Quasi-particles described by Green's functions of equilibrium systems exhibit non-Hermitian topological phenomena because of their finite lifetime. This non-Hermitian perspective on equilibrium systems provides new insights into correlated systems and attracts much interest because of its potential to solve open questions in correlated compounds. In this paper, we provide a concise review of the non-Hermitian topological band structures for quantum many-body systems in equilibrium as well as their classification.
Recently, the field of strongly correlated electrons has begun an intense search for a correlation induced topological insulating phase. An example is the quadratic band touching point which arises in a checkerboard lattice at half-filling, and in the presence of interactions gives rise to topological Mott insulators. In this work, we perform a mean-field theory computation to show that such a system shows instability to topological insulating phases even away from half-filling (chemical potential $μ= 0 $). The interaction parameters consist of on-site repulsion ($ U $), nearest-neighbour repu…
Degeneracy (exceptional) points embedded in energy band are distinct by their topological features. We report different hybrid two-state coalescences (EP2s) formed through merging two EP2s with opposite chiralities that created from the type III Dirac points emerging from a flat band. The band touching hybrid EP2, which is isolated, is induced by the destructive interference at the proper match between non-Hermiticity and synthetic magnetic flux. The degeneracy points and different types of exceptional points are distinguishable by their topological features of global geometric phase associate…
Non-Hermtian (NH) Hamiltonians effectively describing the physics of dissipative systems have become an important tool with applications ranging from classical meta-materials to quantum many-body systems. Exceptional points, the NH counterpart of spectral degeneracies, are among the paramount phenomena unique to the NH realm. While realizations of second-order exceptional points have been reported in a variety of microscopic models, higher-order ones have largely remained elusive in the many-body context, as they in general require fine tuning in high-dimensional parameter spaces. Here, we pro…
Emergence of exceptional points in two dimensions is one of the remarkable phenomena in non-Hermitian systems. We here elucidate the impacts of symmetry on the non-Hermitian physics. Specifically, we analyze chiral symmetric correlated systems in equilibrium where the non-Hermitian phenomena are induced by the finite lifetime of quasi-particles. Intriguingly, our analysis reveals that the combination of symmetry and non-Hermiticity results in novel topological degeneracies of energy bands which we call symmetry-protected exceptional rings (SPERs). We observe the emergence of SPERs by analyzing…
We analyze a diamond-lattice Hubbard model with the spatially modulated Hubbard interaction. Our dynamical mean-field analysis with special emphasis on non-Hermitian properties elucidates that the gapless nodal line changes into symmetry-protected exceptional torus (SPET) at the Fermi level enclosing the three-dimensional open Fermi surface, which is unique to non-Hermitian physics with chiral symmetry. Furthermore, we also elucidate the effects of the SPETs on the magnetic response; our results based on the random-phase approximation combined with the the dynamical mean-field theory shows tha…
General Construction from Topological Loop States to Topological Invariants in Exactly Flat Bands
Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics and Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院物理研究所）；University of Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院大学）；New Cornerstone Science Laboratory（新 cornerstone 科学实验室）
Correlated materials have appeared as an arena to study non-Hermitian effects as typically exemplified by the emergence of exceptional points. We show here that topological Kondo insulators are an ideal platform for studying these phenomena due to strong correlations and surface states exhibiting a nontrivial spin texture. Using numerical simulations, we demonstrate the emergence of exceptional points in the single-particle Green's function on the surface of the material while the bulk is still insulating. We reveal how quasiparticle states with long lifetimes are created on the surface by non…
Twisted bilayer graphene (TBG) near "magic angles" has emerged as a rich platform for strongly correlated states of two-dimensional Dirac semimetals. Here we show that twisted bilayers of thin-film magnetic topological insulators (MTI) with large in-plane magnetization can realize flat bands near 2D Dirac nodes. Using a simple model for thin films of MTIs, we derive a continuum model for two such MTIs, twisted by a small angle with respect to each other. When the magnetization is in-plane, we show that interlayer tunneling terms act as effective $SU(2)$ vector potentials, which are known to le…
We study two models of correlated bond- and site-disorder on the kagome lattice considering both translationally invariant and completely disordered systems. The models are shown to exhibit a perfectly flat ground state band in the presence of disorder for which we provide exact analytic solutions. Whereas in one model the flat band remains gapped and touches the dispersive band, the other model has a finite gap, demonstrating that the band touching is not protected by topology alone. Our model also displays fully saturated ferromagnetic groundstates in the presence of repulsive interactions, …
We analyze a two-dimensional Kondo lattice model with special emphasis on non-Hermitian properties of the single-particle spectrum, following a recent proposal by Kozii and Fu. Our analysis based on the dynamical mean-field theory elucidates that the single-particle spectral weight shows the exceptional points (EPs). Correspondingly, the spectral weight exhibits the band touching, resulting in a structure similar to the "Fermi arc". Furthermore, we find an intriguing phenomenon arising from the periodicity of the lattice. The EPs generated by two distinct Dirac points merge and change into a h…
We analyze a zero-dimensional correlated system with special emphasis on the non-Hermitian point-gap topology protected by chiral symmetry. Our analysis elucidates that correlations destroy an exceptional point on a topological transition point which separates two topological phases in the non-interacting case; one of them is characterized by the zero-th Chern number $N_{0\mathrm{Ch}}=0$, and the other is characterized by $N_{0\mathrm{Ch}}=2$. This fact implies that correlations allow to continuously connect the two distinct topological phases in the non-interacting case without closing the po…
We propose a two-dimensional non-Hermitian Chern insulator with inversion symmetry, which is anisotropic and has staggered gain and loss in both x and y directions. In this system, conventional bulk-boundary correspondence holds. The Chern number is a topological invariant that accurately predicts the topological phase transition and the existence of helical edge states in the topologically nontrivial gapped phase. In the gapless phase, the band touching points are isolated and protected by the symmetry. The degenerate points alter the system topology, and the exceptional points can destroy th…
Spontaneous magnon decay is a generic feature of the magnetic excitations of anisotropic magnets and isotropic magnets with non-collinear order. In this paper, we argue that the effect of interactions on one-magnon states can, under many circumstances, be treated in terms of an effective, energy independent, non-Hermitian Hamiltonian for the magnons. In the vicinity of Dirac or Weyl touching points, we show that the spectral function has a characteristic anisotropy arising from topologically protected exceptional points or lines in the non-Hermitian spectrum. Such features can, in principle, b…
A quasiparticle pattern advanced in Landau's first article on Fermi liquid theory is adapted to elucidate the properties of a class of strongly correlated Fermi systems characterized by a Lifshitz phase diagram featuring a quantum critical point (QCP) where the density of states diverges. The necessary condition for stability of the Landau Fermi Liquid state is shown to break down in such systems, triggering a cascade of topological phase transitions that lead, without symmetry violation, to states with multi-connected Fermi surfaces. The end point of this evolution is found to be an exception…
In quantum materials, electrons that have strong correlations tend to localize, leading to quantum spins as the building blocks for low-energy physics. When strongly correlated electrons coexist with more weakly-correlated conduction electrons, multiple channels of effective interactions develop and compete with each other. The competition creates quantum fluctuations having a large spectral weight, with the associated entropies reaching significant fractions of $R\ln 2$ per electron. Advancing a framework to understand how the fluctuating local moments influence unconventional superconductivi…
The semiclassical description of two-dimensional ($2d$) metals based on the quasiparticle picture suggests that there is a universal threshold of the resistivity: the resistivity of a $2d$ metal is bounded by the so called Mott-Ioffe-Regal (MIR) limit, which is at the order of $h/e^2$. If a system remains metallic while its resistivity is beyond the MIR limit, it is referred to as a "bad metal", which challenges our theoretical understanding as the very notion of quasiparticles is invalidated. The description of the system becomes even more challenging when there is also strong correlation bet…
Non-Hermiticity greatly expands existing physical laws beyond the Hermitian framework, revealing various novel phenomena with unique properties. Up to now, most exotic nonHermitian effects, such as exceptional points and non-Hermitian skin effects, are discovered in single-particle systems. The interplay between non-Hermitian and manybody correlation is expected to be a more fascinating but much less explored area. Due to the complexity of the problem, current researches in this field mainly stay at the theoretical level. The experimental observation of predicted non-Hermitian manybody phases …
Recent progress in neutron spin-echo spectroscopy by means of longitudinal Modulation of IntEnsity with Zero Effort (MIEZE) is reviewed. Key technical characteristics are summarized which highlight that the parameter range accessible in momentum and energy, as well as its limitations, are extremely well understood and controlled. Typical experimental data comprising quasi-elastic and inelastic scattering are presented, featuring magneto-elastic coupling and crystal field excitations in Ho2Ti2O7, the skyrmion lattice to paramagnetic transition under applied magnetic field in MnSi, ferromagnetic…
Superconductivity often occurs close to broken-symmetry parent states and is especially common in doped magnetic insulators. When twisted close to a magic relative orientation angle near 1 degree, bilayer graphene has flat moire superlattice minibands that have emerged as a rich and highly tunable source of strong correlation physics, notably the appearance of superconductivity close to interaction-induced insulating states. Here we report on the fabrication of bilayer graphene devices with exceptionally uniform twist angles. We show that the reduction in twist angle disorder reveals insulatin…
Topological semimetals are a new class of metallic materials, which exist at band fillings that ordinarily correspond to insulators or compensated accidental semimetals with zero Luttinger volume. Their metallicity is a result of nontrivial topology in momentum space and crystal symmetry, wherein topological charges may be assigned to point band-touching nodes, preventing gap opening, unless protecting crystal symmetries are violated. These topological charges, however, are defined from noninteracting band eigenstates, which raises the possibility that the physics of topological semimetals may…
Local configurational disorder can have a dominating role in the formation of macroscopic functional responses in strongly correlated materials. Here, we use entropy-stabilization synthesis to create single crystal epitaxial ABO3 perovskite thin films with equal atomic concentration of 3d transition metal cations on the B-site sublattice. X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, and scanning transmission electron microscopy of La(Cr0.2Mn0.2Fe0.2Co0.2Ni0.2)O3 (L5BO) films demonstrate excellent crystallinity, smooth film surfaces, and uniform mixing of the 3d transition metal cations througho…
We find that heavy fermion systems can have bulk "Fermi arcs", with the use of the non-Hermitian topological theory. In an interacting electron system, the microscopic many-body Hamiltonian is Hermitian, but the one-body quasiparticle Hamiltonian is non-Hermitian due to the finite quasiparticle lifetime. We focus on heavy electron systems as a stage of finite lifetime quasiparticles with two lifetimes, since quasiparticle lifetimes for f-electrons and c-electrons should be different. Two lifetimes induce exceptional points (EPs) of the non-Hermitian quasiparticle Hamiltonian matrix in momentum…
