Topological-Mass Control of an Emergent Kondo Scale in an Interacting SSH Chain

TL;DR

This paper shows how the topological properties of an interacting SSH chain directly control the Kondo temperature, revealing a link between bulk topology and many-body energy scales with experimental implications.

Contribution

It analytically and numerically demonstrates that the topological mass parameter in an SSH chain governs the Kondo temperature, connecting topology with many-body physics.

Findings

Kondo temperature collapses linearly near topological transition

Kondo scale retains exponential sensitivity to hybridization

Topological parameter quantitatively controls many-body energy scale

Abstract

Topological bound states emerging at domain walls of dimerized chains provide a robust platform for exploring correlation effects beyond single-particle physics. When such a soliton state is coupled to a metallic substrate, local Coulomb interactions can give rise to Kondo screening. Here we demonstrate analytically and numerically that, in an interacting Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) chain, the Kondo temperature is directly controlled by the topological mass that governs the bulk gap. Near the topological transition, the Kondo scale collapses linearly with the mass parameter while retaining its exponential sensitivity to hybridization. This establishes a minimal mechanism by which a bulk topological parameter quantitatively determines an emergent many-body energy scale. Our results clarify the strong configuration dependence of soliton-induced Kondo signatures observed in graphene nanoribbon systems on Au(111) and provide experimentally testable predictions for scanning tunneling spectroscopy.