Limitations of SVD-Based Diagnostics for Non-Hermitian Many-Body Localization with Time-Reversal Symmetry

Abstract

Singular value decomposition (SVD) provides a convenient way to construct Hermitian-like diagnostics for non-Hermitian many-body systems, but its reliability for locating many-body localization (MBL) transitions remains unclear, particularly in systems preserving time-reversal symmetry (TRS). We benchmark SVD-based diagnostics against exact diagonalization (ED) in TRS-preserving non-Hermitian hard-core-boson chains with nonreciprocal hopping, considering quasiperiodic, random-disorder, and Stark potentials. We compare level statistics, half-chain entanglement entropy, inverse participation ratio, and spectral form factors. For the quasiperiodic and random-disorder models, ED-based entanglement and IPR yield mutually consistent finite-size transition estimates, whereas the corresponding SVD-based estimates are systematically shifted to larger disorder strengths and can lead to different phase assignments. The discrepancy is also reflected in the spectral form factors, where the ED-based dissipative spectral form factor and the SVD-based singular form factor can indicate different spectral regimes at the same parameters. In contrast, for the clean Stark model, ED and SVD give consistent transition estimates. We identify the origin of this model dependence as the fact that SVD probes the auxiliary Hermitian operator ${\hat{H}}^{†}\hat{H}$, rather than the intrinsic right-eigenstate structure of $\hat{H}$; consequently, SVD can be quantitatively reliable only when the corresponding bulk-state structures remain aligned. Our results show that SVD-based diagnostics can capture qualitative RMT-to-Poisson trends, but are not generically reliable quantitative probes of MBL transitions in TRS-preserving non-Hermitian many-body systems.

15 pages, 16 figures

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