Controlling acoustic non-Hermitian skin effect via synthetic magnetic fields

Abstract

Non-Hermitian skin effect (NHSE) is an intrinsic non-Hermitian phenomenon where an extensive number of eigenmodes, called skin modes, are localized at the boundary of a system. Recent theories have suggested that the NHSE can be well-tuned by external fields, opening a route to manipulating wave localization. Here, we experimentally demonstrate the diverse interactions between NHSE and synthetic magnetic fields (SMFs) in coupled acoustic ring resonator lattices. We observe that the NHSE and SMFs can, via different physical mechanisms, compete or synergize, resulting in either the suppression or the creation of NHSE. With the aid of the complex frequency excitation technique, we experimentally observe that SMFs can suppress the NHSE by introducing Landau quantization, causing localization to move toward the bulk. In contrast, we show that the presence of SMF generates topological edge modes in the lattice, which then become corner skin modes by the second-order NHSE. Our results evidence the rich physics and diverse consequences that arise from the interplay of magnetic fields and NHSE, paving the way for actively controlling wave localization.