Non-Hermitian pseudo-gaps

Abstract

The notion of a band gap is ubiquitous in the characterization of matter. Particularly interesting are pseudo-gaps, which are enigmatic regions of very low density of states that have been linked to novel phenomena like high temperature superconductivity. In this work, we discover a novel origin for pseudo-gaps when boundaries are introduced in a non-Hermitian lattice. It generically occurs due to the interference between two or more asymmetric pumping channels, and possess no analog in Hermitian systems. Mathematically, it can be visualized as being created by divergences of spectral flow in the complex energy plane, analogous to how sharp edges creates divergent electric fields near an electrical conductor. A non-Hermitian pseudo-gap can host symmetry-protected mid-gap modes like ordinary topological gaps, but the mid-gap modes are extended instead of edge-localized, and exhibit extreme sensitivity to symmetry-breaking perturbations. Surprisingly, pseudo-gaps can also host an integer number of edge modes even though the pseudo-bands possess fractional topological windings, or even no well-defined Chern number at all, in the marginal case of a phase transition point. Challenging conventional notions of topological bulk-boundary correspondences and even the very concept of a band, pseudo-gaps post profound implications that extend to many-body settings, such as fractional Chern insulators.

Keywords: Bulk-boundary correspondence; Energy gaps; Non-Hermiticity; Topological quantum phases.