Maximal coin-position entanglement and non-Hermitian skin effect in discrete-time quantum walks

A distinctive feature of non-Hermitian systems is the skin effect, which has attracted widespread attention in recent studies. Quantum walks provide a powerful platform for exploring the underlying mechanisms of the non-Hermitian skin effect. Additionally, the generation of hybrid entanglement in quantum walks is recognized as another crucial property. However, the experimentally exploring the influence of skin effect on the evolution of entanglement dynamical in the non-Hermitian system remains a challenge. In this paper, we present a flexible photonic implementation of discrete-time quantum walks over 20 evolution steps using an optimized time-multiplexed loop configuration. Through optimizing the coin parameter, we achieve maximal coin-position entanglement in 20-steps quantum walks. Moreover, we experimentally measure the polarization-averaged growth rates and the evolution of coin-position entanglement for specific coin and loss parameters. We observe the asymmetric Lyapunov exponent profiles and the suppression of entanglement induced by the skin effect in non-Hermitian systems. Interestingly, this entanglement suppression weakens with increasing coin parameters and enhances with increasing loss parameters and evolution steps. Our results demonstrate the potential of quantum walks as a powerful platform for investigating hybrid entanglement properties and skin effect in non-Hermitian systems.