Dissipation-induced Nonlinear Topological Gear Switching
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Nonlinear interaction enables topological phenomena impossible in linear systems. A paradigm is nonlinear Thouless pump, where the transport of solitons can be topologically quantized even when band occupation is nonuniform. Such nonlinear quantization traditionally requires a time-periodic Hamiltonian with static nonlinearity and, much as in the linear case, is inherently independent of pumping speed. Instead, we demonstrate a dissipation-induced topological gear switching, where quantized soliton transport can be switched on and off via the adiabatic pumping speed itself. This phenomenon has no counterpart in prior conservative nonlinear pumps, nor in linear non-Hermitian pumps. Crucially, quantization here no longer requires a time-periodic nonlinear Hamiltonian; it stems from a genuinely non-equilibrium mechanism captured by an effective conservative model whose \textit{nonlinearity varies aperiodically in time}. Remarkably, a quantized nonlinear transport can be induced even when this nonlinear aperiodic driving is such that the system is pumped from the linear to nonlinear regimes. Our results open a route toward nonequilibrium nonlinear topological matter, where topological effect is dynamically reconfigurable via time-varying nonlinearities, with experimental implications for photonic, atomic, or superconducting platforms and beyond.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7147261255
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