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arXiv:1904.03202 · Physical Review Research

Hopf characterization of two-dimensional Floquet topological insulators

F. Nur Ünal, André Eckardt, Robert-Jan Slager

Published Sep 9, 2019• 65 citations
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Abstract

This paper shows that the dynamics of two-band systems can be characterized by Hopf maps, where the winding numbers are cast as linking numbers. This finding opens the doors towards both the investigation of Hopf insulators in experiments with ultracold atoms in driven optical lattices and the measurement of Floquet topological invariants via the observation of post quench-dynamics

DOI
10.1103/physrevresearch.1.022003

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This paper shows that the dynamics of two-band systems can be characterized by Hopf maps, where the winding numbers are cast as linking numbers. This finding opens the doors towards both the investigation of Hopf insulators in experiments with ultracold atoms in driven optical lattices and the measurement of Floquet topological invariants via the observation of post quench-dynamics
We present a topological characterization of time-periodically driven two-band models in 2+1 dimensions as Hopf insulators. The intrinsic periodicity of the Floquet system with respect to both time and the underlying two-dimensional momentum space constitutes a map from a three-dimensional torus to the Bloch sphere. As a result, we find that the driven system can be understood by appealing to a Hopf map that is directly constructed from the micromotion of the drive. Previously found winding numbers are shown to correspond to Hopf invariants, which are associated with linking numbers describing the topology of knots in three dimensions. Moreover, after being cast as a Hopf insulator, not only the Chern numbers but also the winding numbers of the Floquet topological insulator become accessible in experiments as linking numbers. We exploit this description to propose a feasible scheme for measuring the complete set of their Floquet topological invariants in optical lattices.
Recent experiments began to explore the topological properties of quench dynamics, i.e. the time evolution following a sudden change in the Hamiltonian, via tomography of quantum gases in optical lattices. In contrast to the well established theory for static band insulators or periodically driven systems, at present it is not clear whether, and how, topological invariants can be defined for a general quench of band insulators. Previous work solved a special case of this problem beautifully using Hopf mapping of two-band Hamiltonians in two dimensions. But it only works for topologically trivial initial state and is hard to generalize to multiband systems or other dimensions. Here we introduce the concept of loop unitary constructed from the unitary time-evolution operator, and show its homotopy invariant fully characterizes the dynamical topology. For two-band systems in two dimensions, we prove that the invariant is precisely equal to the change in the Chern number across the quench regardless of the initial state. We further show that the nontrivial dynamical topology manifests as hedgehog defects in the loop unitary, and also as winding and linking of its eigenvectors along a curve where dynamical quantum phase transition occurs. This opens up a systematic route to classify and characterize quantum quench dynamics.
The classification of topological Floquet systems with time-periodic Hamiltonians transcends that of static systems. For example, spinless fermions in periodically driven two-dimensional lattices are not completely characterized by the Chern numbers of the quasienergy bands, but rather by a set of winding numbers associated with the gaps. We propose a feasible scheme for measuring these winding numbers in a periodically driven optical lattice efficiently and directly. It is based on the construction of a one-parameter family of drives, continuously connecting the Floquet system of interest to a trivial reference system. The winding numbers are then determined by the identification and the tomography of the band-touching singularities occurring on the way. As a by-product, we also propose a method for probing spectral properties of time evolution operators via a time analog of crystallography.
We predict the existence of a Floquet topological insulator in three-dimensional two-band systems, the Floquet Hopf insulator, which possesses two distinct topological invariants. One is the Hopf Z invariant, a linking number characterizing the (nondriven) Hopf topological insulator. The second invariant is an intrinsically Floquet Z_{2} invariant, and represents a condensed matter realization of the topology underlying the Witten anomaly in particle physics. Both invariants arise from topological defects in the system's time evolution, subject to a process in which defects at different quasienergies exchange even amounts of topological charge. Their contrasting classifications lead to a measurable physical consequence, namely, an unusual bulk-boundary correspondence where gapless edge modes are topologically protected, but may exist at either 0 or π quasienergy. Our results represent a phase of matter beyond the conventional classification of Floquet topological insulators.
The conventional characterization of periodically driven systems usually necessitates the time-domain information beyond Floquet bands, hence lacking universal and direct schemes of measuring Floquet topological invariants. Here we propose a unified theory, based on quantum quenches, to characterize generic d-dimensional Floquet topological phases in which the topological invariants are constructed with only minimal information of the static Floquet bands. For a d-dimensional phase that is initially static and trivial, we introduce the quench dynamics by suddenly turning on the periodic driving. We show that the quench dynamics exhibits emergent topological patterns in (d-1)-dimensional momentum subspaces where Floquet bands cross, from which the Floquet topological invariants are directly obtained. This result provides a simple and unified characterization in which one can extract the number of conventional and anomalous Floquet boundary modes and identify the topologically protected singularities in the phase bands. These applications are illustrated with one- and two-dimensional models that are readily accessible in cold-atom experiments. Our study opens a new framework for the characterization of Floquet topological phases.
Recent experiments began to explore the topological properties of quench dynamics, i.e., the time evolution following a sudden change in the Hamiltonian, via tomography of quantum gases in optical lattices. In contrast to the well-established theory for static band insulators or periodically driven systems, at present it is not clear whether, and how, topological invariants can be defined for a general quench of band insulators. Previous work solved a special case of this problem beautifully using Hopf mapping of two-band Hamiltonians in two dimensions. However, it only works for a topologically trivial initial state and is hard to generalize to multiband systems or other dimensions. Here we introduce the concept of loop unitary constructed from the unitary time-evolution operator and show its homotopy invariant fully characterizes the dynamical topology. For two-band systems in two dimensions, we prove that the invariant is precisely equal to the change in the Chern number across the quench, regardless of the initial state. We further show that the nontrivial dynamical topology manifests as hedgehog defects in the loop unitary and also as winding and linking of its eigenvectors along a curve where dynamical quantum phase transition occurs. This opens up a systematic route to classify and characterize quantum quench dynamics.