Dynamical Majorana edge modes in a broad class of topological mechanical systems

Emil Prodan (), Kyle Dobiszewski, Alokik Kanwal, John Palmieri and Camelia Prodan
Additional contact information
Emil Prodan: Yeshiva University
Kyle Dobiszewski: New Jersey Institute of Technology
Alokik Kanwal: New Jersey Institute of Technology
John Palmieri: New Jersey Institute of Technology
Camelia Prodan: New Jersey Institute of Technology

Nature Communications, 2017, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract Mechanical systems can display topological characteristics similar to that of topological insulators. Here we report a large class of topological mechanical systems related to the BDI symmetry class. These are self-assembled chains of rigid bodies with an inversion centre and no reflection planes. The particle-hole symmetry characteristic to the BDI symmetry class stems from the distinct behaviour of the translational and rotational degrees of freedom under inversion. This and other generic properties led us to the remarkable conclusion that, by adjusting the gyration radius of the bodies, one can always simultaneously open a gap in the phonon spectrum, lock-in all the characteristic symmetries and generate a non-trivial topological invariant. The particle-hole symmetry occurs around a finite frequency, and hence we can witness a dynamical topological Majorana edge mode. Contrasting a floppy mode occurring at zero frequency, a dynamical edge mode can absorb and store mechanical energy, potentially opening new applications of topological mechanics.

Date: 2017
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms14587 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:8:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms14587

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/ncomms14587

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().