Experimental Observation of Acoustic Weyl Points and Topological Surface States

TL;DR

This paper reports the experimental realization of acoustic Weyl points and topological surface states in a phononic crystal, demonstrating robust one-way acoustic transport and confirming the existence of Fermi arcs.

Contribution

It introduces a novel acoustic Weyl phononic crystal by breaking inversion symmetry and provides experimental evidence of Weyl points, Fermi arcs, and topologically protected surface states.

Findings

Observation of acoustic Weyl points via angle-resolved transmission

Experimental confirmation of acoustic Fermi arcs

Demonstration of robust one-way surface acoustic transport

Abstract

Weyl points emerge as topological monopoles of Berry flux in the three-dimensional (3D) momentum space and have been extensively studied in topological semimetals. As the underlying topological principles apply to any type of waves under periodic boundary conditions, Weyl points can also be realized in classical wave systems, which are easier to engineer compared to condensed matter materials. Here, we made an acoustic Weyl phononic crystal by breaking space inversion (P) symmetry using a combination of slanted acoustic waveguides. We conducted angle-resolved transmission measurements to characterize the acoustic Weyl points. We also experimentally confirmed the existence of acoustic "Fermi arcs" and demonstrated robust one-way acoustic transport, where the surface waves can overcome a step barrier without reflection. This work lays a solid foundation for the basic research in 3D topological acoustic effects.