Floquet Topological Insulators for Sound

TL;DR

This paper introduces acoustic Floquet topological insulators achieved through time-modulation of resonator lattices, enabling broadband, nonreciprocal sound control without moving media, with potential for practical acoustic applications.

Contribution

It presents a novel method to realize acoustic topological insulators via time-modulation, avoiding moving media and enabling broadband, topologically protected sound transport.

Findings

Demonstrated broadband acoustic isolation.

Achieved nonreciprocal, topologically protected sound emission.

Validated the approach through numerical simulations.

Abstract

The unique conduction properties of condensed matter systems with topological order have recently inspired a quest for similar effects in classical wave phenomena. Acoustic topological insulators, in particular, hold the promise to revolutionize our ability to control sound, allowing for large isolation in the bulk and broadband one-way transport on their edges, with topological immunity against structural defects and disorder. So far these fascinating properties have been obtained relying on moving media, which inherently introduce noise and absorption losses, hindering the practical applicability of topological acoustics. Here, we overcome these limitations by modulating in time the acoustic properties of a lattice of resonators, introducing the concept of acoustic Floquet topological insulators. Acoustic modulation at ultrasonic frequencies can reach values as high as a few percents, enabling broadband effects with an on-site, moderate modulation strategy that surprisingly does not require phase uniformity across the lattice. Using first-principle numerical experiments, we show that acoustic waves provide a fertile ground to apply the anomalous physics of Floquet topological insulators, and demonstrate their relevance for a wide range of acoustic applications, including broadband acoustic isolation and topologically protected, nonreciprocal acoustic emitters.