Observation of momentum-gap topology of light at temporal interfaces in a time-synthetic lattice
Abstract Topological phases have prevailed across diverse disciplines, spanning electronics, photonics, and acoustics. Hitherto, the understanding of these phases has centred on energy (frequency) bandstructures, showcasing topological boundary states at spatial interfaces. Recent strides have uncov...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56021-7 |
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| author | Yudong Ren Kangpeng Ye Qiaolu Chen Fujia Chen Li Zhang Yuang Pan Wenhao Li Xinrui Li Lu Zhang Hongsheng Chen Yihao Yang |
| author_facet | Yudong Ren Kangpeng Ye Qiaolu Chen Fujia Chen Li Zhang Yuang Pan Wenhao Li Xinrui Li Lu Zhang Hongsheng Chen Yihao Yang |
| author_sort | Yudong Ren |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Topological phases have prevailed across diverse disciplines, spanning electronics, photonics, and acoustics. Hitherto, the understanding of these phases has centred on energy (frequency) bandstructures, showcasing topological boundary states at spatial interfaces. Recent strides have uncovered a unique category of bandstructures characterised by gaps in momentum, referred to as momentum bandgaps or k gaps, notably driven by breakthroughs in photonic time crystals. This discovery hints at abundant topological phases defined within momentum bands, alongside a wealth of topological boundary states in the time domain. Here, we report the experimental observation of k-gap topology in a large-scale optical temporal synthetic lattice, manifesting as temporal topological boundary states. These boundary states are uniquely situated at temporal interfaces between two subsystems with distinct k-gap topology. Counterintuitively, despite the exponential amplification of k-gap modes within both subsystems, these topological boundary states exhibit decay in both temporal directions [i.e., with energy growing (decaying) before (after) the temporal interfaces]. Our findings mark a significant pathway for delving into k gaps, temporal topological states, and time-varying physics. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ec673ef188bd48f296ab71e159bd65c5 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-ec673ef188bd48f296ab71e159bd65c52025-01-19T12:32:20ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-01-011611710.1038/s41467-025-56021-7Observation of momentum-gap topology of light at temporal interfaces in a time-synthetic latticeYudong Ren0Kangpeng Ye1Qiaolu Chen2Fujia Chen3Li Zhang4Yuang Pan5Wenhao Li6Xinrui Li7Lu Zhang8Hongsheng Chen9Yihao Yang10State Key Laboratory of Extreme Photonics and Instrumentation, ZJU-Hangzhou Global Scientific and Technological Innovation Center, Zhejiang UniversityState Key Laboratory of Extreme Photonics and Instrumentation, ZJU-Hangzhou Global Scientific and Technological Innovation Center, Zhejiang UniversityState Key Laboratory of Extreme Photonics and Instrumentation, ZJU-Hangzhou Global Scientific and Technological Innovation Center, Zhejiang UniversityState Key Laboratory of Extreme Photonics and Instrumentation, ZJU-Hangzhou Global Scientific and Technological Innovation Center, Zhejiang UniversityState Key Laboratory of Extreme Photonics and Instrumentation, ZJU-Hangzhou Global Scientific and Technological Innovation Center, Zhejiang UniversityState Key Laboratory of Extreme Photonics and Instrumentation, ZJU-Hangzhou Global Scientific and Technological Innovation Center, Zhejiang UniversityState Key Laboratory of Extreme Photonics and Instrumentation, ZJU-Hangzhou Global Scientific and Technological Innovation Center, Zhejiang UniversityState Key Laboratory of Extreme Photonics and Instrumentation, ZJU-Hangzhou Global Scientific and Technological Innovation Center, Zhejiang UniversityState Key Laboratory of Extreme Photonics and Instrumentation, ZJU-Hangzhou Global Scientific and Technological Innovation Center, Zhejiang UniversityState Key Laboratory of Extreme Photonics and Instrumentation, ZJU-Hangzhou Global Scientific and Technological Innovation Center, Zhejiang UniversityState Key Laboratory of Extreme Photonics and Instrumentation, ZJU-Hangzhou Global Scientific and Technological Innovation Center, Zhejiang UniversityAbstract Topological phases have prevailed across diverse disciplines, spanning electronics, photonics, and acoustics. Hitherto, the understanding of these phases has centred on energy (frequency) bandstructures, showcasing topological boundary states at spatial interfaces. Recent strides have uncovered a unique category of bandstructures characterised by gaps in momentum, referred to as momentum bandgaps or k gaps, notably driven by breakthroughs in photonic time crystals. This discovery hints at abundant topological phases defined within momentum bands, alongside a wealth of topological boundary states in the time domain. Here, we report the experimental observation of k-gap topology in a large-scale optical temporal synthetic lattice, manifesting as temporal topological boundary states. These boundary states are uniquely situated at temporal interfaces between two subsystems with distinct k-gap topology. Counterintuitively, despite the exponential amplification of k-gap modes within both subsystems, these topological boundary states exhibit decay in both temporal directions [i.e., with energy growing (decaying) before (after) the temporal interfaces]. Our findings mark a significant pathway for delving into k gaps, temporal topological states, and time-varying physics.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56021-7 |
| spellingShingle | Yudong Ren Kangpeng Ye Qiaolu Chen Fujia Chen Li Zhang Yuang Pan Wenhao Li Xinrui Li Lu Zhang Hongsheng Chen Yihao Yang Observation of momentum-gap topology of light at temporal interfaces in a time-synthetic lattice Nature Communications |
| title | Observation of momentum-gap topology of light at temporal interfaces in a time-synthetic lattice |
| title_full | Observation of momentum-gap topology of light at temporal interfaces in a time-synthetic lattice |
| title_fullStr | Observation of momentum-gap topology of light at temporal interfaces in a time-synthetic lattice |
| title_full_unstemmed | Observation of momentum-gap topology of light at temporal interfaces in a time-synthetic lattice |
| title_short | Observation of momentum-gap topology of light at temporal interfaces in a time-synthetic lattice |
| title_sort | observation of momentum gap topology of light at temporal interfaces in a time synthetic lattice |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56021-7 |
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