Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: We connect microscopic nonreciprocity to chiral boundary transport in a minimal frustrated Vicsek--Kuramoto model. Unlike field-level constructions, a low-angular-harmonic closure of particle dynamics yields the non-Hermitian operator. Direction-independent polar projector limits permit wave-number compactification, and the Sakaguchi phase lag reverses the polar spin weights, producing $C=\pm2$ where the closure is nonsingular and the projector remains globally isolated. Strip edge-mode propagation agrees with particle circulation. Crucially, chirality and defect tolerance are distinct: before pattern onset, boundary streams retain chirality on regular convex boundaries but are vulnerable to strong isolated defects; an interior vortex lattice supports a counterpropagating edge stream with substantially stronger defect tolerance in the tested geometries. Thus spectral topology selects a chiral boundary branch, while pattern formation supports its robust nonlinear realization.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Authors: Zhu, Tong, Zheng, Zhigang
Institution: Huaqiao University
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: G2569537234, G2958493599
OpenAlex ID: W7165907055