Entanglement Spectrum Dynamics as a Probe for Non-Hermitian Bulk-Boundary Correspondence in Systems with Periodic Boundaries

Abstract

It has recently been established that open quantum systems may exhibit a strong spectral sensitivity to boundary conditions, known as the non-Hermitian/Liouvillian skin effect (NHSE/LSE), making the topological properties of the system boundary-condition sensitive. In this Letter, we ask the query: Can topological phase transitions of open quantum systems, captured by open boundary conditioned invariants, be observed in the dynamics of a system in a periodic boundary condition, even in the presence of NHSE/LSE? We affirmatively respond to this question, by considering the quench dynamics of entanglement spectrum in a periodic open quantum fermionic system. We demonstrate that the entanglement spectrum exhibits zero-crossings only when this periodic system is quenched from a topologically trivial to non-trivial phase, defined from the spectrum in open boundary conditions, even in systems featuring LSE. Our results reveal that non-Hermitian topological phases leave a distinctive imprint on the unconditional dynamics within a subsystem of fermionic systems.