No Arabic abstract
We investigate the dynamics of chiral edge states in topological polariton systems under laser driving. Using a model system comprised of topolgically trivial excitons and photons with a chiral coupling proposed by Karzig et al. [Phys. Rev. X 5, 031001 (2015)], we investigate the real-time dynamics of a lattice version of this model driven by a laser pulse. By analyzing the time- and momentum-resolved spectral function, measured by time- and angle-resolved photoluminescence in analogy with time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy in electronic systems, we find that polaritonic states in a ribbon geometry are selectively excited via their resonance with the pump laser photon frequency. This selective excitation mechanism is independent of the necessity of strong laser pumping and polariton condensation. Our work highlights the potential of time-resolved spectroscopy as a complementary tool to real-space imaging for the investigation of topological edge state engineering in devices.
The non-Hermitian skin effect (NHSE) in non-Hermitian lattice systems depicts the exponential localization of eigenstates at systems boundaries. It has led to a number of counter-intuitive phenomena and challenged our understanding of bulk-boundary correspondence in topological systems. This work aims to investigate how the NHSE localization and topological localization of in-gap edge states compete with each other, with several representative static and periodically driven 1D models, whose topological properties are protected by different symmetries. The emerging insight is that at critical system parameters, even topologically protected edge states can be perfectly delocalized. In particular, it is discovered that this intriguing delocalization occurs if the real spectrum of the systems edge states falls on the same systems complex spectral loop obtained under the periodic boundary condition. We have also performed sample numerical simulation to show that such delocalized topological edge states can be safely reconstructed from time-evolving states. Possible applications of delocalized topological edge states are also briefly discussed.
We present a scheme of interaction-induced topological bandstructures based on the spin anisotropy of exciton-polaritons in semiconductor microcavities. We predict theoretically that this scheme allows the engineering of topological gaps, without requiring a magnetic field or strong spin-orbit interaction (transverse electric-transverse magnetic splitting). Under non-resonant pumping, we find that an initially topologically trivial system undergoes a topological transition upon the spontaneous breaking of phase symmetry associated with polariton condensation. Under resonant coherent pumping, we find that it is also possible to engineer a topological dispersion that is linear in wavevector -- a property associated with polariton superfluidity.
We present a scheme to obtain anti-chiral edge states in an exciton-polariton honeycomb lattice with strip geometry, where the modes corresponding to both edges propagate in the same direction. Under resonant pumping the effect of a polariton condensate with nonzero velocity in one linear polarization is predicted to tilt the dispersion of polaritons in the other, which results in an energy shift between two Dirac cones and the otherwise flat edge states become tilted. Our simulations show that due to the spatial separation from the bulk modes the edge modes are robust against disorder.
Topological concepts have been applied to a wide range of fields in order to successfully describe the emergence of robust edge modes that are unaffected by scattering or disorder. In photonics, indications of lasing from topologically protected modes with improved overall laser characteristics were observed. Here, we study exciton-polariton microcavity traps that are arranged in a one-dimensional Su-Schrieffer-Heeger lattice and form a topological defect mode from which we unequivocally observe highly coherent polariton lasing. Additionally, we confirm the excitonic contribution to the polariton lasing by applying an external magnetic field. These systematic experimental findings of robust lasing and high temporal coherence are meticulously reproduced by a combination of a generalized Gross-Pitaevskii model and a Lindblad master equation model. Thus, by using the comparatively simple SSH geometry, we are able to describe and control the exciton-polariton topological lasing, allowing for a deeper understanding of topological effects on microlasers.
We study the possibility of transferring fermions from a trivial system as particle source to an empty system but at topological phase as a mold for casting a stable topological insulator dynamically. We show that this can be realized by a non-Hermitian unidirectional hopping, which connects a central system at topological phase and a trivial flat-band system with a periodic driving chemical potential, which scans over the valence band of the central system. The near exceptional-point dynamics allows a unidirectional dynamical process: the time evolution from an initial state with full-filled source system to a stable topological insulating state approximately. The result is demonstrated numerically by a source-assistant QWZ model and SSH chain in the presence of random perturbation. Our finding reveals a classical analogy of quench dynamics in quantum matter and provides a way for topological quantum state engineering.