2025/04/21 by Nakamura, Daichi, Kawabata, Kohei · 1 citation
#FOS: Physical sciences #Mathematical Physics (math-ph) #Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) #Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
paper · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2504.15154
Hopf insulators represent a unique class of topological insulators that exist exclusively in two-band systems and are inherently unstable upon the inclusion of additional bands. Meanwhile, recent studies have shown that non-Hermiticity gives rise to distinctive complex-energy gap structures, known as point gaps, and associated topological phases with no analogs in Hermitian systems. However, non-Hermitian counterparts of Hopf insulators have remained largely elusive. Here, we generally classify topological phases of two-band non-Hermitian systems based on the homotopy theory and uncover Hopf-type point-gap topology present only for two bands. Specifically, we reveal such Hopf-type point-gap topology for three-dimensional systems with chiral symmetry (class AIII) and four-dimensional systems with no symmetry (class A). Explicitly constructing prototypical models from the Hermitian Hopf insulator, we further demonstrate that these non-Hermitian topological phases lead to anomalous point-gapless boundary states spectrally detachable from the bulk bands.