Abstract
Nodal lines are symmetry-protected one-dimensional band degeneracies in momentum space, which can appear in numerous topological configurations such as nodal rings, chains, links, and knots. Very recently, non-Abelian topological physics have been proposed in space-time inversion (PT) symmetric systems. One of the most special configurations in such systems is the earring nodal link, composing of a nodal chain linking with an isolated nodal line. Such earring nodal links have not been observed in real systems. We designed phononic crystals with earring nodal links, and experimentally observed two different kinds of earring nodal links by measuring the band structures. We found that the order of the nodal chain and line can be switched after band inversion but their link cannot be severed. Our Letter provides experimental evidence for phenomena unique to non-Abelian band topology and our acoustic system provides a convenient platform for studying the new materials carrying non-Abelian charges.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Journal | Physical Review Letters |
| Volume | 128 |
| Issue number | 24 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 14 2022 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2022-06-17Acknowledged KAUST grant number(s): KAUST20SC01
Acknowledgements: This work is supported by Hong Kong RGC Grant No. AoE/P-502/20, Grant No. 16307821, KAUST CRG grant (KAUST20SC01), the Croucher foundation (CAS20SC01), the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant No. 2018YFA0305800), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants No. 11890701, No. 11774275 and No. 11974262).
This publication acknowledges KAUST support, but has no KAUST affiliated authors.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Physics and Astronomy