nature physics
Topology puts solitons in the corner
Grazia Salerno ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5979-18371
Nature Physics volume 17, pages 980–981 (2021)Cite this article
Nonlinear optics
Topological matter
Nonlinearity and topology are both linked to symmetries, but what happens when the two are combined is not a trivial question. In a nonlinear photonic higher-order topological insulator, solitons localize on the corners together with the topological modes.
Many physical phenomena are described as linear effects, even though nonlinearities are important in a range of systems across the natural sciences. From fluids to atomic condensates and optics, one hallmark of nonlinear systems is the soliton — a robust and highly localized wave that doesn't change size or shape. Solitons are self-sustained by a perfect balance between linear and nonlinear effects. But what happens to this delicate balance when other localization effects are introduced? For example, one can wonder whether solitons can coexist with the localized edge states of a topological insulator. Writing in Nature Physics, Marco Kirsch and colleagues report that they have tackled this issue by investigating the fate of topological boundary modes in the nonlinear regime of a photonic system1.
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Fig. 1: Topological soliton formation.
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Department of Applied Physics, School of Science, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland
Grazia Salerno
Correspondence to Grazia Salerno.
Salerno, G. Topology puts solitons in the corner. Nat. Phys. 17, 980–981 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-021-01282-4
Nonlinear second-order photonic topological insulators
Marco S. Kirsch
Yiqi Zhang
Matthias Heinrich
Letter Open Access 01 Jul 2021
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Nature Physics (Nat. Phys.) ISSN 1745-2481 (online) ISSN 1745-2473 (print)