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Quadrupole topological phases, exhibiting protected boundary states that are themselves topological insulators of lower dimensions, have recently been of great interest. Extensions of these ideas from current tight binding models to continuum theories for realistic materials require the identification of quantized invariants describing the bulk quadrupole order. Here we identify the analog of quadrupole order in Maxwell’s equations for a gyromagnetic photonic crystal (PhC) through a double-band-inversion process. The quadrupole moment is quantized by the simultaneous presence of crystalline symmetry and broken time-reversal symmetry, which is confirmed using three independent methods: analysis of symmetry eigenvalues, numerical calculations of the nested Wannier bands and the expectation value of the quadrupole operator. Furthermore, we reveal the boundary manifestations of quadrupole phases as quantized edge polarizations and fractional corner charges. The latter are the consequence of a filling anomaly of energy bands as first predicted in electronic systems. Most higher order topological phases are realized by emulations of tight binding models. Extending these concepts to continuum theories requires the identification of invariants describing the bulk multipole order. Here the authors realize the analog of quadrupole order for a gyromagnetic photonic crystal.

Achieving topologically-protected robust transport in optical systems has recently been of great interest. Most studied topological photonic structures can be understood by solving the eigenvalue problem of Maxwell’s equations for static linear systems. Here, we extend topological phases into dynamically driven systems and achieve a Floquet Chern insulator of light in nonlinear photonic crystals (PhCs). Specifically, we start by presenting the Floquet eigenvalue problem in driven two-dimensional PhCs. We then define topological invariant associated with Floquet bands, and show that topological band gaps with non-zero Chern number can be opened by breaking time-reversal symmetry through the driving field. Finally, we numerically demonstrate the existence of chiral edge states at the interfaces between a Floquet Chern insulator and normal insulators, where the transport is non-reciprocal and uni-directional. Our work paves the way to further exploring topological phases in driven optical systems and their optoelectronic applications. Topological photonic structures can be understood by solving the eigenvalue problem of Maxwell’s equations in the static case. Here, the authors study Floquet topological phases in nonlinear photonic crystals under external drive and show how non-reciprocal transport can be achieved in a Floquet Chern insulator.

Weyl semimetals (WSMs) are gapless topological states of matter with broken inversion and/or time reversal symmetry. WSMs can support a circulating photocurrent when illuminated by circularly polarized light at normal incidence. Here, we report a spatially dispersive circular photogalvanic effect (s-CPGE) in a WSM that occurs with a spatially varying beam profile. Our analysis shows that the s-CPGE is controlled by a symmetry selection rule combined with asymmetric carrier excitation and relaxation dynamics. By evaluating the s-CPGE for a minimal model of a WSM, a frequency-dependent scaling behaviour of the photocurrent is obtained. Wavelength-dependent measurements from the visible to mid-infrared range show evidence of Berry curvature singularities and band inversion in the s-CPGE response. We present the s-CPGE as a promising spectroscopic probe for topological band properties, with the potential for controlling photoresponse by patterning optical fields on topological materials to store, manipulate and transmit information.

Electromagnetic fields can be used to perturb the electronic charge distribution inside a material giving rise to dispersive charge currents. These currents generate many unique optical phenomena from circular dichroism to spatially dispersive photogalvanic effects. In this thesis, we study the prediction and consequence of these spatially dispersive charge currents. In order for a system to manifest a spatially dispersive charge current, the translation symmetry of the system must be broken. In the field of hard condensed matter physics this can occur in two fundamental ways: either by spatial inhomogeneities in the crystalline structure of the material one is studying or by application of a perturbing field that itself is modulated in space. Here we study examples from both categories. Bilayer graphene samples contain domain walls that consist of one dimensional line defects in the crystalline structure of the material. These defects themselves break the translation symmetry of the crystal and can give rise to spatially dispersive currents even under spatially homogenous light illumination. Here we study the charge currents around these defect regions and describe their measurement using near field scanning optical microscopy. We then study circular dichroism in twisted bilayer graphene. Here the dispersion of external light in the propagation direction breaks the translation symmetry of the system and leads to induced charge currents different in the top and bottom layers of the bilayer system. This mirror symmetry breaking leads to the asymmetric absorption of right and left handed circular polarized light directed at normal incidence upon the bilayer. Lastly, we study a spatially dispersive current quadratically proportional to the electric field. These spatially dispersive currents are proportional to the spatially gradients of an external electric field. The spatial dispersion of the external field breaks the translation symmetry of the system and allows these spatially dispersive currents to manifest. We study an inversion broken Weyl semimetal and describe the measurement of the spatially dispersive photogalvanic effect, a consequence of a particular type of these spatially dispersive currents.

We present general design principles for engineering and discovering periodic systems with flat bands. Our paradigm exploits spin-orbit assisted orbital frustration on a lattice to produce band structures that contain multiplets of narrowly dispersing bands whose bandwidth is smaller than all other energy scales of the problem including the band gap surrounding the flat bands. We present a series of models in 1D and 2D on various lattices with different intracellular spin-orbit like potentials that hybridize the degrees of freedom in the unit cell. As an alternative to machine learning based exhaustive searches, these design principles and models can be used to search for flat band systems in a variety of physical settings and can be used to investigate the role of weakly dispersing highly orbitally frustrated degrees of freedom in systems where the interactions dominate over the kinetic energy scales of the system.

We derive the expression for the local Hall conductivity for systems that lack translation symmetry and use it to study the local fluctuations of the Hall signal around disordered patches in magnetic insulators. We find that the regime in parameter space over which the system is a Chern insulating state increases upon inclusion of non-magnetic potential disorder. In addition, the phase space over which the topological Anderson insulator exists can be enhanced by breaking up a single disordered patch into multiple smaller patches with the same total amount of disorder. We expect our results will motivate the next generation of local scanning and local impedance spectroscopy experiments to visualize Hall currents around patches in the bulk of a disordered topological insulator.

We derive the expression for the local Hall conductivity for systems that lack translation symmetry and use it to study the local fluctuations of the Hall signal around disordered patches in magnetic insulators. We find that the regime in parameter space over which the system is a Chern insulating state increases upon inclusion of non-magnetic potential disorder. In addition, the phase space over which the topological Anderson insulator exists can be enhanced by breaking up a single disordered patch into multiple smaller patches with the same total amount of disorder. We expect our results will motivate the next generation of local scanning and local impedance spectroscopy experiments to visualize Hall currents around patches in the bulk of a disordered topological insulator.

We calculate the thermoelectric transport of spin-orbit coupled conduction electrons in the presence of topological spin textures. We show, within a controlled, semiclassical approach that includes all phase space Berry curvatures, that the Nernst effect has two contributions in addition to the usual effect proportional to a magnetic field. These are an anomalous contribution governed by the momentum-space Berry curvature and proportional to net magnetization, and a topological contribution determined by the real-space Berry curvature and proportional to the topological charge density, which is non-zero in skyrmion phases. We derive a generalized Mott relation expressing the thermoelectric tensor as the chemical potential derivative of the conductivity tensor and show how the Sondheimer cancellation in the Nernst effect is evaded in chiral magnets.

We develop a theory for the electrical and thermal transverse linear response functions such as the Hall, Nernst and thermal Hall effects in magnetic materials that harbor topological spin textures like skyrmions. In addition to the ordinary transverse response that arises from the Lorentz force due to the external magnetic field, there is an anomalous and a topological response. The intrinsic anomalous response derives from the momentum space Berry curvature arising from the spin-orbit coupling (SOC) in a system with a nonzero magnetization, while the topological response arises from real space Berry curvature related to the the topological charge density of the spin texture. To take into account all these effects on an equal footing, we develop a semiclassical theory that incorporates all phase-space Berry curvatures. We show within a controlled, semiclassical approach that all conductivities -- electrical, thermoelectric, and thermal Hall -- can be written as the sum of three contributions: ordinary, anomalous and topological, when the conduction electron SOC is weaker than the exchange coupling to the spin texture. All other contributions, including those arising from mixed real-momentum space Berry curvature, are negligible in the regime where our calculations are controlled. We derive various general relations that remain valid at low temperatures including the Weidemann-Franz relation between the electrical and thermal conductivities and the Mott relation between the thermoelectric and electrical conductivities. We also discuss how an in-plane Hall response arises in three-dimensional materials with sufficiently low symmetry. Finally, the Hall response is qualitatively different when the conduction electron SOC is stronger than the exchange coupling to the spin texture, where we find that the anomalous term dominates and the topological term vanishes.

We expand the concept of frustration in Mott insulators and quantum spin liquids to metals with flat bands. We show that when inter-orbital hopping \\(t_2\\) dominates over intra-orbital hopping \\(t_1\\), in a multiband system with strong spin-orbit coupling \\(\\), electronic states with a narrow bandwidth \\(W t_2^2/\\) are formed compared to a bandwidth of order \\(t_1\\) for intra-orbital hopping. We demonstrate the evolution of the electronic structure, Berry phase distributions for time-reversal and inversion breaking cases, and their imprint on the optical absorption, in a tight binding model of \\(d\\)-orbital hopping on a honeycomb lattice. Going beyond quantum Hall effect and twisted bilayer graphene, we provide an alternative mechanism and a richer materials platform for achieving flat bands poised at the brink of instabilities toward novel correlated and fractionalized metallic phases.