Abstract
Topological photonic systems, with their ability to host states protected against disorder and perturbation, allow us to do with photons what topological insulators do with electrons. Topological photonics can refer to electronic systems coupled with light or purely photonic setups. By shrinking these systems to the nanoscale, we can harness the enhanced sensitivity observed in nanoscale structures and combine this with the protection of the topological photonic states, allowing us to design photonic local density of states and to push towards one of the ultimate goals of modern science: the precise control of photons at the nanoscale. This is paramount for both nanotechnological applications and fundamental research in light matter problems. For purely photonic systems, we work with bosonic rather than fermionic states, so the implementation of topology in these systems requires new paradigms. Trying to face these challenges has helped in the creation of the exciting new field of topological nanophotonics, with far-reaching applications. In this article, we review milestones in topological photonics and discuss how they can be built upon at the nanoscale.
Highlights
Topological photonic systems, with their ability to host states protected against disorder and perturbation, allow us to do with photons what topological insulators do with electrons
Excellent and extensive reviews already exist on topological photonics,[1,2,3,4] and many platforms showcasing unique strengths and limitations are currently being studied in the drive towards new applications in topological photonics, such as cold atoms,[5] liquid helium,[6] polaritons,[7] acoustic,[8] and mechanical systems,[9] but in this work, we restrict ourselves to nanostructures
The notion of topology in physics was introduced by von Klitzing and his discovery of the 2D quantum Hall (QH) state,[12] with Thouless et al explaining the quantization of the Hall conductance in 1982.13 Whereas QH states explicitly break time-reversal (TR) symmetry, new topologically non-trivial materials obeying TR symmetry have been discovered
Summary
One of the ultimate goals of modern science is the precise control of photons at the nanoscale. A key feature of topological condensed matter systems is the presence of topologically protected surface states immune to disorder and impurities These unusual properties can be transferred to nanophotonic systems, allowing us to combine the high sensitivity of nanoscale systems with the robustness of topological states. We expect that this new field of topological nanophotonics will lead to a plethora of new applications and increased physical insight. In this perspective, as presented schematically, we begin (Sec. II) by exploring topology in electronic systems. We include two interludes in which we introduce case studies and background theory, which are complementary to the main text
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