Spectral branch points of the Bloch-Torrey operator

Abstract: We investigate the peculiar feature of non-Hermitian operators, namely, the existence of spectral branch points (also known as exceptional or level crossing points), at which two (or many) eigenmodes collapse onto a single eigenmode and thus loose their completeness. Such branch points are generic and produce non-analyticities in the spectrum of the operator, which, in turn, result in a finite convergence radius of perturbative expansions based on eigenvalues and eigenmodes that can be relevant even for Hermitian operators. We start with a pedagogic introduction to this phenomenon by considering the case of $2\times 2$ matrices and explaining how the analysis of more general differential operators can be reduced to this setting. We propose an efficient numerical algorithm to find spectral branch points in the complex plane. This algorithm is then employed to show the emergence of spectral branch points in the spectrum of the Bloch-Torrey operator $-\nabla^2 - igx$, which governs the time evolution of the nuclear magnetization under diffusion and precession. We discuss their mathematical properties and physical implications for diffusion nuclear magnetic resonance experiments in general bounded domains.