Photonic antiferromagnetic topological insulator with a single surface Dirac cone

TL;DR

This paper reports the first realization of a photonic antiferromagnetic topological insulator with a single surface Dirac cone, combining theoretical design and experimental verification, and demonstrating robustness against magnetic disorder.

Contribution

It introduces a novel photonic AF topological insulator with a single Dirac cone protected by combined symmetries, realized through a layered stack of Chern insulators with opposite magnetization.

Findings

Direct observation of a symmetry-protected single Dirac cone surface state.

Robustness of the surface state against magnetic disorder.

First experimental realization of photonic antiferromagnetic topological insulator.

Abstract

Antiferromagnetism, characterized by magnetic moments aligned in alternating directions with a vanished ensemble average, has garnered renewed interest for its potential applications in spintronics and axion dynamics. The synergy between antiferromagnetism and topology can lead to the emergence of an exotic topological phase unique to certain magnetic order, termed antiferromagnetic topological insulators (AF TIs). A hallmark signature of AF TIs is the presence of a single surface Dirac cone--a feature typically associated with strong three-dimensional (3D) topological insulators--only on certain symmetry-preserving crystal terminations. However, the direct observation of this phenomenon poses a significant challenge. Here, we have theoretically and experimentally discovered a 3D photonic AF TI hosting a single surface Dirac cone protected by the combined symmetry of time reversal and half-lattice translation. Conceptually, our setup can be viewed as a z-directional stack of two-dimensional Chern insulators, with adjacent layers oppositely magnetized to form a 3D type-A AF configuration. By measuring both bulk and surface states, we have directly observed the symmetry-protected gapless single-Dirac-cone surface state, which shows remarkable robustness against random magnetic disorders. Our work constitutes the first realization of photonic AF TIs and photonic analogs of strong topological insulators, opening a new chapter for exploring novel topological photonic devices and phenomena that incorporate additional magnetic degrees of freedom.