Observation of flat-band skin effect

arXiv:2512.19745v3 Announce Type: replace Abstract: Symmetry-protected ideal flat bands in one-dimensional (1D) Hermitian lattices are populated by compact localized states (CLS) - a special class of localization with wavefunctions confined within a small region. In this work, we discover that the non-Hermitian skin effect (NHSE) can appear in a flat band. Unlike conventional NHSEs for dispersive bands that are protected by nontrivial point-gap topology, the flat band remains a point on the complex-energy plane and is therefore always topologically trivial. We found that, intriguingly, the flat-band skin effect (FBSE) is associated with the non-trivial spectral topology of the dispersive bands enclosing the flat band on the complex-energy plane, so it only emerges within a finite range of non-Hermitian parameters and can counterintuitively disappear at large non-Hermiticity. Moreover, the gaps between the flat and the dispersive bands can close at higher-order exceptional points under both periodic and open boundary conditions. The flat-band wavefunctions are discontinuous in quantum distance across these exceptional points, signifying that the gap-closing is singular. The FBSE was experimentally observed in a non-Hermitian mechanical lattice. Our work reveals flat-band phenomena unique to non-Hermitian systems and highlights new possibilities in quantum geometry and localization control.

Abstract:Symmetry-protected ideal flat bands in one-dimensional (1D) Hermitian lattices are populated by compact localized states (CLS) - a special class of localization with wavefunctions confined within a small region. In this work, we discover that the non-Hermitian skin effect (NHSE) can appear in a flat band. Unlike conventional NHSEs for dispersive bands that are protected by nontrivial point-gap topology, the flat band remains a point on the complex-energy plane and is therefore always topologically trivial. We found that, intriguingly, the flat-band skin effect (FBSE) is associated with the non-trivial spectral topology of the dispersive bands enclosing the flat band on the complex-energy plane, so it only emerges within a finite range of non-Hermitian parameters and can counterintuitively disappear at large non-Hermiticity. Moreover, the gaps between the flat and the dispersive bands can close at higher-order exceptional points under both periodic and open boundary conditions. The flat-band wavefunctions are discontinuous in quantum distance across these exceptional points, signifying that the gap-closing is singular. The FBSE was experimentally observed in a non-Hermitian mechanical lattice. Our work reveals flat-band phenomena unique to non-Hermitian systems and highlights new possibilities in quantum geometry and localization control.

This paper supercedes arXiv:2412.19034, which contains erraneous analyses and was posted prematurely. We apologize for any confusion and inconvenience

Quantum Physics (quant-ph); Other Condensed Matter (cond-mat.other); Classical Physics (physics.class-ph)

arXiv:2512.19745 [quant-ph]

(or arXiv:2512.19745v3 [quant-ph] for this version)

Phys. Rev. Lett. 137, 076601 (2026)

https://doi.org/10.1103/h9t8-7mtc DOI(s) linking to related resources

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Observation of flat-band skin effect

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