Topological unification of time-reversal and particle-hole symmetries in non-Hermitian physics.

ABSTRACT: Topological phases are enriched in non-equilibrium open systems effectively described by non-Hermitian Hamiltonians. While several properties unique to non-Hermitian topological systems were uncovered, the fundamental role of symmetry in non-Hermitian physics has yet to be fully understood, and it has remained unclear how symmetry protects non-Hermitian topological phases. Here we show that two fundamental anti-unitary symmetries, time-reversal and particle-hole symmetries, are topologically equivalent in the complex energy plane and hence unified in non-Hermitian physics. A striking consequence of this symmetry unification is the emergence of unique non-equilibrium topological phases that have no counterparts in Hermitian systems. We illustrate this by presenting a non-Hermitian counterpa

SUBMITTER: Kawabata K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6336874 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature