Non-Hermitian Renormalization Group from a Few-Body Perspective
The University of Tokyo（东京大学）；RIKEN Nishina Center（理化学研究所西村中心）；Quark Nuclear Science Institute, The University of Tokyo（东京大学夸克核科学研究所）；RIKEN Center for Interdisciplinary Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences (iTHEMS)（理化学研究所交叉理论与数学科学中心(iTHEMS)）；Institute for Physics of Intelligence, The University of Tokyo（东京大学智能物理研究所）；RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS)（理化学研究所涌现物质科学中心(CEMS)）
Non-Hermiticity plays a fundamental role in open quantum systems and describes a wide variety of effects of interactions with environments, including quantum measurement. However, understanding its consequences in strongly interacting systems is still elusive due to the interplay between non-perturbative strong correlations and non-Hermiticity. While the Wilsonian renormalization group (RG) method has been applied to tackle this problem, its foundation, based on the existence of the partition function, is ill-defined. In this paper, we establish a microscopic foundation of the non-Hermitian RG method from a few-body perspective. We show that the invariance of the scattering amplitude under RG transformations enables us to rigorously derive the non-Hermitian RG equation, giving a physically transparent interpretation of RG flows. We discuss a detailed structure of such RG flows in a non-relativistic two-body system with inelastic two-body loss, and show its relation to a non-Hermitian quantum scale anomaly. Our analysis suggests that non-Hermitian complex potentials often used in high-energy physics can be interpreted as being caused by quantum measurement, where the detection of elastically scattered particles updates the observer's knowledge, resulting in a nonunitary state change of the system. We apply our formalism to nuclear physics, find the emergence of a critical semicircle, and show that several nuclei are located near the critical semicircle in the coherent neutron-nucleus scattering. We also propose that the localized dineutron in two-neutron halo nuclei can be interpreted as the quantum measurement effect on the imaginary potential associated with absorption into the core nucleus. Our result bridges different contexts of non-Hermitian systems in high-energy and atomic, molecular, and optical physics, opening an interdisciplinary playground of non-Hermitian few-body physics.
We generalize the vertex expansion approach of the functional renormalization group to non-Hermitian systems. As certain anomalous expectation values might not vanish, additional terms as compared to the Hermitian case can appear in the flow equations. We investigate the merits and shortcomings of the vertex expansion for non-Hermitian systems by considering an exactly solvable $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric non-linear toy-model and reveal, that in this model, the fidelity of the vertex expansion in a perturbatively motivated truncation schema is comparable with that of the Hermitian case. The verte…
Non-Hermitian Numerical Renormalization Group: Solution of the non-Hermitian Kondo model
School of Physics, University College Dublin（都柏林大学学院物理学院）；Centre for Quantum Engineering, Science, and Technology, University College Dublin（都柏林大学学院量子工程、科学与技术中心）
We investigate the Kondo effect in an open quantum system, motivated by recent experiments with ultracold alkaline-earth(-like) atoms. Because of inelastic collisions and the associated atom losses, this system is described by a complex-valued Kondo interaction and provides a non-Hermitian extension of the Kondo problem. We show that the non-Hermiticity induces anomalous reversion of renormalization-group flows which violate the $g$-theorem due to non-unitarity and produce a quantum phase transition unique to non-Hermiticity. Furthermore, we exactly solve the non-Hermitian Kondo Hamiltonian us…
We review the methodology to theoretically treat parity-time- ($\mathcal{PT}$-) symmetric, non-Hermitian quantum many-body systems... (For the full abstract see paper)
The rationale for introducing non-hermitian Hamiltonians and other observables is reviewed and open issues identified. We present a new approach based on Moyal products to compute the metric for quasi-hermitian systems. This approach is not only an efficient method of computation, but also suggests a new perspective on quasi-hermitian quantum mechanics which invites further exploration. In particular, we present some first results which link the Berry connection and curvature to non-perturbative properties and the metric.
The search of topological states in non-Hermitian systems has gained a strong momentum over the last two years climbing to the level of an emergent research front. In this Perspective we give an overview with a focus in connecting this topic to others like Floquet systems. Furthermore, using a simple scattering picture we discuss an interpretation of concepts like the Hamiltonian's defectiveness, i.e. the lack of a full basis of eigenstates, crucial in many discussions of topological phases of non-Hermitian Hamiltonians.
Beyond Integrability Preserving Renormalization-Group Protocol in Non-Hermitian Hamiltonians with Time-Dependent Interaction Strengths
Condensed Matter Theory Center, Department of Physics, University of Maryland（马里兰大学物理系凝聚态理论中心）；Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles（加州大学洛杉矶分校物理与天文学系）
The density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) is a celebrated tensor network algorithm, which computes the ground states of one-dimensional quantum many-body systems very efficiently. Here we propose an improved formulation of continuous tensor network algorithms, which we name a matrix product renormalization group (MPRG). MPRG is a universal quantum many-body solver, which potentially works at both zero and finite temperatures, in two and higher dimensions, and is even applicable to open quantum systems. Furthermore, MPRG does not rely on any variational principles and thus supports any ki…
Topological phases of Hermitian systems are known to exhibit intriguing properties such as the presence of robust boundary states and the famed bulk-boundary correspondence. These features can change drastically for their non-Hermitian generalizations, as exemplified by a general breakdown of bulk-boundary correspondence and a localization of all states at the boundary, termed the non-Hermitian skin effect. In this article, we present a completely analytical unifying framework for studying these systems using generalized transfer matrices -- a real-space approach suitable for systems with peri…
We investigate a model system for the injection of fermionic particles from filled source sites into an empty chain. We study the ensuing dynamics for Hermitian as well as for non-Hermitian time evolution where the particles cannot return to the bath sites (quantum ratchet). A non-homogeneous hybridization between bath and chain sites permits transient currents in the chain. Non-interacting particles show decoherence in the thermodynamic limit: the average particle number and the average current density in the chain become stationary for long times, whereas the single-particle density matrix d…
Quantum systems governed by non-Hermitian Hamiltonians with $\PT$ symmetry are special in having real energy eigenvalues bounded below and unitary time evolution. We argue that $\PT$ symmetry may also be important and present at the level of Hermitian quantum field theories because of the process of renormalisation. In some quantum field theories renormalisation leads to $\PT$-symmetric effective Lagrangians. We show how $\PT$ symmetry may allow interpretations that evade ghosts and instabilities present in an interpretation of the theory within a Hermitian framework. From the study of example…
A main distinguishing feature of non-Hermitian quantum mechanics is the presence of exceptional points (EPs). They correspond to the coalescence of two energy levels and their respective eigenvectors. Here, we use the Lipkin-Meshkov-Glick (LMG) model as a testbed to explore the strong connection between EPs and the onset of excited state quantum phase transitions (ESQPTs). We show that for finite systems, the exact degeneracies (EPs) obtained with the non-Hermitian LMG Hamiltonian continued into the complex plane are directly linked with the avoided crossings that characterize the ESQPTs for t…
Exact many-body quantum problems are known to be computationally hard due to the exponential scaling of the numerical resources required. Since the advent of the Density Matrix Renormalization Group, it became clear that a successful strategy to work around this obstacle was to develop numerical methods based on the well-known theoretical renormalization group. In recent years, it was realized that quantum states engineered via numerical renormalization allow a variational representation in terms of a tensor network picture. The discovery provided a further boost to the effectiveness of these …
The combination of non-Hermitian physics and strong correlations can give rise to new effects in open quantum many-body systems with balanced gain and loss. We propose a generalized Anderson impurity model that includes non-Hermitian hopping terms between an embedded quantum dot and two wires. These non-Hermitian hopping terms respect a parity-time ($\mathcal{PT}$) symmetry. In the regime of a singly occupied localized state, we map the problem to a $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric Kondo model and study the effects of the interactions using a perturbative renormalization group approach. We find that t…
Contractor Renormalization (CORE) is a numerical renormalization method for Hamiltonian systems that has found applications in particle and condensed matter physics. There have been few studies, however, on further understanding of what exactly it does and its convergence properties. The current work has two main objectives. First, we wish to investigate the convergence of the cluster expansion for a two-dimensional Heisenberg Antiferromagnet(HAF). This is important because the linked cluster expansion used to evaluate this formula non-perturbatively is not controlled by a small parameter. Her…
We investigate Non-Hermitian quantum field theoretic model with $ιgϕ^3$ interaction in 6 dimension. Such a model is PT-symmetric for the pseudo scalar field $ϕ$. We analytically calculate the 2-loop $β$ function and analyse the system using renormalization group technique. Behavior of the system is studied near the different fixed points. Unlike $gϕ^3$ theory in 6 dimension $ιgϕ^3$ theory develops a new non trivial fixed point which is energetically stable.
We consider conditions for the existence of boundary modes in non-Hermitian systems with edges of arbitrary co-dimension. Through a universal formulation of formation criteria for boundary modes in terms of local Green functions, we outline a generic perspective on the appearance of such modes and generate corresponding dispersion relations. In the process, we explain the skin effect in both topological and non-topological systems, exhaustively generalizing bulk-boundary correspondence in the presence of non-Hermiticity. This is accomplished via a doubled Green's function, inspired by doubled …
The operational approach to time is a cornerstone of relativistic theories, as evidenced by the notion of proper time. In standard quantum mechanics, however, time is an external parameter. Recently, many attempts have been made to extend the notion of proper time to quantum mechanics within a relational framework. Here, we use similar ideas combined with the relativistic mass-energy equivalence to study an accelerating massive quantum particle with an internal clock system. We show that the ensuing evolution from the perspective of the particle's internal clock is non-Hermitian. This result d…
We provide a new perspective on non-Hermitian evolution in quantum mechanics by emphasizing the same method as in the Hermitian quantum evolution. We first give a precise description of the non unitary evolution, and collecting the basic results around it and postulating the norm preserving. This cautionary postulate imposing that the time evolution of a non Hermitian quantum system preserves the inner products between the associated states must not be read naively. We also give an example showing that the solutions of time-dependent non Hermitian Hamiltonian systems given by a linear combinat…
We demonstrate the universal properties of dissipative Tomonaga-Luttinger (TL) liquids by calculating correlation functions and performing finite-size scaling analysis of a non-Hermitian XXZ spin chain as a prototypical model in one-dimensional open quantum many-body systems. Our analytic calculation is based on effective field theory with bosonization, finite-size scaling approach in conformal field theory, and the Bethe-ansatz solution. Our numerical analysis is based on the density-matrix renormalization group generalized to non-Hermitian systems (NH-DMRG). We uncover that the model in the …
Quantum systems are often classified into Hermitian and non-Hermitian ones. Extraordinary non-Hermitian phenomena, ranging from the non-Hermitian skin effect to the supersensitivity to boundary conditions, have been widely explored. Whereas these intriguing phenomena have been considered peculiar to non-Hermitian systems, we show that they can be naturally explained by a duality between non-Hermitian models in flat spaces and their counterparts, which could be Hermitian, in curved spaces. For instance, prototypical one-dimensional (1D) chains with uniform chiral tunnelings are equivalent to th…
Biorthogonal Neural Network Approach to Two-Dimensional Non-Hermitian Systems
Institute for Theoretical Physics, ETH Zürich（苏黎世联邦理工学院理论物理研究所）；Department of Physics and Centre for Quantum Information and Quantum Control, University of Toronto（多伦多大学物理系与量子信息与量子控制中心）；Vector Institute（向量研究所）
Constraints of internal symmetry on the non-Hermitian skin effect and bidirectional skin effect under the action of the Hermitian conjugate of time-reversal symmetry
We introduce the transcorrelated Density Matrix Renormalization Group (tcDMRG) theory for the efficient approximation of the energy for strongly correlated systems. tcDMRG encodes the wave function as a product of a fixed Jastrow or Gutzwiller correlator and a matrix product state. The latter is optimized by applying the imaginary-time variant of time-dependent (TD) DMRG to the non-Hermitian transcorrelated Hamiltonian. We demonstrate the efficiency of tcDMRG at the example of the two-dimensional Fermi-Hubbard Hamiltonian, a notoriously difficult target for the DMRG algorithm, for different si…
Kondo breakdown induced by non-Hermitian complex hybridization
Research Institute for Innovation and Co-Creation, Osaka Metropolitan University（大阪公立大学创新与共创研究所）；Department of Physics, Osaka Metropolitan University（大阪公立大学物理系）；Nambu Yoichiro Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Physics (NITEP), Osaka Metropolitan University（大阪公立大学南部阳一郎理论实验物理研究所）；Department of Physics, Institute of Science Tokyo（东京科学大学物理系）；Department of Physics, University of Tokyo（东京大学物理系）；Fundamental Quantum Science Program, TRIP Headquarters, RIKEN（理化学研究所TRIP总部基础量子科学项目）；Department of Physics, Ritsumeikan University（立命馆大学物理系）；Department of Materials Engineering Science, University of Osaka（大阪大学材料工程科学系）
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 anoma…
We identify and investigate two classes of non-Hermitian systems, i.e., one resulting from Lorentz-symmetry violation (LSV) and the other from a complex mass (CM) with Lorentz invariance, from the perspective of quantum field theory. The mechanisms to break, and approaches to restore, the bulk-boundary correspondence in these two types of non-Hermitian systems are clarified. The non-Hermitian system with LSV shows a non-Hermitian skin effect, and its topological phase can be characterized by mapping it to the Hermitian system via a non-compact $U(1)$ gauge transformation. In contrast, there ex…
Non-Hermitian degeneracies are classified as defective and nondefective exceptional points~(EP). While in defective EPs, both eigenvalues and eigenenergies coalesce, nondefective EPs are characterized merely by the occurrence of degeneracies in their eigenvalues. It is also known that all degeneracies are either symmetry-protected or accidental. In this paper, I prove that anti-unitary symmetries protect all nondefective twofold EPs. By developing a 2D non-Hermitian tight-binding model, I have demonstrated that these symmetries are composite of various symmetry operations such as discrete or s…
We introduce a picture to analyze the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) numerical method from a quantum information perspective. This leads us to introduce some modifications for problems with periodic boundary conditions in which the results are dramatically improved. The picture also explains some features of the method in terms of entanglement and teleportation.
As a hallmark of pure quantum effect, quantum entanglement has provided unconventional routes to condensed matter systems. Here, from the perspective of quantum entanglement, we disclose exotic quantum physics in non-Hermitian quasicrystals. We present a class of experimentally realizable models for non-Hermitian quasicrystal chains, in which asymmetric hopping and complex potential coexist. We diagnose global phase diagram by means of entanglement from both real-space and momentum-space partition. By measuring entanglement entropy, we numerically determine the metal-insulator transition point…
Essential difference between 2D and 3D from the perspective of real-space renormalization group
The University of Tokyo（东京大学）；Institute for Solid State Physics, The University of Tokyo（东京大学固体物理研究所）；Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques (IHES)（高等科学研究所）；Trans-scale Quantum Science Institute, The University of Tokyo（东京大学跨尺度量子科学研究所）
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.
Non-Hermiticity gives rise to unique topological phases without Hermitian analogs. However, the effective field theory has yet to be established. Here, we develop a field-theoretical description of the intrinsic non-Hermitian topological phases. Because of the dissipative and nonequilibrium nature of non-Hermiticity, our theory is formulated solely in terms of spatial degrees of freedom, which contrasts with the conventional theory defined in spacetime. It provides the universal understanding about non-Hermitian topological phenomena, such as the unidirectional transport in one dimension and t…
