Square-root topological state of coupled plasmonic nanoparticles in a decorated Su-Schrieffer-Heeger lattice.

Abstract

The square-root operation can generate systems with new (to the best of our knowledge) topological phases whose topological properties are inherited from the parent Hamiltonian. In this Letter, we introduce the concept of square-root topology in the two-dimensional (2D) Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) model and construct a square-root topological square nanoparticle lattice (SRTL) by inserting additional sites into the original 2D SSH model. We find that the topological states in the SRTL are intriguingly different from those in the corresponding SSH model (with on-site potential) due to the change in symmetrical characteristics. Plasmonic nanoparticle arrays are used to demonstrate this by including both nearest-neighbor and next-nearest-neighbor interactions within the dipole approximation. These unique topological states, such as the single corner mode and multiple topological edge modes, enrich the topological features produced by square-root operation and expand the scope to apply such topological features into photonic systems.