Chiral bulk solitons in photonic graphene with decorated boundaries

TL;DR

This paper introduces a stable chiral bulk soliton in nonlinear photonic graphene with decorated boundaries, enabling robust photonic transport through bulk modes without relying on edge states, with potential applications in photonic device design.

Contribution

It presents the first demonstration of a stable chiral bulk soliton in nonlinear photonic graphene, leveraging valley-locking for robust transport independent of topological edge modes.

Findings

The chiral bulk soliton remains stable over long distances.

Fourier spectrum shows absence of inter-valley scattering.

Energy does not decay during propagation.

Abstract

We propose a chiral bulk soliton in a nonlinear photonic lattice with decorated boundaries, presenting a novel approach to manipulate photonic transport without extensive bulk modifications. Unlike traditional methods that rely on topological edge and corner modes, our strategy leverages the robust chiral propagation of bulk modes. By introducing nonlinearity into the system, we find a stable bulk soliton, akin to the topological valley Hall effects. The chiral bulk soliton exhibits remarkable stability; the energy does not decay even after a long-distance propagation; and the corresponding Fourier spectrum confirms the absence of inter-valley scattering indicating a valley-locking property. Our findings not only contribute to the fundamental understanding of nonlinear photonic systems but also hold significant practical implications for the design and optimization of photonic devices.