Simulating Floquet topological phases in static systems

RWTH Publications (RWTH Aachen)

Abstract

We show that scattering from the boundary of static, higher-order topological insulators (HOTIs) can be used to simulate the behavior of (time-periodic) Floquet topological insulators. We consider D-dimensional HOTIs with gapless corner states which are weakly probed by external waves in a scattering setup. We find that the unitary reflection matrix describing back-scattering from the boundary of the HOTI is topologically equivalent to a (D-1)-dimensional nontrivial Floquet operator. To characterize the topology of the reflection matrix, we introduce the concept of `nested' scattering matrices. Our results provide a route to engineer topological Floquet systems in the lab without the need for external driving. As benefit, the topological system does not suffer from decoherence and heating.

Authors 3

1. Selma Franca corresponding

   Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research

   Affiliation as printed

   Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research

2. Fabian Hassler Aachen JARA-Institute for Quantum Information

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   JARA-Institute for Quantum Information, RWTH Aachen University, 52056 Aachen, Germany

3. Ion Cosma Fulga

   Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research

   Affiliation as printed

   Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research