No Arabic abstract
Macroscopic two-dimensional sonic crystals with inversion symmetry are studied to reveal higher-order topological physics in classical wave systems. By tuning a single geometry parameter, the band topology of the bulk and the edges can be controlled simultaneously. The bulk band gap forms an acoustic analog of topological crystalline insulators with edge states which are gapped due to symmetry reduction on the edges. In the presence of mirror symmetry, the band topology of the edge states can be characterized by the Zak phase, illustrating the band topology in a hierarchy of dimensions, which is at the heart of higher-order topology. Moreover, the edge band gap can be closed without closing the bulk band gap, revealing an independent topological transition on the edges. The rich topological transitions in both bulk and edges can be well-described by the symmetry eigenvalues at the high-symmetry points in the bulk and surface Brillouin zones. We further analyze the higher-order topology in the shrunken sonic crystals where slightly different physics but richer corner and edge phenomena are revealed. In these systems, the rich, multidimensional topological transitions can be exploited for topological transfer among zero-, one- and two- dimensional acoustic modes by controlling the geometry.
In this paper, we derive a general formula for the quantized fractional corner charge in two-dimensional C_n-symmetric higher-order topological insulators. We assume that the electronic states can be described by the Wannier functions and that the edges are charge neutral, but we do not assume vanishing bulk electric polarization. We expand the scope of the corner charge formula obtained in previous works by considering more general surface conditions, such as surfaces with higher Miller index and surfaces with surface reconstruction. Our theory is applicable even when the electronic states are largely modulated near system boundaries. It also applies to insulators with non-vanishing bulk polarization, and we find that in such cases the value of the corner charge depends on the surface termination even for the same bulk crystal with C_3 or C_4 symmetry, via a difference in the Wyckoff position of the center of the C_n-symmetric crystal.
Finding new physical responses that signal topological quantum phase transitions is of both theoretical and experimental importance. Here, we demonstrate that the piezoelectric response can change discontinuously across a topological quantum phase transition in two-dimensional time-reversal invariant systems with spin-orbit coupling, thus serving as a direct probe of the transition. We study all gap closing cases for all 7 plane groups that allow non-vanishing piezoelectricity and find that any gap closing with 1 fine-tuning parameter between two gapped states changes either the $Z_2$ invariant or the locally stable valley Chern number. The jump of the piezoelectric response is found to exist for all these transitions, and we propose the HgTe/CdTe quantum well and BaMnSb$_2$ as two potential experimental platforms. Our work provides a general theoretical framework to classify topological quantum phase transitions and reveals their ubiquitous relation to the piezoelectric response.
We study a topological phase transition between a normal insulator and a quantum spin Hall insulator in two-dimensional (2D) systems with time-reversal and two-fold rotation symmetries. Contrary to the case of ordinary time-reversal invariant systems where a direct transition between two insulators is generally predicted, we find that the topological phase transition in systems with an additional two-fold rotation symmetry is mediated by an emergent stable two-dimensional Weyl semimetal phase between two insulators. Here the central role is played by the so-called space-time inversion symmetry, the combination of time-reversal and two-fold rotation symmetries, which guarantees the quantization of the Berry phase around a 2D Weyl point even in the presence of strong spin-orbit coupling. Pair-creation/pair-annihilation of Weyl points accompanying partner exchange between different pairs induces a jump of a 2D $Z_{2}$ topological invariant leading to a topological phase transition. According to our theory, the topological phase transition in HgTe/CdTe quantum well structure is mediated by a stable 2D Weyl semimetal phase since the quantum well, lacking inversion symmetry intrinsically, has two-fold rotation about the growth direction. Namely, the HgTe/CdTe quantum well can show 2D Weyl semimetallic behavior within a small but finite interval in the thickness of HgTe layers between a normal insulator and a quantum spin Hall insulator. We also propose that few-layer black phosphorus under perpendicular electric field is another candidate system to observe the unconventional topological phase transition mechanism accompanied by emerging 2D Weyl semimetal phase protected by space-time inversion symmetry.
The concept of topological phases has been generalized to higher-order topological insulators and superconductors with novel boundary states on corners or hinges. Meanwhile, recent experimental advances in controlling dissipation (such as gain and loss) open new possibilities in studying non-Hermitian topological phases. Here, we show that higher-order topological corner states can emerge by simply introducing staggered on-site gain/loss to a Hermitian system in trivial phases. For such a non-Hermitian system, we establish a general bulk-corner correspondence by developing a biorthogonal nested-Wilson-loop and edge-polarization theory, which can be applied to a wide class of non-Hermitian systems with higher-order topological orders. The theory gives rise to topological invariants characterizing the non-Hermitian topological multipole moments (i.e., corner states) that are protected by reflection or chiral symmetry. Such gain/loss induced higher-order topological corner states can be experimentally realized using photons in coupled cavities or cold atoms in optical lattices.
We report the theoretical discovery and characterization of higher-order Floquet topological phases dynamically generated in a periodically driven system with mirror symmetries. We demonstrate numerically and analytically that these phases support lower-dimensional Floquet bound states, such as corner Floquet bound states at the intersection of edges of a two-dimensional system, protected by the nonequilibrium higher-order topology induced by the periodic drive. We characterize higher-order Floquet topologies of the bulk Floquet Hamiltonian using mirror-graded Floquet topological invariants. This allows for the characterization of a new class of higher-order anomalous Floquet topological phase, where the corners of the open system host Floquet bound states with the same as well as with double the period of the drive. Moreover, we show that bulk vortex structures can be dynamically generated by a drive that is spatially inhomogeneous. We show these bulk vortices can host multiple Floquet bound states. This stirring drive protocol leverages a connection between higher-order topologies and previously studied fractionally charged, bulk topological defects. Our work establishes Floquet engineering of higher-order topological phases and bulk defects beyond equilibrium classification and offers a versatile tool for dynamical generation and control of topologically protected Floquet corner and bulk bound states.