Non-Hermitian fractional quantum Hall states

Abstract

We demonstrate the emergence of a topological ordered phase for non-Hermitian systems. Specifically, we elucidate that systems with non-Hermitian two-body interactions show a fractional quantum Hall (FQH) state. The non-Hermitian Hamiltonian is considered to be relevant to cold atoms with dissipation. We conclude the emergence of the non-Hermitian FQH state by the presence of the topological degeneracy and by the many-body Chern number for the ground state multiplet showing $C_{\mathrm{tot}}=1$. The robust topological degeneracy against non-Hermiticity arises from the many-body translational symmetry. Furthermore, we discover that the FQH state emerges without any repulsive interactions, which is attributed to a phenomenon reminiscent of the continuous quantum Zeno effect.