Interplay between non-Fermi liquid and non-Hermiticity: A multi-method study of non-Hermitian multichannel Kondo model

Abstract

Non-Hermitian multichannel Kondo problems host both non-Fermi liquid and non-Hermitian physics, which provide a prototypical model to explore exotic collective quantum phenomena driven by the two different ingredients. Here, we first propose an experimental setup that realizes this model with exact channel symmetry as well as a controllable PT symmetry. Then, we perform a multi-method study of this model, focusing on the low-energy spectrum, the thermodynamic quantities, and the transport properties associated with different fixed points. Using the Bethe ansatz approach, we identify existence of the Yu-Shiba-Rusinov-like state previously found in the non-Hermitian single-channel Kondo model. Then, based on non-Hermitian numerical renormalization group calculations, we reveal clear numerical signatures of the Yu-Shiba-Rusinov state emerging in the relatively strong non-Hermiticity regime of the PT-asymmetric model. Furthermore, our boundary conformal field theory, which is found to be applicable for the PT-symmetric model, uncovers an anomalous temperature dependence of the Kondo conductance, which is beyond conventional Hermitian Kondo systems.