Temporal correlation beyond quantum bounds in non-Hermitian PT- symmetric dynamics of a two level system

Abstract

Abstract We study the dynamics of a non-Hermitian PT- symmetric Hamiltonian of a two level system (TLS) which has real eigenvalues. Within the framework of Hermitian quantum mechanics, it is known that maximal violation of Leggett–Garg inequality (LGI) is bounded by K 3 = 3/2 (Luder’s bound). We show that this absolute bound can be evaded when dynamics is governed by non-Hermitian PT- symmetric Hamiltonians with real eigenvalues. Moreover, the extent of violation can be optimized to asymptotically approach the algebraic maximum of K 3 max = 3 , which is otherwise observed for Hermitian Hamiltonian with infinite dimensional Hilbert space. The extreme violation of LGI is shown to be directly related to the two basic ingredients: (i) the Bloch equation for the TLS having a non-linear terms which allow for accelerated dynamics of states on the Bloch sphere exceeding all known quantum speed limits of state evolution; and (ii) quantum trajectory of states lie on a great circle (geodesic path) on the Bloch sphere at all times. We demonstrate that such extreme temporal correlation of TLS can be simulated in realistic system by embedding the TLS into a higher dimensional Hilbert space such that the composite system obeys unitary dynamics. Specifically we show that a four dimensional embedding of non-Hermitian PT- symmetric TLS is enough to host K 3 → 3 limit. We also discuss the effect of random noise on our results. Finally we conclude with a comparative study of our results with existing experimental realization of embedding.