Non-Hermitian topology of one-dimensional spin-torque oscillator arrays

Magnetic systems have been extensively studied both from a fundamental physics perspective and as building blocks for a variety of applications. Their topological properties, in particular those of excitations, remain relatively unexplored due to their inherently dissipative nature. The recent introduction of non-Hermitian topological classifications opens up new opportunities for engineering topological phases in dissipative systems. Here, we propose a magnonic realization of a non-Hermitian topological system. A crucial ingredient of our proposal is the injection of spin current into the magnetic system, which alters and can even change the sign of terms describing dissipation. We show that the magnetic dynamics of an array of spin-torque oscillators can be mapped onto a non-Hermitian Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model exhibiting topologically protected edge states. Using exact diagonalization of the linearized dynamics and numerical solutions of the non-linear equations of motion, we find that a topological magnonic phase can be accessed by tuning the spin current injected into the array. In the topologically nontrivial regime, a single spin-torque oscillator on the edge of the array is driven into auto-oscillation and emits a microwave signal, while the bulk oscillators remain inactive. Our findings have practical utility for memory devices and spintronics neural networks relying on spin-torque oscillators as constituent units.