Observation of an acoustic topological Euler insulator with meronic wavesShow others and affiliations
2024 (English)In: Science Bulletin, ISSN 2095-9273, Vol. 69, no 11, p. 1653-1659Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Topological band theory has conventionally been concerned with the topology of bands around a single gap. Only recently non-Abelian topologies that thrive on involving multiple gaps were studied, unveiling a new horizon in topological physics beyond the conventional paradigm. Here, we report on the first experimental realization of a topological Euler insulator phase with unique meronic characterization in an acoustic metamaterial. We demonstrate that this topological phase has several nontrivial features: First, the system cannot be described by conventional topological band theory, but has a nontrivial Euler class that captures the unconventional geometry of the Bloch bands in the Brillouin zone. Second, we uncover in theory and probe in experiments a meronic configuration of the bulk Bloch states for the first time. Third, using a detailed symmetry analysis, we show that the topological Euler insulator evolves from a non-Abelian topological semimetal phase via. the annihilation of Dirac points in pairs in one of the band gaps. With these nontrivial properties, we establish concretely an unconventional bulk-edge correspondence which is confirmed by directly measuring the edge states via. pump-probe techniques. Our work thus unveils a nontrivial topological Euler insulator phase with a unique meronic pattern and paves the way as a platform for non-Abelian topological phenomena.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier BV , 2024. Vol. 69, no 11, p. 1653-1659
Keywords [en]
Euler insulators, Meronic waves, Acoustic metamaterials, Topological phases of matter
National Category
Subatomic Physics
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-350506DOI: 10.1016/j.scib.2024.04.009ISI: 001259101600001PubMedID: 38641514Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85190797587OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-350506DiVA, id: diva2:1884383
Note
QC 20240716
2024-07-162024-07-162024-07-16Bibliographically approved