No Arabic abstract
We study the two-dimensional extension of the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model in its higher order topological insulator phase, which is known to host corner states. Using the separability of the model into a product of one-dimensional Su-Schrieffer-Heeger chains, we analytically describe the eigen-modes, and specifically the zero-energy level, which includes states localized in corners. We then consider networks with disordered hopping coefficients that preserve the chiral (sublattice) symmetry of the model. We show that the corner mode and its localization properties are robust against disorder if the hopping coefficients have a vanishing flux on appropriately defined super plaquettes. We then show how this model with disorder can be realised using an acoustic network of air channels, and confirm the presence and robustness of corner modes.
In this work, we investigate some aspects of an acoustic analogue of the two-dimensional Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model. The system is composed of alternating cross-section tubes connected in a square network, which in the limit of narrow tubes is described by a discrete model coinciding with the two-dimensional Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model. This model is known to host topological edge waves, and we develop a scattering theory to analyze how these waves scatter on edge structure changes. We show that these edge waves undergo a perfect reflection when scattering on a corner, incidentally leading to a new way of constructing corner modes. It is shown that reflection is high for a broad class of edge changes such as steps or defects. We then study consequences of this high reflectivity on finite networks. Globally, it appears that each straight part of edges, separated by corners or defects, hosts localized edge modes isolated from their neighbourhood.
We investigate the effect of correlated disorder on Majorana zero modes (MZMs) bound to magnetic vortices in two-dimensional topological superconductors. By starting from a lattice model of interacting fermions with a $p_x pm i p_y$ superconducting ground state in the disorder-free limit, we use perturbation theory to describe the enhancement of the Majorana localization length at weak disorder and a self-consistent numerical solution to understand the breakdown of the MZMs at strong disorder. We find that correlated disorder has a much stronger effect on the MZMs than uncorrelated disorder and that it is most detrimental if the disorder correlation length $ell$ is on the same order as the superconducting coherence length $xi$. In contrast, MZMs can survive stronger disorder for $ell ll xi$ as random variations cancel each other within the length scale of $xi$, while an MZM may survive up to very strong disorder for $ell gg xi$ if it is located in a favorable domain of the given disorder realization.
Recently, higher-order topological phases that do not obey the usual bulk-edge correspondence principle have been introduced in electronic insulators and brought into classical systems, featuring with in-gap corner/hinge states. So far, second-order topological insulators have been realized in mechanical metamaterials, microwave circuit, topolectrical circuit and acoustic metamaterials. Here, using near-field scanning measurements, we show the direct observation of corner states in second-order topological photonic crystal (PC) slabs consisting of periodic dielectric rods on a perfect electric conductor (PEC). Based on the generalized two-dimensional (2D) Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) model, we show that the emergence of corner states roots in the nonzero edge dipolar polarization instead of the nonzero bulk quadrupole polarization. We demonstrate the topological transition of 2D Zak phases of PC slabs by tuning intra-cell distances between two neighboring rods. We also directly observe in-gap 1D edge states and 0D corner states in the microwave regime. Our work presents that the PC slab is a powerful platform to directly observe topological states, and paves the way to study higher-order photonic topological insulators.
Topological phononic crystals (PCs) are periodic artificial structures which can support nontrivial acoustic topological bands, and their topological properties are linked to the existence of topological edge modes. Most previous studies focused on the topological edge modes in Bragg gaps which are induced by lattice scatterings. While local resonant gaps would be of great use in subwavelength control of acoustic waves, whether it is possible to achieve topological interface states in local resonant gaps is a question. In this article, we study the topological bands near local resonant gaps in a time-reversal symmetric acoustic systems and elaborate the evolution of band structure using a spring-mass model. Our acoustic structure can produce three band gaps in subwavelength region: one originates from local resonance of unit cell and the other two stem from band folding. It is found that the topological interface states can only exist in the band folding induced band gaps but never appear in the local resonant band gap. The numerical simulation perfectly agrees with theoretical results. Our study provides an approach of localizing the subwavelength acoustic wave.
The interplay between real-space topological lattice defects and the reciprocal-space topology of energy bands can give rise to novel phenomena, such as one-dimensional topological modes bound to screw dislocations in three-dimensional topological insulators. We obtain direct experimental observations of dislocation-induced helical modes in an acoustic analog of a weak three-dimensional topological insulator. The spatial distribution of the helical modes is found through spin-resolved field mapping, and verified numerically by tight-binding and finite-element calculations. These one-dimensional helical channels can serve as robust waveguides in three-dimensional media. Our experiment paves the way to studying novel physical modes and functionalities enabled by topological lattice defects in three-dimensional classical topological materials.