Non-Hermitian topological mobility edges and transport in photonic quantum walks

In non-Hermitian quasicrystals, mobility edges (ME) separating localized and extended states in the complex energy plane can arise as a result of non-Hermitian terms in the Hamiltonian. Such ME are of topological nature, i.e., the energies of localized and extended states exhibit distinct topological structures in the complex energy plane. However, depending on the origin of non-Hermiticity, i.e., asymmetry of hopping amplitudes or complexification of the incommensurate potential phase, different winding numbers are introduced, corresponding to different transport features in the bulk of the lattice: while ballistic transport is allowed in the former case, pseudo-dynamical localization is observed in the latter case. The results are illustrated by considering non-Hermitian photonic quantum walks in synthetic mesh lattices. (C) 2022 Optica Publishing Group