Exotic localization for the bound states in the non-reciprocal two-particle Hubbard model

TL;DR

This paper explores how non-reciprocal tunneling and strong interactions in a non-Hermitian two-particle Hubbard model lead to exotic localization phenomena, revealing competition among various localization mechanisms and potential experimental realizations.

Contribution

It introduces a novel analysis of bound state localization in a non-Hermitian Hubbard model with non-reciprocal tunneling, including the effects of two-photon tunneling and topological features.

Findings

Bound states exhibit non-Hermitian skin effect with faded diagonal localization.

Interaction causes splitting of localization centers in scattering states.

Non-Hermitian photon bound pairs demonstrate topological nontriviality.

Abstract

We investigate the localization behavior of two-particle Hubbard model in the presence of non-reciprocal tunneling and non-Hermitian bound states can be obtained with strong repulsive interaction. Remarkably, the interaction induced bound state localization (BSL) can compete with non-Hermitian skin effect (NHSE) and give rise to diverse density profiles. Via the quantum scattering methods in the center of mass frame, the system can be mapped to an effective two dimensional (2D) lattice with the two-particle interaction contributing to a defective line. For the bound states of the largest eigen-energy, in contrast to the Hermitian cases, where the maximal localization center is pinned around the center of lattice, NHSE can lead to a faded diagonal line localization. For the unbound scattering states, unlike the single corner localization in the 2D Hatano-Nelson model, interaction can force the total localization to split into multiple centers. To make the system topological nontrivial, we further include terms taking the form of two-photon tunneling and the non-Hermitian photon bound pairs are also observed, which demonstrates a competition among NHSE, BSL and edge localization. Finally, we propose the experimental simulations via the platforms of electrical circuits. Our works shed light on the crossover study of quantum optics and non-Hermitian many body physics.