- Accepted Paper
Why finite-size non-Hermitian eigenvalues can miss asymptotic eigenstates in topological physics
Phys. Rev. B - Accepted 10 September, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/2vfv-47r1
Phys. Rev. B - Accepted 10 September, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/2vfv-47r1
Non-Hermitian systems exhibit a fundamental spectral dichotomy absent in Hermitian physics: the eigenvalue spectrum and the eigenstate spectrum can deviate significantly in the thermodynamic limit. We explain how extrapolating finite-size eigenvalues can miss important asymptotic eigenstates, with the unidirectional Hatano-Nelson model serving as a minimal realization of this phenomenon. Through exact analytical solutions, we show that this model contains not only hidden asymptotic modes but also quasi-Jordan structures that become macroscopic in the thermodynamic limit and appear more generally in systems with nontrivial bulk winding. Our framework explains how the apparent failure of the bulk-edge correspondence in models such as the non-Hermitian SSH chain can reflect the failure of finite-size eigenvalue extrapolation to detect asymptotic edge states in systems with a skin effect. These results clarify the limitations of using finite-size eigenvalues alone to infer thermodynamic-limit topology.
If the author has provided any supplemental materials with this article they will be available upon publication of the version of record.