Radiative decay of edge states in Floquet media

TL;DR

This paper investigates how time-periodic forcing affects topologically protected edge states in a one-dimensional Schrödinger system, revealing that high-frequency forcing causes exponential decay of the edge state energy into the bulk.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of radiative decay of edge states under Floquet forcing, combining numerical simulations with multiple scale analysis to understand the decay mechanism.

Findings

High-frequency forcing induces exponential decay of edge states.

The decay rate scales inversely with the square of the forcing amplitude.

Effective Dirac equation describes long-term envelope dynamics.

Abstract

We consider the effect of time-periodic forcing on a one-dimensional Schr{\"o}dinger equation with a topologically protected defect (edge) mode. The unforced system models a domain-wall or dislocation defect in a periodic structure, and it supports a defect mode which bifurcates from the Dirac point (linear band crossing) of the underlying bulk medium. We study the robustness of this state against time-periodic forcing of the type that arises in the study of Floquet Topological Insulators in condensed matter, photonics, and cold-atoms systems. Our numerical simulations demonstrate that under time-periodic forcing of sufficiently high frequency, the defect state undergoes radiative leakage of its energy away from the interface into the bulk; the time-decay is exponential on a time-scale proportional to the inverse square of the forcing amplitude. The envelope dynamics of our Floquet system are approximately governed, on long time scales, by an effective (homogenized) periodically-forced Dirac equation. Multiple scale analysis of the effective envelope dynamics yields an expansion of the radiating solution, which shows excellent agreement with our numerical simulations.