Dissipation-tunable extended and localized steady states in a non-disordered lattice

Abstract

Dissipation is usually regarded as a source of decoherence that suppresses quantum interference and localization. Here we show that suitably engineered dissipation can instead be used to select localized or extended states in a strictly non-disordered one-dimensional lattice. The underlying clean lattice has spatially inhomogeneous hopping and supports both extended bulk states and localized boundary states, including an algebraically localized bound state in the continuum. We introduce a nonlocal bond jump operator with a tunable relative phase and show that this phase selectively favors eigenstates with different spatial phase correlations. As a result, the long-time density matrix can be steered toward sectors dominated by localized or extended Hamiltonian eigenstates without changing any Hamiltonian parameter. The microscopic origin of the selection is quantified by the fraction of site pairs separated by a distance $l$ that are phase matched with the dissipative channel. We further characterize the dissipative quench through the quantum fidelity and show that the selected character of the steady state can persist after the dissipation is removed. Our results establish phase-selective bond dissipation as a route to controllable state preparation and transport manipulation in non-disordered lattices.