Nonadiabatic transitions in non-Hermitian $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric two-level systems

Abstract: We systematically characterize the dynamical evolution of time-parity ($\mathcal{PT}$)-symmetric two-level systems with spin-dependent dissipations. When the energy-gap control parameters are tuned, a section of imaginary spectra ended with exceptional points (EP) appears in the regimes where the dissipation term is dominant. If the parameters are linearly tuned with time, the dynamical evolution can be characterized with the parabolic cylinder equations, which can be analytically solved. We find that the asymptotic behaviors of particle probability on the two levels show initial-state-independent redistribution in the slow-tuning-speed limit when the system is nonadiabatically driven across EPs. Equal distributions appear when the non-dissipative Hamiltonian shows gap closing. So long as the non-dissipative Hamiltonian displays level anti-crossing, the final distribution becomes unbalanced. The ratios between the occupation probabilities are given analytically. These results are confirmed with numerical simulations. The predicted equal-distribution phenomenon may be employed to identify gap closing from anti-crossing between two energy bands.