Derivation of a $\PT$-Symmetric Sine-Gordon Model from a Nonequilibrium Spin-Boson System via Keldysh Functional Integrals

TL;DR

This paper derives a PT-symmetric sine-Gordon model from a nonequilibrium spin-boson system using Keldysh formalism, revealing microscopic parameters, RG flow, and many-body bound states.

Contribution

It provides a microscopic derivation linking spin-boson models to PT-symmetric sine-Gordon theory, including RG analysis and bound-state characterization.

Findings

RG equations match previous PT-symmetric SG results

Explicit initial conditions from microscopic parameters

Identification of many-body bound states and exceptional point

Abstract

We present a microscopic derivation from a nonequilibrium spin-boson model to a $\PT$-symmetric non-Hermitian sine-Gordon (SG) effective theory, via the Keldysh functional-integral formalism, a Lang-Firsov polaron transformation, bosonization, and a Grassmann coherent-state spin trace.The spin trace yields the generic reduced vertex $g_r\cos(\lambda\Phi_1)+ig_i\sin(\lambda\Phi_1)$, where the imaginary part originates from the nonequilibrium Keldysh distribution asymmetry $\delta n(\omega)=n_+(\omega)-n_-(\omega)$. We provide an explicit dictionary between the spin-boson microscopic parameters and the NH-SG couplings: $K=v_f/\tilde{J}_\parallel^2$ (Luttinger parameter from $J_\parallel$), $g_r\propto J_\perp^2/\Gamma$ (from the transverse coupling and impurity width), and $\mathcal{I}=g_i/g_r\propto\mu/v_f$ (bias ratio, an exact RG invariant).One-loop Wilson momentum-shell RG on the NH-SG action gives the closed equations $\diff K/\diff l=-g_r^2(1-\mathcal{I}^2)K^2$ and $\diff g_r/\diff l=(2-K)g_r$, identical to those of Ashida \textit{et al.}\ for the $\PT$-symmetric SG; the present work supplies the microscopic initial conditions from the spin-boson Keldysh reduction. The BKT separatrix $K=2$ (Toulouse line), the EP fixed manifold $\mathcal{I}=1$ ($\mu=\mu_c$), and the mass gap $m\sim\Lambda e^{-c/\sqrt{K_0-2}}$ all follow from this closed system.In the non-relativistic soliton sector near the EP, the effective coupling $\tilde{g}=g_r\sqrt{1-\mathcal{I}^2}$ reduces the S-matrix to the Lieb-Liniger rational form and the Bethe ansatz becomes exact for that auxiliary gas.Within this sector we derive $n$-string bound states with$E_n^{\rm bind}=-n(n^2-1)\tilde{g}^2/12$, identify the EP as the many-body bound-state threshold, and construct the Jordan-partner state from the $\epsilon$-regularised dimer.