scenarios. Firstly, we identify this PF in physical terms as an enhancement of the response of a system to external or parametric perturbations. Utilizing two natural orthogonally projected reference systems based on the right and left eigenvectors, we show that each choice carries a precise geometric interpretation that naturally extends the notion of the PF for isolated resonances to EPs. The two choices can be combined into an overall EP PF, which again can be expressed in purely geometric terms. Secondly, we illuminate the geometric mechanisms that determine the size of the EP PF, by considering the role of modes participating in the degeneracy and those that remain spectrally separated. Thirdly, we design a system to study the EP PF in a specific physical setup, consisting of two microrings coupled to a waveguide with embedded semitransparent mirrors. This example shows our approach yields a more accurate spectral response strength than conventional truncation. These results complete the description of systems at EPs in the same way as the original PF does for isolated resonances.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2025

Exceptionally deficient topological square-root insulators

One of the most surprising features of effectively non-Hermitian physical systems is their potential to exhibit a striking nonlinear response and fragility to small perturbations. This feature arises from spectral singularities known as exceptional points, whose realization in the spectrum typically requires fine-tuning of parameters. The design of such systems receives significant impetus from the recent conception of \emph{exceptional deficiency}, in which the entire energy spectrum is composed of exceptional points. Here, we present a concrete and transparent mechanism that enforces exceptional deficiency through lattice sum rules in non-Hermitian topological square-root insulators. We identify the resulting dynamical signatures in static broadband amplification and non-Abelian adiabatic state amplification, differentiate between bulk and boundary effects, and outline routes to implementation in physical platforms

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2025

Fragmented exceptional points and their bulk and edge realizations in lattice models

Exceptional points (EPs) are spectral defects displayed by non-Hermitian systems in which multiple degenerate eigenvalues share a single eigenvector. This distinctive feature makes systems exhibiting EPs more sensitive to external perturbations than their Hermitian counterparts, where degeneracies are nondefective diabolic points. In contrast to these widely studied cases, more complex non-Hermitian degeneracies in which the eigenvectors are only partially degenerate are poorly understood. Here, we characterize these fragmented exceptional points (FEPs) systematically from a physical perspective, and demonstrate how they can be induced into the bulk and edge spectrum of two-dimensional and three-dimensional lattice models, exemplified by non-Hermitian versions of a Lieb lattice and a higher-order topological Dirac semimetal. The design of the systems is facilitated by an efficient algebraic approach within which we provide precise conditions for FEPs that can be evaluated directly from a given model Hamiltonian. The free design of FEPs significantly opens up a new frontier for non-Hermitian physics and expands the scope for designing systems with unconventional response characteristics.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Hierarchical analytical approach to universal spectral correlations in Brownian Quantum Chaos

We develop an analytical approach to the spectral form factor and out-of-time ordered correlators in zero-dimensional Brownian models of quantum chaos. The approach expresses these spectral correlations as part of a closed hierarchy of differential equations that can be formulated for all system sizes and in each of the three standard symmetry classes (unitary, orthogonal, and symplectic, as determined by the presence and nature of time-reversal symmetry). The hierarchy applies exactly, and in the same form, to Dyson's Brownian motion and all systems with stochastically emerging basis invariance, where the model-dependent information is subsumed in a single dynamical time scale whose explicit form we also establish. We further verify this universality numerically for the Brownian Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev model, for which we find perfect agreement with the analytical predictions of the symmetry class determined by the number of fermions. This results in a complete analytical description of the spectral correlations and allows us to identify which correlations are universal in a large class of models.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2025

Geometric contribution to adiabatic amplification in non-Hermitian systems

Concepts from non-Hermitian quantum mechanics have proven useful in understanding and manipulating a variety of classical systems, such as those encountered in optics, classical mechanics, and metamaterial design. Recently, the non-Hermitian analog of the Berry phase for adiabatic processes was experimentally measured. In non-Hermitian systems, the Berry phase can have an imaginary part, which contributes to the amplification or decay of the total wave intensity. When the imaginary part of the Berry curvature is zero, this geometric amplification factor is determined solely by the initial and final points of the adiabatic path in parameter space, and it does not depend on how these points are connected by the path. We list classes of non-Hermitian Hamiltonians where this path independence is guaranteed by suitable symmetries, and we find that, for some of these classes, the amplification factor can be written only in terms of the Petermann factors of the initial and final points. Our result can, in turn, be used to experimentally obtain the Petermann factor by observing how the norm of the wave function changes under adiabatic processes. We validate our theory using a couple of concrete examples of physical relevance.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Spectral chaos bounds from scaling theory of maximally efficient quantum-dynamical scrambling

A key conjecture about the evolution of complex quantum systems towards an ergodic steady state, known as scrambling, is that this process acquires universal features when it is most efficient. We develop a single-parameter scaling theory for the spectral statistics in this scenario, which embodies exact self-similarity of the spectral correlations along the complete scrambling dynamics. We establish that the scaling predictions are matched by a privileged stochastic process and serve as bounds for other dynamical scrambling scenarios, allowing one to quantify inefficient or incomplete scrambling on all time scales.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Uniform response theory of non-Hermitian systems: Non-Hermitian physics beyond the exceptional point

Non-Hermitian systems display remarkable response effects that reflect a variety of distinct spectral scenarios, such as exceptional points where the eigensystem becomes defective. However, present frameworks treat the different scenarios as separate cases, following the singular mathematical change between the spectral decompositions from one scenario to another. This not only complicates the coherent description near the spectral singularities where the response qualitatively changes, but also impedes the application to practical systems. Here we develop a general response theory of non-Hermitian systems that uniformly applies across all spectral scenarios. We unravel this response by formulating uniform expansions of the spectral quantization condition and Green's function, where both expansions exclusively involve directly calculable data from the Hamiltonian. This data smoothly varies with external parameters as spectral singularities are approached, and nevertheless captures the qualitative differences of the response in these scenarios. We furthermore present two direct applications of this framework. Firstly, we determine the precise conditions for spectral degeneracies of geometric multiplicity greater than unity, as well as the perturbative behavior around these cases. Secondly, we formulate a hierarchy of spectral response strengths that varies continuously across all parameter space, and thereby also reliably determines the response strength of exceptional points. Finally, we demonstrate both generally and in concrete examples that the previously inaccessible scenarios of higher geometric multiplicity result in unique variants of super-Lorentzian response. Our approach widens the scope of non-Hermitian response theory to capture all spectral scenarios on an equal and uniform footing.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Eigenvalue sensitivity from eigenstate geometry near and beyond arbitrary-order exceptional points

Systems with an effectively non-Hermitian Hamiltonian display an enhanced sensitivity to parametric and dynamic perturbations, which arises from the nonorthogonality of their eigenstates. This enhanced sensitivity can be quantified by the phase rigidity, which mathematically corresponds to the eigenvalue condition number, and physically also determines the Petermann factor of quantum noise theory. I derive an exact nonperturbative expression for this sensitivity measure that applies to arbitrary eigenvalue configurations. The expression separates spectral correlations from additional geometric data, and retains a simple asymptotic behaviour close to exceptional points (EPs) of any order, while capturing the role of additional states in the system. This reveals that such states can have a sizable effect even if they are spectrally well separated, and identifies the specific matrix whose elements determine this nonperturbative effect. The employed algebraic approach, which follows the eigenvectors-from-eigenvalues school of thought, also provides direct insights into the geometry of the states near an EP. For instance, it can be used to show that the phase rigidity follows a striking equipartition principle in the quasi-degenerate subspace of a system.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Renormalization approach to the analysis and design of Hermitian and non-Hermitian interfaces

I describe a concrete and efficient real-space renormalization approach that provides a unifying perspective on interface states in a wide class of Hermitian and non-Hermitian models, irrespective of whether they obey a traditional bulk-boundary principle or not. The emerging interface physics are governed by a flow of microscopic interface parameters, and the properties of interface states become linked to the fixed-point topology of this flow. In particular, the quantization condition of interface states converts identically into the question of the convergence to unstable fixed points. As its key merit, the approach can be directly applied to concrete models and utilized to design interfaces that induce states with desired properties, such as states with a predetermined and possibly symmetry-breaking energy. I develop the approach in general, and then demonstrate these features in various settings, including for the design of circular, triangular and square-shaped complex dispersion bands and associated arcs at the edge of a two-dimensional system. Furthermore, I describe how this approach transfers to nonlinear settings, and demonstrate the efficiency, practicability and consistency of this extension for a paradigmatic model of topological mode selection by distributed saturable gain and loss.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2023

Flux-induced midgap states between strain-engineered flat bands

Half-integer quantized flux vortices appear in honeycomb lattices when the signs of an odd number of couplings around a plaquette are inverted. We show that states trapped at these vortices can be isolated by applying inhomogeneous strain to the system. A vortex then results in localized mid-gap states lying between the strain-induced pseudo-Landau levels, with $2n+1$ midgap states appearing between the $n$th and the $n+1$st level. These states are well-defined spectrally isolated and spatially localized excitations that could be realized in electronic and photonic systems based on graphene-like honeycomb lattices. In the context of Kitaev's honeycomb model of interacting spins, the mechanism improves the localization of non-Abelian anyons in the spin-liquid phase, and reduces their mutual interactions. The described states also serve as a testbed for fundamental physics in the emerging low-energy theory, as the correct energies and degeneracies of the excitations are only replicated if one accounts for the effective hyperbolic geometric induced by the strain. We further illuminate this by considering the effects of an additional external magnetic field, resulting in a characteristic spatial dependence that directly maps out the inhomogeneous metric of the emerging hyperbolic space.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2022

Fundamental constraints on the observability of non-Hermitian effects in passive systems

Utilizing scattering theory, we quantify the consequences of physical constraints that limit the visibility of non-Hermitian effects in passive devices. The constraints arise from the fundamental requirement that the system obeys causality, and can be captured concisely in terms of an internal time-delay operator, which furthermore provides a direct quantitative measure of the visibility of specific non-Hermitian phenomena in the density of states. We illustrate the implications by contrasting different symmetry classes and non-Hermitian effects, including exceptional points and the non-Hermitian skin effect, whose underlying extreme mode nonorthogonality turns out to be effectively disguised.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2022

Noisy monitored quantum dynamics of ergodic multi-qubit systems

I employ random-matrix methods to set up and solve statistical models of noisy nonunitary dynamics that appear in the context of monitored quantum systems. The models cover a range of scenarios combining random dynamics and measurements of variable strength of one or several qubits. The combined dynamics drive the system into states whose statistics reflect the competition of randomizing unitary evolution and the measurement-induced backaction collapsing the state. These effects are mediated by entanglement, as I describe in detail by analytical results. For the paradigmatic case of monitoring via a single designated qubit, this reveals a simple statistical mechanism, in which the monitoring conditions the state of the monitored qubit, which then imposes statistical constraints on the remaining quantities of the system. For the case of monitoring several qubits with prescribed strength, the developed formalism allows one to set up the statistical description and solve it numerically. Finally, I also compare the analytical results to the monitored dynamics of a quantum kicked top, revealing two regimes where the statistical model either describes the full stationary dynamics, or resolves time scales during particular parts of the evolution.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2022

Three-fold way of entanglement dynamics in monitored quantum circuits

We investigate the measurement-induced entanglement transition in quantum circuits built upon Dyson's three circular ensembles (circular unitary, orthogonal, and symplectic ensembles; CUE, COE and CSE). We utilise the established model of a one-dimensional circuit evolving under alternating local random unitary gates and projective measurements performed with tunable rate, which for gates drawn from the CUE is known to display a transition from extensive to intensive entanglement scaling as the measurement rate is increased. By contrasting this case to the COE and CSE, we obtain insights into the interplay between the local entanglement generation by the gates and the entanglement reduction by the measurements. For this, we combine exact analytical random-matrix results for the entanglement generated by the individual gates in the different ensembles, and numerical results for the complete quantum circuit. These considerations include an efficient rephrasing of the statistical entangling power in terms of a characteristic entanglement matrix capturing the essence of Cartan's KAK decomposition, and a general result for the eigenvalue statistics of antisymmetric matrices associated with the CSE.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2022

Roadmap on Topological Photonics

Topological photonics seeks to control the behaviour of the light through the design of protected topological modes in photonic structures. While this approach originated from studying the behaviour of electrons in solid-state materials, it has since blossomed into a field that is at the very forefront of the search for new topological types of matter. This can have real implications for future technologies by harnessing the robustness of topological photonics for applications in photonics devices. This Roadmap surveys some of the main emerging areas of research within topological photonics, with a special attention to questions in fundamental science, which photonics is in an ideal position to address. Each section provides an overview of the current and future challenges within a part of the field, highlighting the most exciting opportunities for future research and developments.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2021

Fock-space geometry and strong correlations in many-body localized systems

We adopt a geometric perspective on Fock space to provide two complementary insights into the eigenstates in many-body-localized fermionic systems. On the one hand, individual many-bodylocalized eigenstates are well approximated by a Slater determinant of single-particle orbitals. On the other hand, the orbitals of different eigenstates in a given system display a varying, and generally imperfect, degree of compatibility, as we quantify by a measure based on the projectors onto the corresponding single-particle subspaces. We study this incompatibility between states of fixed and differing particle number, as well as inside and outside the many-body-localized regime. This gives detailed insights into the emergence and strongly correlated nature of quasiparticle-like excitations in many-body localized systems, revealing intricate correlations between states of different particle number down to the level of individual realizations.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗