Developing a general and rigorous analytical approach to non-Hermitian many-body systems is a challenging task. Here, we generalize the eta-pairing theory to very general non-Hermitian Hubbard models and find many interesting phenomena without Hermitian analogs. For instance, the Hermitian conjugate of an eta-pairing eigenoperator may not be an eigenoperator, eta-pairing eigenoperators can be spatially modulated, and the $SU\left(2\right)$ pseudospin symmetry may not be possible even if the $\mathrm{Hamiltonian}$ commutes with the eta-pairing operators. Remarkably, these interesting non-Hermitian phenomena are closely related to each other by several theorems we establish and can lead to, for example, new types of eta-pairing operators (e.g., the notion of non-Hermitian angular-momentum operators) and Fock-space localization of many-body eta-pairing eigenstates. Some issues on the $SO\left(4\right)$ and particle–hole symmetries are clarified. Our general eta-pairing theory also reveals a previously unnoticed unification of these symmetries of the Hubbard model. These general results can be illustrated with concrete examples such as the generalized Hatano–Nelson–Hubbard models and a general two-sublattice model. In particular, the general two-sublattice model can reveal the eta-pairing structure [e.g., the $SO\left(4\right)$ symmetry] in systems with Hermitian hoppings, including the original eta-pairing theory for the square lattice, the extension to the triangular lattice, and some topological systems. Our results establish a rigorous theoretical framework for studying interacting non-Hermitian systems in arbitrary spatial dimensions, even without bulk translation symmetry.

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• Non-Hermitian systems
• Quantum many-body systems
• Exact solutions for many-body systems
• Hubbard model