Topological Higgs amplitude modes in strongly interacting superfluids

Abstract

By studying the 2-dimensional Su-Schrieffer-Heeger-Bose-Hubbard model, we show the existence of topological Higgs amplitude modes in the strongly interacting superfluid phase. Using the slave boson approach, we find that, in the large filling limit, the Higgs excitations and the Goldstone excitations above the ground state are well decoupled, and both of them exhibit nontrivial topology inherited from the underlying noninteracting bands. At finite fillings, they become coupled at high energies; nevertheless, the topology of these modes are unchanged. Moreover, based on an effective action analysis, we further provide a universal physical picture for the topological character of Higgs and Goldstone modes. Our discovery of the first realization of the topological Higgs mode opens the path to novel investigations in various systems such as superconductors and quantum magnetism.