Two-scale effective model for defect-induced localization transitions in non-Hermitian systems

Abstract

We illuminate the fundamental mechanism responsible for the transition between the non-Hermitian skin effect and defect-induced localization in the bulk. We study a Hamiltonian with nonreciprocal couplings that exhibits the skin effect (the localization of all eigenvectors at one edge) and add an on-site defect in the center. Using a two-scale asymptotic method, we characterize the long-scale growth and decay of the eigenvectors and derive a simple and intuitive effective model for the transition that occurs when the defect is sufficiently large that one of the modes is localized at the defect site, rather than at the edge of the system. Published by the American Physical Society 2025