Zitterbewegung Effect and Quantum Geometry in Non-Hermitian Exciton-Polariton Systems

TL;DR

This paper analytically explores the zitterbewegung effect and quantum geometry in non-Hermitian exciton-polariton systems, revealing unique spin dynamics and corrections to group velocity caused by non-Hermitian effects.

Contribution

It generalizes the description of zitterbewegung to non-Hermitian systems and uncovers new non-Hermitian corrections to group velocity linked to quantum metric tensor.

Findings

Derived semi-classical equations for zitterbewegung in non-Hermitian systems

Identified non-Hermitian correction to group velocity related to quantum metric tensor

Demonstrated qualitative differences in spin dynamics due to non-Hermiticity

Abstract

In this work, we analytically derive a semi-classical equation of motion describing the zitterbewegung effects arising in the dynamics of wavepackets in non-Hermitian systems. In Hermitian non-relativistic quantum systems, the zitterbewegung effects can arise due to the spin precession and spin-orbit coupling. Interestingly, the spin dynamics in non-Hermitian systems are qualitatively different because of the effective nonlinear terms induced by the non-Hermitian part of the Hamiltonian. In this work, we show the effects from the non-Hermitian spin dynamics by generalising the description of zitterbewegung effects to non-Hermitian systems. We also uncover novel non-Hermitian correction to the group velocity, which can be expressed in terms of the non-Hermitian quantum metric tensor in the absence of out-of-plane effective field.