Unveiling the self-orthogonality at exceptional points in driven <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mi mathvariant="script">PT</mi></math>-symmetric systems

Alexander Fritzsche; Riccardo Sorbello; Ronny Thomale; Alexander Szameit

doi:10.1103/nh5l-l5gn

Letter

Unveiling the self-orthogonality at exceptional points in driven $PT$ -symmetric systems

Alexander Fritzsche ^1,2, Riccardo Sorbello ^1,*, Ronny Thomale ¹, and Alexander Szameit ^3,2,†

¹Institute for Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
²Institute of Physics, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany
³Würzburg-Dresden Cluster of Excellence ct.qmat, 97074 Würzburg, Germany

^*Contact author: riccardo.sorbello@uni-wuerzburg.de
^†Contact author: alexander.szameit@uni-rostock.de

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Phys. Rev. A 113, L021701 – Published 24 February, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/nh5l-l5gn

Abstract

We explore the effect of self-orthogonality at exceptional points (EPs) in non-Hermitian parity-time-symmetric systems. Using a driven three-band lattice model, we show that the Rabi frequency diverges as the system approaches an EP due to the coalescence of eigenstates. We demonstrate that this divergence manifests in experimentally accessible power oscillations, establishing a direct observable for self-orthogonality. Our results provide a pathway for probing EP physics in various metamaterial platforms.

Physical Review A

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Unveiling the self-orthogonality at exceptional points in driven $PT$ -symmetric systems

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Unveiling the self-orthogonality at exceptional points in driven PT-symmetric systems

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Unveiling the self-orthogonality at exceptional points in driven $PT$ -symmetric systems