TY - JOUR
T1 - Topological Field Theory of Non-Hermitian Systems
AU - Kawabata, Kohei
AU - Shiozaki, Ken
AU - Ryu, Shinsei
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 American Physical Society.
PY - 2021/5/28
Y1 - 2021/5/28
N2 - 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. Our theory provides a universal understanding of non-Hermitian topological phenomena such as the unidirectional transport in one dimension and the chiral magnetic skin effect in three dimensions. Furthermore, it systematically predicts new physics; we illustrate this by revealing transport phenomena and skin effects in two dimensions induced by a perpendicular spatial texture. From the field-theoretical perspective, the non-Hermitian skin effect, i.e., the anomalous localization due to non-Hermiticity, is shown to be a signature of an anomaly.
AB - 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. Our theory provides a universal understanding of non-Hermitian topological phenomena such as the unidirectional transport in one dimension and the chiral magnetic skin effect in three dimensions. Furthermore, it systematically predicts new physics; we illustrate this by revealing transport phenomena and skin effects in two dimensions induced by a perpendicular spatial texture. From the field-theoretical perspective, the non-Hermitian skin effect, i.e., the anomalous localization due to non-Hermiticity, is shown to be a signature of an anomaly.
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U2 - 10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.216405
DO - 10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.216405
M3 - Article
C2 - 34114834
AN - SCOPUS:85107318157
SN - 0031-9007
VL - 126
JO - Physical review letters
JF - Physical review letters
IS - 21
M1 - 216405
ER -