Quantum-to-semiclassical Husimi dynamics of non-Hermitian localization transitions
Phys. Rev. A 114, 013318 – Published 21 July, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/jqtx-3znq
Abstract
The localization transition in the Hermitian Aubry-André model is known to have a classical origin, with the critical point being exactly predictable from an analysis of classical phase-space trajectories. Motivated by this correspondence, we investigate whether a similar classical origin exists for localization transitions in non-Hermitian quasiperiodic Hamiltonians. Using semiclassical Husimi dynamics together with a detailed phase-space stability analysis, we show that localization transitions persist even in the semiclassical limit of such non-Hermitian models. However, in sharp contrast to the Hermitian Aubry-André case, the transition point inferred from classical phase-space analysis does not coincide with the quantum critical point. Instead, we find that the semiclassical transition depends sensitively on the choice of the irrational parameter defining the quasiperiodic potential, indicating the absence of a universal classical-quantum correspondence for the localization transition in the non-Hermitian setting. Nonetheless, we identify a suitable parameter regime in which the classical dynamics can faithfully mimic the quantum dynamics over a finite but appreciable time window.
