Model-free characterization of topological edge and corner states in mechanical networks

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Guzman, Marcelo; Guo, Xiaofei; Coulais, Corentin; Carpentier, David; Bartolo, Denis
• 署名单位: Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon (ENS de LYON); Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1; Universite Paris Cite; Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); University of Pennsylvania; University of Amsterdam
• 刊物名称: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0027-10295
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2305287121
• 发表日期: 2024-01-23

摘要

Topological materials can host edge and corner states that are protected from disorder and material imperfections. In particular, the topological edge states of mechanical structures present unmatched opportunities for achieving robust responses in wave guiding, sensing, computation, and filtering. However, determining whether a mechanical structure is topologically nontrivial and features topologically protected modes has hitherto relied on theoretical models. This strong requirement has limited the experimental and practical significance of topological mechanics to laboratory demonstrations. Here, we introduce and validate an experimental method to detect the topologically protected zero modes of mechanical structures without resorting to any modeling step. Our practical method is based on a simple electrostatic analogy: Topological zero modes are akin to electric charges. To detect them, we identify elementary mechanical molecules and measure their chiral polarization, a recently introduced marker of topology in chiral phases. Topological zero modes are then identified as singularities of the polarization field. Our method readily applies to any mechanical structure and effectively detects the edge and corner states of regular and higher -order topological insulators. Our findings extend the reach of chiral topological phases beyond designer materials and allow their direct experimental investigation.