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  • Letter
  • Open Access

Observation of supersensitivity of non-Hermitian skin effect

Qing Wang1, Zhonghao Fu1, Liping Ye1, Hailong He1, Weiyin Deng1, Jiuyang Lu1,*, Manzhu Ke1,†, and Zhengyou Liu1,2,‡

  • 1Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- and Nanostructures of Ministry of Education and School of Physics and Technology, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
  • 2Institute for Advanced Studies, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China

  • *Contact author: jylu@whu.edu.cn
  • †Contact author: mzke@whu.edu.cn
  • ‡Contact author: zyliu@whu.edu.cn
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Phys. Rev. Research 7, L042057 – Published 9 December, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/8zfx-c7mw

Abstract

Non-Hermitian systems exhibit an extraordinary sensitivity to boundary conditions, with a notable example being the non-Hermitian skin effect (NHSE), where a significant number of eigenstates accumulate at their open boundaries. In this work, we reveal a supersensitivity feature associated with the NHSE. In an acoustic system with dissipative couplings that preserve the anomalous time-reversal symmetry, we observe a k-dependent skin effect, in which acoustic waves localize at either the left or right open boundaries depending on the perpendicular wave vector. Remarkably, this supersensitivity is so extreme that adding a single unit to one boundary transforms the skin effect from bidirectional to unidirectional. More intriguingly, introducing another single unit to the opposite boundary can restore the original bidirectional skin effect. We directly observe this supersensitivity by detecting acoustic field distributions, consistent with theoretical predictions. Our findings offer a powerful approach to non-Hermitian manipulation and pave the way for high-sensitivity measurement using non-Hermitian systems.

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Phys. Rev. Research 7, L042057– Published 9 December, 2025
  • Received 12 April 2025
  • Accepted 14 November 2025
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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