Wavefront dislocations reveal the topology of quasi-1D photonic insulators

Clément Dutreix (), Matthieu Bellec, Pierre Delplace and Fabrice Mortessagne ()
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Clément Dutreix: Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, LOMA, UMR 5798
Matthieu Bellec: Université Côte d’Azur, CNRS, Institut de Physique de Nice
Pierre Delplace: Univ Lyon, Ens de Lyon, Univ Claude Bernard, CNRS, Laboratoire de Physique
Fabrice Mortessagne: Université Côte d’Azur, CNRS, Institut de Physique de Nice

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract Phase singularities appear ubiquitously in wavefields, regardless of the wave equation. Such topological defects can lead to wavefront dislocations, as observed in a humongous number of classical wave experiments. Phase singularities of wave functions are also at the heart of the topological classification of the gapped phases of matter. Despite identical singular features, topological insulators and topological defects in waves remain two distinct fields. Realising 1D microwave insulators, we experimentally observe a wavefront dislocation – a 2D phase singularity – in the local density of states when the systems undergo a topological phase transition. We show theoretically that the change in the number of interference fringes at the transition reveals the topological index that characterises the band topology in the insulator.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23790-w

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