Arbitrarily Configurable Nonlinear Topological Modes.

Topological modes (TMs) are typically localized at boundaries, interfaces and dislocations, and exponentially decay into the bulk of a large enough lattice. Recently, the non-Hermitian skin effect has been leveraged to delocalize the wave functions of TMs from the boundary and thus to increase the capacity of TMs dramatically. Here, we explore the capability of nonlinearity in designing and configuring the wave functions of TMs. With growing intensity, wave functions of these in-gap nonlinear TMs undergo an initial deviation from exponential decay, gradually merge into arbitrarily designable plateaus, then encompass the entire nonlinear domain, and eventually concentrate at the nonlinear boundary. Intriguingly, such extended nonlinear TMs are still robust against defects and disorders, and stable in dynamics under external excitation. Advancing the conceptual understanding of the nonlinear TMs, our results open new avenues for increasing the capacity of TMs and developing compact and configurable topological devices.

Observation of Nonlinear Exceptional Points with a Complete Basis in Dynamics.

The exotic physics associated with exceptional points (EPs) is always under the scrutiny of theoretical and experimental science. Recently, considerable effort has been invested in the combination of nonlinearity and non-Hermiticity. The concept of nonlinear EPs (NEPs) has been introduced, which can avoid the loss of completeness of the eigenbasis in dynamics while retaining the key features of linear EPs. Here, we present the first direct experimental demonstration of a NEP based on two non-Hermition coupled circuit resonators combined with a nonlinear saturable gain. At the NEP, the response of the eigenfrequency to perturbations demonstrates a third-order root law and the eigenbasis of the Hamiltonian governing the system dynamics is still complete. Our results bring this counterintuitive aspect of the NEP to light and possibly open new avenues for applications.

Nonlinear Exceptional Points with a Complete Basis in Dynamics.

Exceptional points (EPs) are special spectral singularities at which two or more eigenvalues, and their corresponding eigenvectors, coalesce and become identical. In conventional wisdom, the coalescence of eigenvectors inevitably leads to the loss of completeness of the eigenbasis. Here, we show that this scenario breaks down in general at nonlinear EPs (NEPs). As an example, we realize a fifth-order NEP (NEP_{5}) within only three coupled resonators with both a theoretical model and simulations in circuits. One stable and another four auxiliary steady eigenstates of the nonlinear Hamiltonian coalesce at the NEP_{5}, and the response of eigenfrequency to perturbations demonstrates a fifth-order root law. Intriguingly, the biorthogonal eigenbasis of the Hamiltonian governing the system dynamics is still complete, and this fact is corroborated by a finite Petermann factor instead of a divergent one at conventional EPs. Consequently, the amplification of noise, which diverges at other EPs, converges at our NEP_{5}. Our finding transforms the understanding of EPs and shows potential for miniaturizing various key applications operating near EPs.

Chiral photonic crystals from sphere packing.

Inspired by recent developments in self-assembled chiral nanostructures, we have explored the possibility of using spherical particles packed in cylinders as building blocks for chiral photonic crystals. In particular, we focused on an array of parallel cylinders arranged in a perfect triangular lattice, each containing an identical densest sphere packing structure. Despite the non-chirality of both the spheres and cylinders, the self-assembled system can exhibit chirality due to spontaneous symmetry breaking during the assembly process. We have investigated the circular dichroism effects of the system and have found that, for both perfect electric conductor and dielectric spheres, the system can display dual-polarization photonic band gaps for circularly polarized light at normal incidence along the axis of the helix. We have also examined how the polarization band gap size depends on the dielectric constant of the spheres and the packing fraction of the cylinders. Furthermore, we have explored the effects of non-ideality and found that the polarization gap persists even in the presence of imperfections and heterogeneity. Our study suggests that a cluster formed by spheres self-assembling inside parallel cylinders with appropriate material parameters can be a promising approach to creating chiral photonic crystals.

Spontaneous Tilt of Single-Clamped Thermal Elastic Sheets.

Very thin elastic sheets, even at zero temperature, exhibit nonlinear elastic response by virtue of their dominant bending modes. Their behavior is even richer at finite temperature. Here, we use molecular dynamics to study the vibrations of a thermally fluctuating two-dimensional elastic sheet with one end clamped at its zero-temperature length. We uncover a tilted phase in which the sheet fluctuates about a mean configuration inclined with respect to the horizontal, thus breaking reflection symmetry. We determine the phase behavior as a function of the aspect ratio of the sheet and the temperature. We show that tilt may be viewed as a type of transverse buckling instability induced by clamping coupled to thermal fluctuations and develop an analytic model that predicts the tilted and untilted regions of the phase diagram. Qualitative agreement is found with the molecular dynamics simulations. Unusual response driven by control of purely geometric quantities like the aspect ratio, as opposed to external fields, offers a very rich playground for two-dimensional mechanical metamaterials.

Unexpected Dependence of Photonic Band Gap Size on Randomness in Self-Assembled Colloidal Crystals.

Using computer simulations, we explore how thermal noise-induced randomness in a self-assembled photonic crystal affects its photonic band gaps (PBGs). We consider a two-dimensional photonic crystal composed of a self-assembled array of parallel dielectric hard rods of infinite length with circular or square cross section. We find that PBGs can exist over a large range of intermediate packing densities and the largest band gap does not always appear at the highest packing density studied. Remarkably, for rods with square cross section at intermediate packing densities, the transverse magnetic (TM) band gap of the self-assembled (i.e., thermal) system can be larger than that of identical rods arranged in a perfect square lattice. By considering hollow rods, we find the band gap of transverse electric modes can be substantially increased while that of TM modes show no obvious improvement over solid rods. Our study suggests that particle shape and internal structure can be used to engineer the PBG of a self-assembled system despite the positional and orientational randomness arising from thermal noise.

Shapes within shapes: how particles arrange inside a cavity.

We calculate the configurational entropy of hard particles confined in a cavity using Monte Carlo integration. Multiple combinations of particle and cavity shapes are considered. For small numbers of particles N, we show that the entropy decreases monotonically with increasing cavity aspect ratio, regardless of particle shape. As N increases, we find ordered regions of high and low particle density, with the highest density near the boundary for all particle and cavity shape combinations. Our findings provide insights relevant to engineering particles in confined spaces, entropic barriers, and systems with depletion interactions.

Shape-Shifting Droplet Networks.

We consider a three-dimensional network of aqueous droplets joined by single lipid bilayers to form a cohesive, tissuelike material. The droplets in these networks can be programed to have distinct osmolarities so that osmotic gradients generate internal stresses via local fluid flows to cause the network to change shape. We discover, using molecular dynamics simulations, a reversible folding-unfolding process by adding an osmotic interaction with the surrounding environment which necessarily evolves dynamically as the shape of the network changes. This discovery is the next important step towards osmotic robotics in this system. We also explore analytically and numerically how the networks become faceted via buckling and how quasi-one-dimensional networks become three dimensional.

Finite barrier bound state.

A boundary mode localized on one side of a finite-size lattice can tunnel to the opposite side which results in unwanted couplings. Conventional wisdom tells that the tunneling probability decays exponentially with the size of the system which thus requires many lattice sites before eventually becoming negligibly small. Here we show that the tunneling probability for some boundary modes can apparently vanish at specific wavevectors. Thus, similar to bound states in the continuum, a boundary mode can be completely trapped within very few lattice sites where the bulk bandgap is not even well-defined. More intriguingly, the number of trapped states equals the number of lattice sites along the normal direction of the boundary. We provide two configurations and validate the existence of this peculiar finite barrier-bound state experimentally in a dielectric photonic crystal at microwave frequencies. Our work offers extreme flexibility in tuning the coupling between localized states and channels as well as a new mechanism that facilitates unprecedented manipulation of light.

Nonlinearity-enabled higher-order exceptional singularities with ultra-enhanced signal-to-noise ratio.

Higher-order exceptional points (HOEPs) with extraordinary responsivity are expected to exhibit a vastly improved performance in detection-related applications. However, over the past few years, such an approach has been questioned due to several potential drawbacks, including the stringent parameter requirements, fundamental resolution limits and noise. Here, exploring the consequence of nonlinear gain saturation in exceptional singularities of non-Hermitian systems, we offer a feasible scheme to overcome all the above difficulties. We provide a simple and intuitive example by demonstrating with both theory and circuit experiments an 'exceptional nexus' ('EX'), a HOEP with an ultra-enhanced signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), in only two coupled resonators with the aid of nonlinear gain. The tedious parameter tuning in a six-dimensional hyper-dimensional space is reduced to two dimensions. The feedback mechanism of nonlinear saturable gain can give a solution to the ongoing debate on the SNR of EPs in other linear systems. Our findings advance the fundamental understanding of the peculiar topology of nonlinear non-Hermitian systems, significantly reduce the practical difficulty in EP sensing and possibly open new avenues for applications.

Configurational entropy of colloidal particles in a confined space.

We calculate the configurational entropy of colloidal particles in a confined geometry interacting as hard disks using Monte Carlo integration. In particular, we consider systems with three kinds of boundary conditions: hard, periodic, and spherical. For small to moderate packing fraction ϕ values, we find the entropies per particle for systems with the periodic and the spherical boundary conditions tend to reach the same value with the increase of the particle number N, while that for the system with the hard boundary conditions still has obvious differences compared to them within the studied N range. Surprisingly, despite the small system sizes, the estimated entropies per particle at infinite system size from extrapolations in the periodic and spherical systems are in reasonable agreement with that calculated using thermodynamic integration. Besides, as N increases we find the pair correlation function begins to exhibit similar features as that of a thermally equilibrated hard-disk fluid at the same packing fraction. Our findings may contribute to a better understanding of how the configurational entropy changes with the system size and the influence of boundary conditions, and provide insights relevant to engineering particles in confined spaces.

FCC ↔ BCC Phase Transitions in Convex and Concave Hard Particle Systems.

Solid-solid transitions are ubiquitous in nature and are important for technology. Understanding and exploiting transitions are complicated by the fact that multiple transition pathways can exist between small unit cell structures such as face-centered cubic (FCC) and body-centered cubic (BCC). By symmetry, FCC ↔ BCC transitions can occur via a pair of continuous transitions or via a discontinuous, first-order transition. However, how to, or whether it is possible to, select between pathways is unclear. Here, we use particle shape change to induce FCC ↔ BCC transitions in systems where particle valence is malleable. Though some particle shapes can eliminate metastable HCP stacking faults, we find that for both convex and concave particles, transitions are first-order.

Effects of scars on icosahedral crystalline shell stability under external pressure.

We study how the stability of spherical crystalline shells under external pressure is influenced by the defect structure. In particular, we compare stability for shells with a minimal set of topologically required defects to shells with extended defect arrays (grain boundary "scars" with nonvanishing net disclination charge). We perform both Monte Carlo and conjugate gradient simulations to compare how shells with and without scars deform quasistatically under external hydrostatic pressure. We find that the critical pressure at which shells collapse is lowered for scarred configurations that break icosahedral symmetry and raised for scars that preserve icosahedral symmetry. The particular shapes which arise from breaking of an initial icosahedrally symmetric shell depend on the Föppl-von Kármán number.