Edge states in honeycomb structures

DOI10.1007/S40818-016-0015-3zbMATH Open1404.35128arXiv1506.06111OpenAlexW2963700472MaRDI QIDQ1661391FDOQ1661391

Charles Fefferman, J. P. Lee-Thorp, Michael I. Weinstein

Publication date: 16 August 2018

Published in: Annals of PDE (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: An edge state is a time-harmonic solution of a conservative wave system, e.g. Schroedinger, Maxwell, which is propagating (plane-wave-like) parallel to, and localized transverse to, a line-defect or "edge". Topologically protected edge states are edge states which are stable against spatially localized (even strong) deformations of the edge. First studied in the context of the quantum Hall effect, protected edge states have attracted huge interest due to their role in the field of topological insulators. Theoretical understanding of topological protection has mainly come from discrete (tight-binding) models and direct numerical simulation. In this paper we consider a rich family of continuum PDE models for which we rigorously study regimes where topologically protected edge states exist. Our model is a class of Schroedinger operators on $mathbb{R}^2$ with a background 2D honeycomb potential perturbed by an "edge-potential". The edge potential is a domain-wall interpolation, transverse to a prescribed "rational" edge, between two distinct periodic structures. General conditions are given for the bifurcation of a branch of topologically protected edge states from Dirac points of the background honeycomb structure. The bifurcation is seeded by the zero mode of a 1D effective Dirac operator. A key condition is a spectral no-fold condition for the prescribed edge. We then use this result to prove the existence of topologically protected edge states along zigzag edges of certain honeycomb structures. Our results are consistent with the physics literature and appear to be the first rigorous results on the existence of topologically protected edge states for continuum 2D PDE systems describing waves in a non-trivial periodic medium. We also show that the family of Hamiltonians we study contains cases where zigzag edge states exist, but which are not topologically protected.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/1506.06111

zbMATH Keywords

[https://portal.mardi4nfdi.de/w/index.php?title=+Special%3ASearch&search=Schr%EF%BF%BD%EF%BF%BDdinger+equation&go=Go Schr��dinger equation]Dirac equationdomain wallhoneycomb latticeFloquet-Bloch spectrumtopological insulatoredge statesDirac point

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Schrödinger operator, Schrödinger equation (35J10) Bifurcations in context of PDEs (35B32) Time-dependent Schrödinger equations and Dirac equations (35Q41) Dynamical aspects of symmetries, equivariant bifurcation theory (37G40)

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Cited In (38)

• Topologically protected edge modes in one-dimensional chains of subwavelength resonators
• Generalized honeycomb-structured materials in the subwavelength regime
• Characterization of edge states in perturbed honeycomb structures
• Magnetic slowdown of topological edge states
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• Topological invariants for interface modes
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• The bulk-edge correspondence for continuous honeycomb lattices
• Effective Gaps in Continuous Floquet Hamiltonians
• Topology in shallow-water waves: a violation of bulk-edge correspondence
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• Nonlinear optical waveguide lattices: asymptotic analysis, solitons, and topological insulators
• Wavepackets in inhomogeneous periodic media: propagation through a one-dimensional band crossing
• Edge states and the valley Hall effect
• A high-frequency homogenization approach near the Dirac points in bubbly honeycomb crystals

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