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Pseudo-Hermitian Transition in Degenerate Nonlinear Four-Wave Mixing

We show that degenerate four-wave mixing (FWM) in nonlinear optics can be described by an effective Hamiltonian that is pseudo-Hermitian, which enables a transition between a pseudo-Hermitian phase with real eigenvalues and a broken pseudo-Hermitian phase with complex conjugate eigenvalues. While bearing certain similarity to that in Parity-Time symmetric systems, this transition is in stark contrast because of the absence of gain and loss in the effective Hamiltonian. The latter is real after factoring out the system decay, and the onset of non-Hermiticity in degenerate FWM is due to the total phase change of the signal wave and the idler wave. This property underlines the intrinsic coherence in FWM, which opens the door to probe quantum implications of exceptional points.