No Arabic abstract
Weyl points are point degeneracies that occur in momentum space of periodic materials, and are associated with a quantized topological charge. We experimentally observe in a 3D micro-printed photonic crystal that a charge-2 Weyl point can be split into two charge-1 Weyl points as the protecting symmetry of the original charge-2 Weyl point is broken. Moreover, we use a theoretical analysis to confirm where the charge-1 Weyl points move within the Brillouin zone as the strength of the symmetry breaking increases, and confirm it in experiments using Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry. This micro-scale observation and control of Weyl points is important for realizing robust topological devices in the near-infrared.
Weyl points are robust point degeneracies in the band structure of a periodic material, which act as monopoles of Berry curvature. They have been at the forefront of research in three-dimensional topological materials (whether photonic, electronic or otherwise) as they are associated with novel behavior both in the bulk and on the surface. Here, we present the experimental observation of a charge-2 photonic Weyl point in a low-index-contrast photonic crystal fabricated by two-photon polymerization. The reflection spectrum obtained via Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy closely matches simulations and shows two bands with quadratic dispersion around a point degeneracy. This work provides a launching point towards all-dielectric, low-contrast three-dimensional photonic topological devices.
Quite recently a novel variety of unconventional fourfold linear band degeneracy points has been discovered in certain condensed-matter systems. Contrary to the standard 3-D Dirac monopoles, these quadruple points referred to as the charge-2 Dirac points are characterized by nonzero net topological charges, which can be exploited to delve into hitherto unknown realms of topological physics. Here, we report on the experimental realization of the charge-2 Dirac point by deliberately engineering hybrid topological states called super-modes in a 1-D optical superlattice system with two additional synthetic dimensions. Utilizing direct reflection and transmission measurements, we exhibit the existence of super-modes attributed to the synthetic charge-2 Dirac point, which has been achieved in the visible region for the first time. We also show the experimental approach to manipulating two spawned Weyl points that are identically charged in synthetic space. Moreover, topological end modes uniquely resulting from the charge-2 Dirac point can be delicately controlled within truncated superlattice samples, opening a pathway for us to rationally engineer local fields with intense enhancement.
Weyl points are the degenerate points in three-dimensional momentum space with nontrivial topological phase, which are usually realized in classical system with structure and symmetry designs. Here we proposed a one-dimensional layer-stacked photonic crystal using anisotropic materials to realize ideal type-II Weyl points without structure designs. The topological transition from two Dirac points to four Weyl points can be clearly observed by tuning the twist angle between layers. Besides, on the interface between the photonic type-II Weyl material and air, gappless surface states have also been demonstrated in an incomplete bulk bandgap. By breaking parameter symmetry, these ideal type-II Weyl points at the same frequency would transform into the non-ideal ones, and exhibit topological surface states with single group velocity. Our work may provide a new idea for the realization of photonic Weyl points or other semimetal phases by utilizing naturally anisotropic materials.
Quadrupole topological phases, exhibiting protected boundary states that are themselves topological insulators of lower dimensions, have recently been of great interest. Extensions of these ideas from current tight binding models to continuum theories for realistic materials require the identification of quantized invariants describing the bulk quadrupole order. Here we identify the analog of quadrupole order in Maxwells equations for a photonic crystal (PhC) and identify quadrupole topological photonic crystals formed through a band inversion process. Unlike prior studies relying on threaded flux, our quadrupole moment is quantized purely by crystalline symmetries, which we confirm using three independent methods: analysis of symmetry eigenvalues, numerical calculations of the nested Wannier bands, and the expectation value of the quadrupole operator. Furthermore, through the bulk-edge correspondence of Wannier bands, we reveal the boundary manifestations of nontrivial quadrupole phases as quantized polarizations at edges and bound states at corners. Finally, we relate the nontrivial corner states to the emergent phenomena of quantized fractional corner charges and a filling anomaly as first predicted in electronic systems. Our work paves the way to further explore higher-order topological phases in nanophotonic systems and our method of inducing quadrupole phase transitions is also applicable to other wave systems, such as electrons, phonons and polaritons.
We present a physical explanation of Zitterbewegung-like effect near the zero-refractive-index point in a metamaterial slab in this paper. Between the negative and positive refractive index regions centered at the zero-refractive-index point, the transmittance spectrum distribution of the metamaterial slab is asymmetrical. When a symmetrical pulse propagates through the metamaterial slab, its transmitted spectrum becomes asymmetrical due to the asymmetry of the transmittance spectrum of the slab, leading to a transmitted pulse with an asymmetrical temporal shape. The asymmetry manifests a kind of temporally tailed oscillations, i.e., the Zitterbewegung-like effect. Further, the effect of the temporal and spatial widths of pulse, and the thickness of metamaterial slab on the tailed oscillations of the transmitted pulse has also been discussed. Our results agree well with what the other researchers obtained on the strength of relativistic quantum concepts; however, the viewpoint of our analysis is classical and irrelevant to relativistic quantum mechanics.