Higher winding number in a non-unitary photonic quantum walk

Abstract

Topological matter exhibits exotic properties yet phases characterized by large topological invariants are difficult to implement, despite rapid experimental progress. A promising route toward higher topological invariants is via engineered Floquet systems, particularly in photonics, where flexible control holds the potential of extending the study of conventional topological matter to novel regimes. Here we implement a one-dimensional photonic quantum walk to explore large winding numbers. By introducing partial measurements and hence loss into the system, we detect winding numbers of three and four in multi-step non-unitary quantum walks, which agree well with theoretical predictions. Moreover, by probing statistical moments of the walker, we identify locations of topological phase transitions in the system, and reveal the breaking of pseudo-unitary near topological phase boundaries. As the winding numbers are associated with non-unitary time evolution, our investigation enriches understanding of topological phenomena in non-unitary settings.

arXiv comment15 pages, 12 figures

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• Floquet Topological Phases of Non-Hermitian Systems
• Non-Hermitian Floquet topological phases in the double-kicked rotor
• Conserved quantities in parity-time symmetric systems
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• Persistence of Topological Phases in Non-Hermitian Quantum Walks
• Bulk-edge correspondence in nonunitary Floquet systems with chiral symmetry
• Topological Quantum Walk with Discrete Time-Glide Symmetry
• Bulk-edge correspondence and stability of multiple edge states of a $\mathcal{P}\mathcal{T}$ symmetric non-Hermitian system by using non-unitary quantum walks
• Skin Effect in Quadratic Lindbladian Systems: an Adjoint Fermion Approach
• Experimental orthogonalization of highly overlapping quantum states with single photons
• Simulation of the multiphase configuration and phase transitions with quantum walks utilizing a step-dependent coin
• Toward simulation of topological phenomenas with one-, two- and three-dimensional quantum walks
• Dynamics of discrete-time quantum walk with time-correlated unitary noise
• Scaling Hypothesis of Spatial Search on Fractal Lattice Using Quantum Walk
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• Experimental demonstration of optimal unambiguous two-out-of-four quantum state elimination
• Distinguishability Transitions in Non-Unitary Boson Sampling Dynamics
• Non-Hermitian dynamical topological winding in photonic mesh lattices
• Finite-element assembly approach of optical quantum walk networks
• Time operators for continuous-time and discrete-time quantum walks
• Topological Phase Transitions and Edge-State Transfer in Time-Multiplexed Quantum Walks
• Universal scaling hypothesis of quantum spatial search in complex networks
• Controlling quantum chaos via Parrondo strategies on noisy intermediate-scale quantum hardware
• Shannon Entropy and Diffusion Coeffcient in Parity-Time Symmetric Quantum Walks