Abstract In this paper, we treat quantum walks in a two-dimensional lattice with cutting edges along a straight boundary introduced by Asboth and Edge (2015 Phys. Rev . A 91 022324) in order to study one-dimensional edge states originating from topological phases of matter and to obtain collateral evidence of how a quantum walker reacts to the boundary. Firstly, we connect this model to the CMV matrix, which provides a 5-term recursion relation of the Laurent polynomial associated with spectral measure on the unit circle. Secondly, we explicitly derive the spectra of bulk and edge states of the quantum walk with the boundary using spectral analysis of the CMV matrix. Thirdly, while topological numbers of the model studied so far are well-defined only when gaps in the bulk spectrum exist, we find a new topological number defined only when there are no gaps in the bulk spectrum. We confirm that the existence of the spectrum for edge states derived from the CMV matrix is consistent with the prediction from a bulk-edge correspondence using topological numbers calculated in the cases where gaps in the bulk spectrum do or do not exist. Finally, we show how the edge states contribute to the asymptotic behavior of the quantum walk through limit theorems of the finding probability. Conversely, we also propose a differential equation using this limit distribution whose solution is the underlying edge state.
Abstract We outline a theory of symmetry protected topological phases of one-dimensional quantum walks. We assume spectral gaps around the symmetry-distinguished points +1 and −1, in which only discrete eigenvalues are allowed. The phase classification by integer or binary indices extends the classification known for translation invariant systems in terms of their band structure. However, our theory requires no translation invariance whatsoever, and the indices we define in this general setting are invariant under arbitrary symmetric local perturbations, even those that cannot be continuously contracted to the identity. More precisely we define two indices for every walk, characterizing the behavior far to the right and far to the left, respectively. Their sum is a lower bound on the number of eigenstates at +1 and −1. For a translation invariant system the indices add up to zero, so one of them already characterizes the phase. By joining two bulk phases with different indices we get a walk in which the right and left indices no longer cancel, so the theory predicts bound states at +1 or −1. This is a rigorous statement of bulk-edge correspondence. The results also apply to the Hamiltonian case with a single gap at zero.
We study discrete-time quantum walks on a half line by means of spectral analysis. Cantero et al. showed that the CMV matrix, which gives a recurrence relation for the orthogonal Laurent polynomials on the unit circle, expresses the dynamics of the quantum walk. Using the CGMV method introduced by them, the name is taken from their initials, we obtain the spectral measure for the quantum walk. As a corollary, we give another proof for localization of the quantum walk on homogeneous trees shown by Chisaki et al.
Abstract We provide strong numerical evidence for a dynamical bulk-boundary correspondence in two-dimensional topological matter which manifests itself as boundary contributions to the dynamical free energy and is governed by a two-dimensional non-Hermitian dynamical Loschmidt matrix—a setting largely unexplored beyond one dimension. Following a quantum quench, in-gap bands emerge in the spectrum of the Loschmidt matrix between successive dynamical quantum phase transitions when the time-evolving Hamiltonian is topological, while they are absent for quenches into the trivial phase in all cases we have studied. By fitting these in-gap bands, we show that they account for the observed boundary contributions to the dynamical free energy thus supporting a direct connection between the spectrum of a non-Hermitian dynamical matrix and topological boundary contributions. Taken together with earlier studies of the one-dimensional case, our results provide a framework to understand and classify dynamical topological phenomena based on the spectral properties of certain non-Hermitian matrices.
Discrete-time quantum walks have been shown to simulate all known topological phases in one and two dimensions. Being periodically driven quantum systems, their topological description, however, is more complex than that of closed Hamiltonian systems. We map out the topological phases of the particle-hole symmetric one-dimensional discrete-time quantum walk. We find that there is no chiral symmetry in this system: its topology arises from the particle-hole symmetry alone. We calculate the ${\mathbb{Z}}_{2}\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{\mathbb{Z}}_{2}$ topological invariant in a simple way that is consistent with a general definition for one-dimensional periodically driven quantum systems. These results allow for a transparent interpretation of the edge states on a finite lattice via the the bulk-boundary correspondence. We find that the bulk Floquet operator does not contain all the information needed for the topological invariant. As an illustration to this statement, we show that in the split-step quantum walk, the edges between two bulks with the same Floquet operator can host topologically protected edge states.
Discrete-time quantum walks (DTQW) have topological phases that are richer than those of time-independent lattice Hamiltonians. Even the basic symmetries, on which the standard classification of topological insulators hinges, have not yet been properly defined for quantum walks. We introduce the key tool of time frames, i.e., we describe a DTQW by the ensemble of time-shifted unitary time-step operators belonging to the walk. This gives us a way to consistently define chiral symmetry (CS) for DTQW's. We show that CS can be ensured by using an ``inversion symmetric'' pulse sequence. For one-dimensional DTQW's with CS, we identify the bulk $\mathbb{Z}\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}\mathbb{Z}$ topological invariant that controls the number of topologically protected 0 and $\ensuremath{\pi}$ energy edge states at the interfaces between different domains, and give simple formulas for these invariants. We illustrate this bulk-boundary correspondence for DTQW's on the example of the ``4-step quantum walk,'' where tuning CS and particle-hole symmetry realizes edge states in various symmetry classes.
We study the topological properties of one-dimensional discrete-time quantum walks with Fibonacci quasiperiodic modulation. Spectral analysis under open boundary conditions reveals isolated edge modes that coexist at both zero and
π energies within bulk gaps. Using the mean chiral displacement (MCD) as a dynamical bulk probe, we obtain a fractal, butterfly-like phase diagram, indicating a nontrivial bulk topology. However, since the MCD involves wave-packet averaging, its direct correspondence with boundary-localized states remains ambiguous. To resolve this issue, we determine the integer topological invariant by employing the Schur function formalism, a scattering-based approach defined on the unit disk. This analysis identifies a topological phase with winding number
W=2 inside the ``wings'' of the butterfly diagram, demonstrating that the coexistence of zero- and
π-energy edge modes is an intrinsic bulk property. Moreover, we find that the topological index crucially depends on the phason degree of freedom: the winding number can take values of
W=0,
2, and even
4 depending on the local surface termination. This behavior originates from the surface impedance, which yields an effective winding number ranges from complete masking by reflective boundaries (
W=0) to enhancement through surface resonances (
W=4). Finally, we show that although individual surface terminations lead to anisotropic phase diagrams, their ensemble average restores the overall geometric structure observed in the MCD phase diagram. Our results establish a complete bulk-edge correspondence in quasiperiodic quantum walks and provide a guiding principle for surface topological engineering, where edge transport can be controlled purely through boundary manipulation.