Dephasing-induced jumps in non-Hermitian disordered lattices

Abstract

Within the framework of non-Hermitian photonics, the authors explore the effects of dephasing---random phase changes of the wavefunction---on wave propagation in disordered lattices. While in Hermitian lattices dephasing leads to diffusion rather than Anderson localization, the introduction of non-Hermiticity dramatically alters this behavior. Specifically, the authors demonstrate that in weakly disordered non-Hermitian lattices, dephasing enhances eigenmode localization, triggering abrupt jumps of the wavefunction between spatially distant regions, a phenomenon absent under purely coherent conditions.

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