Nonlinearity-induced photonic topological insulator
Year: 2020
Type: article
Abstract: A hallmark feature of topological insulators is robust edge transport that is impervious to scattering at defects and lattice disorder. We demonstrate a topological system, using a photonic platform, in which the existence of the topological phase is brought about by optical nonlinearity. The lattice structure remains topologically trivial in the linear regime, but as the optical power is increased above a certain power threshold, the system is driven into the topologically nontrivial regime. This transition is marked by the transient emergence of a protected unidirectional transport channel along the edge of the structure. Our work studies topological properties of matter in the nonlinear regime, providing a possible route for the development of compact devices that harness topological features in an on-demand fashion.
Source: Science
Authors: Lukas J. Maczewsky, Matthias Heinrich, Mark Kremer, Sergey K. Ivanov, Max Ehrhardt, Franklin Martinez, Yaroslav V. Kartashov, Vladimir V. Konotop, Lluis Torner, Dieter Bauer, Alexander Szameit
Institutions: University of Rostock, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Institute of Spectroscopy, Institute of Photonic Sciences, Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, University of Lisbon, Centro de Física Teórica e Computacional, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya
Language: English
Subfield: Condensed Matter Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3093705263