Switchable topological phonon channels. (30th January 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Süsstrunk, Roman; Zimmermann, Philipp; Huber, Sebastian D
• Is Part Of: New journal of physics. Volume 19:Number 1(2017:Jan.)
• Publication Date: 2017-01-30
• Subjects: topological matter -- mechanical metamaterials -- adaptive materials -- phonon switch; 63.20.D- -- 46.40.Cd -- 43.60.+d; Physics -- Periodicals; Physics; Periodicals; 530.05
• DOI: 10.1088/1367-2630/aa591c
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1367-2630

Abstract

Abstract: Guiding energy deliberately is one of the central elements in engineering and information processing. It is often achieved by designing specific transport channels in a suitable material. Topological metamaterials offer a way to construct stable and efficient channels of unprecedented versatility. However, due to their stability it can be tricky to terminate them or to temporarily shut them off without changing the material properties massively. While a lot of effort was put into realizing mechanical topological metamaterials, almost no works deal with manipulating their edge channels in sight of applications. Here, we take a step in this direction, by taking advantage of local symmetry breaking potentials to build a switchable topological phonon channel.