Anomalous Wave-Packet Dynamics in One-Dimensional Non-Hermitian Lattices

Abstract

Non-Hermitian (NH) systems have attracted great attention due to their exotic phenomena beyond Hermitian domains. Here we study the wave-packet dynamics in general one-dimensional NH lattices and uncover several unexpected phenomena. The group velocity of a wave packet during the time evolution in such NH lattices is not only governed by the real part of the band structure but also by its imaginary part. The momentum also evolves due to the imaginary part of the band structure, which can lead to a self-induced Bloch oscillation in the absence of external fields. Furthermore, we discover the wave-packet dynamics can exhibit disorder-free NH jumps even when the energy spectra are entirely real. Finally, we show that the NH jumps can lead to both positive and negative temporal Goos--Hänchen shifts at the edge.