Exceptional nexus in Bose-Einstein condensates with collective dissipation

Abstract

In multistate non-Hermitian systems, higher-order exceptional points and exotic phenomena with no analogues in two-level systems arise. A paradigm is the exceptional nexus (EX), a third-order EP as the cusp singularity of exceptional arcs (EAs), that has a hybrid topological nature. Using atomic Bose-Einstein condensates to implement a dissipative three-state system, we experimentally realize an EX within a two-parameter space, despite the absence of symmetry. The engineered dissipation exhibits density dependence due to the collective atomic response to resonant light. Based on extensive analysis of the system's decay dynamics, we demonstrate the formation of an EX from the coalescence of two EAs with distinct geometries. These structures arise from the different roles played by dissipation in the strong coupling limit and quantum Zeno regime. Our work paves the way for exploring higher-order exceptional physics in the many-body setting of ultracold atoms.