Spatiotemporal Topological Phase Transition in non-Hermitian Photonic System

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2602.05475v1
• Date: Thu, 05 Feb 2026 09:28:07 GMT
• Title: Spatiotemporal Topological Phase Transition in non-Hermitian Photonic System
• Authors: Zimeng Zeng, Zhuoyang Li, Jiayao Liu, Zelong He, Zhaona Wang,
• Abstract summary: We create a versatile platform for exploring synthetic spacetime physics and open new avenues for controlling light via non-Hermitian band engineering.<n>Our work creates a versatile, bias-free platform for exploring synthetic spacetime physics and opens new avenues for controlling light via non-Hermitian band engineering.
• Score: 2.7748374118381265
• License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Abstract: While energy band topology in spatial photonic crystals (PCs) and momentum-band topology in temporal crystals have each served as powerful probes of topological phases in their respective domains, their unification in a static platform remains unexplored. In this Letter, we bridge this gap by introducing a waveguide assisted non-Hermitian SSH model, in which controlled tuning of loss and coupling drives PT-symmetry breaking and enables a continuous transition between energy- and momentum-gap regimes. This allows us to construct a complete spatiotemporal topological phase diagram in a unified parameter space. By mapping this phase diagram onto a spatially graded PC, we experimentally observe multiple Bloch momentum-band gaps and a continuous spatiotemporal topological transition via translating across the static sample, enabling real-time control over the evolution pathway of the band topology. Our work creates a versatile, bias-free platform for exploring synthetic spacetime physics and opens new avenues for controlling light via non-Hermitian band engineering.

Related papers

• Observation of non-Hermitian topology in cold Rydberg quantum gases [42.41909362660157]
  We experimentally demonstrate non-Hermitian spectra topology in a dissipative Rydberg atomic gas.<n>By increasing the interaction strength, the system evolves from Hermitian to non-Hermitian regime.<n>This work establishes cold Rydberg gases as a versatile platform for exploring the rich interplay between non-Hermitian topology, strong interactions, and dissipative quantum dynamics.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2025-09-30T13:44:43Z)
• Observation of Momentum-Band Topology in PT-Symmetric acoustic Floquet Lattices [4.874977527406085]
  We present a comprehensive study on the momentum-band topology in a PT-symmetric Floquet lattice.<n>By reconstructing the effective Hamiltonian, we extract the system's eigenstates and provide the first bulk evidence of momentum-band topology.<n>Our work paves the way for further experimental studies on the burgeoning momentum-gap physics.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2025-07-05T15:10:05Z)
• Topological crystals and soliton lattices in a Gross-Neveu model with Hilbert-space fragmentation [39.146761527401424]
  We explore the finite-density phase diagram of the single-flavour Gross-Neveu-Wilson (GNW) model.<n>We find a sequence of inhomogeneous ground states that arise through a real-space version of the mechanism of Hilbert-space fragmentation.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2025-06-23T14:19:35Z)
• Probing the Topological Anderson Transition in Quasiperiodic Photonic Lattices via Chiral Displacement and Wavelength Tuning [0.0]
  We report on a topological Anderson transition caused by quasiperiodic modulation of the stronger intra-cell couplings in photonic Su-Schrieffer-Heeger lattices.<n>As the quasiperiodic strength is varied, the system exhibits a reentrant transition from a trivial phase to a topological phase and back to a trivial phase, accompanied by the closing and reopening of the band gap around zero energy.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2025-03-10T10:52:57Z)
• Tailoring transport in quantum spin chains via disorder and collisions [41.94295877935867]
  We investigate the interplay of disorder and time-homogeneous collisional noise in shaping the transport dynamics of anisotropic XXZZ spin chain.<n>We find that space-homogeneous and low-rate collisions can shape regions where localization sets in the form of subsequent plateaus.<n>Our findings can be applied to design stroboscopic protocols where sequences of transport and localization can be tailored.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2025-02-21T15:11:58Z)
• Gapless Floquet topology [40.2428948628001]
  We study the existence of topological edge zero- and pi-modes despite the lack of bulk gaps in the quasienergy spectrum. We numerically study the effect of interactions, which give a finite lifetime to the edge modes in the thermodynamic limit with the decay rate consistent with Fermi's Golden Rule.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2024-11-04T19:05:28Z)
• Real-space detection and manipulation of topological edge modes with ultracold atoms [56.34005280792013]
  We demonstrate an experimental protocol for realizing chiral edge modes in optical lattices. We show how to efficiently prepare particles in these edge modes in three distinct Floquet topological regimes. We study how edge modes emerge at the interface and how the group velocity of the particles is modified as the sharpness of the potential step is varied.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2023-04-04T17:36:30Z)
• Out-of-Time-Order Correlation as a Witness for Topological Phase Transitions [10.799933392186222]
  We propose a physical witness for dynamically detecting topological phase transitions (TPTs) via an experimentally observable out-of-time-order correlation (OTOC) The distinguishable OTOC dynamics appears in the topological trivial and non-trivial phases due to the topological locality. Our work fundamentally brings the OTOC in the realm of TPTs, and offers the prospect of exploring new topological physics with quantum correlations.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2023-02-02T07:57:22Z)
• Unconventional Floquet topological phases from quantum engineering of band inversion surfaces [2.722229723122409]
  Floquet engineering provides a toolbox for the realization of novel quantum phases without static counterparts. We propose a scheme to realize unconventional Floquet topological phases by engineering local band structures in particular momentum subspace called band surfaces (BISs) This scheme is based on a new bulk-boundary correspondence that for a class of generic $d$-dimensional periodically driven systems, the local topological structure formed in each BIS uniquely determines the features of gapless boundary modes.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2021-12-02T10:08:20Z)
• Floquet engineering of topological localization transitions and mobility edges in one-dimensional non-Hermitian quasicrystals [0.0]
  Time-periodic driving fields could endow a system with peculiar topological and transport features. We find dynamically controlled localization transitions and mobility edges in non-Hermitian quasicrystals via shaking the lattice periodically.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2021-06-14T03:53:08Z)
• Qubit-photon bound states in topological waveguides with long-range hoppings [62.997667081978825]
  Quantum emitters interacting with photonic band-gap materials lead to the appearance of qubit-photon bound states. We study the features of the qubit-photon bound states when the emitters couple to the bulk modes in the different phases. We consider the coupling of emitters to the edge modes appearing in the different topological phases.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2021-05-26T10:57:21Z)

This list is automatically generated from the titles and abstracts of the papers in this site.

This site does not guarantee the quality of this site (including all information) and is not responsible for any consequences.