Open quantum systems can be approximately described by non-Hermitian Hamiltonians (NHHs) and Liouvillian superoperators. The two approaches differ by quantum jump terms corresponding to a measurement of the system by its environment. We analyze the emergence of exceptional points (EPs) in NHHs and Liouvillian superoperators. In particular, we show how EPs in NHHs relate to a different type of EPs—multiblock EPs—in the no-jump Liouvillian, i.e., the Liouvillian superoperator in absence of quantum jump terms. We further analyze how quantum jump terms modify the multiblock structure. To illustrate our general findings, we present two prime examples: qubits and qutrits coupled to additional ground-state levels that serve as sinks of the population. In those examples, we can navigate through the EP block structure by a variation of physical parameters. We analyze how the dynamics of the population of the states is affected by the order of the EPs. Additionally, we demonstrate that the quantum geometric tensor serves as a sensitive indicator of EPs of different kinds.

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• Open quantum systems & decoherence
• Quantum engineering
• Exceptional points
• Non-Hermitian systems
• PT-symmetry
• Lindblad equation