Higher order topology in a Creutz ladder

Abstract

A Creutz ladder, is a quasi one dimensional system hosting robust topological phases with localized edge modes protected by different symmetries such as inversion, chiral and particle-hole symmetries. Non-trivial topology is observed in a large region of the parameter space defined by the horizontal, diagonal and vertical hopping amplitudes and a transverse magnetic flux that threads through the ladder. In this work, we investigate higher order topology in a two dimensional extrapolated version of the Creutz ladder. To explore the topological phases, we consider two different configurations, namely a torus (periodic boundary) and a ribbon (open boundary) to look for hints of gap closing phase transitions. We also associate suitable topological invariants to characterize the non-trivial sectors. Further, we find that the resultant phase diagram hosts two different topological phases, one where the higher order topological excitations are realized in the form of robust corner modes, along with (usual) first order excitations demonstrated via the presence of edge modes in a finite lattice, for the other.