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Updated: Jun 23, 2025

Spectral and Angle-Resolved Magneto-Optical Characterization of Photonic Nanostructures
Published on: November 21, 2019
Near-Field Spin Chern Number Quantized by Real-Space Topology of Optical Structures
Tong Fu1, Ruo-Yang Zhang2, Shiqi Jia1
1Department of Physics, <a href="https://ror.org/03q8dnn23">City University of Hong Kong</a>, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
Abstract:
The Chern number has been widely used to describe the topological properties of periodic structures in momentum space. Here, we introduce a real-space spin Chern number for the optical near fields of finite-sized structures. This new spin Chern number is intrinsically quantized and equal to the structure's Euler characteristic. The relationship is robust against continuous deformation of the structure's geometry and is irrelevant to the specific material constituents or external excitation. Our Letter enriches topological physics by extending the Chern number to real space, opening exciting possibilities for exploring the real-space topological properties of light.
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