Nonlocal topological insulators: Deterministic aperiodic arrays supporting localized topological states protected by nonlocal symmetries
| Autor: | Xiang Ni, Alexander B. Khanikaev, Matthew Weiner, Kai Chen, Mengyao Li, Andrea Alù |
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| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
| ISSN: | 1091-6490 |
| Popis: | Significance A concept of nonlocal topological phases of DAAs introduced here establishes a different direction in topological physics and offers approaches to emulate higher-dimensional topology in lower-dimensional systems. Our study also unveils opportunities to engineer topologically protected states in aperiodic systems and paves the path to application of resonances associated with such states, whose robustness is ensured by nonlocal symmetries of DAAs. In particular, the possibility to engineer multiple localized resonances via dimensional reduction and their unique features, such as precise spectral properties stemming from their topological nature, offers remarkable opportunities for practical applications, from robust resonators to sensors and aperiodic topological lasers. The properties of topological systems are inherently tied to their dimensionality. Indeed, higher-dimensional periodic systems exhibit topological phases not shared by their lower-dimensional counterparts. On the other hand, aperiodic arrays in lower-dimensional systems (e.g., the Harper model) have been successfully employed to emulate higher-dimensional physics. This raises a general question on the possibility of extended topological classification in lower dimensions, and whether the topological invariants of higher-dimensional periodic systems may assume a different meaning in their lower-dimensional aperiodic counterparts. Here, we demonstrate that, indeed, for a topological system in higher dimensions one can construct a one-dimensional (1D) deterministic aperiodic counterpart which retains its spectrum and topological characteristics. We consider a four-dimensional (4D) quantized hexadecapole higher-order topological insulator (HOTI) which supports topological corner modes. We apply the Lanczos transformation and map it onto an equivalent deterministic aperiodic 1D array (DAA) emulating 4D HOTI in 1D. We observe topological zero-energy zero-dimensional (0D) states of the DAA—the direct counterparts of corner states in 4D HOTI and the hallmark of the multipole topological phase, which is meaningless in lower dimensions. To explain this paradox, we show that higher-dimension invariant, the multipole polarization, retains its quantization in the DAA, yet changes its meaning by becoming a nonlocal correlator in the 1D system. By introducing nonlocal topological phases of DAAs, our discovery opens a direction in topological physics. It also unveils opportunities to engineer topological states in aperiodic systems and paves the path to application of resonances associates with such states protected by nonlocal symmetries. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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