Abstract
The Su–Schrieffer–Heeger (SSH) model, which captures the most striking transport properties of the conductive organic polymer trans-polyacetylene, provides perhaps the most basic model system supporting topological excitations. The alternating bond pattern of polyacetylene chains is captured by the bipartite sublattice structure of the SSH model, emblematic of one-dimensional chiral symmetric topological insulators. This structure supports two distinct nontrivial topological phases, which, when interfaced with one another or with a topologically trivial phase, give rise to topologically protected, dispersionless boundary states. Here, using 87Rb atoms in a momentum-space lattice, we realize fully tunable condensed matter Hamiltonians, allowing us to probe the dynamics and equilibrium properties of the SSH model. We report on the experimental quantum simulation of this model and observation of the localized topological soliton state through quench dynamics, phase-sensitive injection, and adiabatic preparation.
Highlights
The Su–Schrieffer–Heeger (SSH) model, which captures the most striking transport properties of the conductive organic polymer trans-polyacetylene, provides perhaps the most basic model system supporting topological excitations
Using an atom-optics[23,24] realization of lattice tight-binding models[25,26], we report on the direct imaging and probing of topological bound states in the SSH model through quench dynamics, phase-sensitive injection, and adiabatic preparation
We begin with a brief description of our experimental methods for studying the SSH model, as discussed previously in refs 25,26
Summary
The Su–Schrieffer–Heeger (SSH) model, which captures the most striking transport properties of the conductive organic polymer trans-polyacetylene, provides perhaps the most basic model system supporting topological excitations. Using an atom-optics[23,24] realization of lattice tight-binding models[25,26], we report on the direct imaging and probing of topological bound states in the SSH model through quench dynamics, phase-sensitive injection, and adiabatic preparation. Our technique, based on the controlled coupling of discrete atomic momentum states through stimulated Bragg transitions, allows for arbitrary and dynamic control over the tunnelling amplitudes, tunnelling phases, and on-site energies in an effective 1D tight-binding model[25,26].
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