Interplay between disorder and topology in Thouless pumping on a superconducting quantum processor.

Area of Science:

• Condensed Matter Physics
• Quantum Information Science
• Topological Physics

Background:

• Topological phases exhibit robustness against weak perturbations but degrade under strong disorder.
• Thouless pumping, a (1+1)D topological phenomenon, is analogous to the integer quantum Hall effect.
• Moderate disorder can induce topologically nontrivial phases, presenting a complex interplay with topological states.

Purpose of the Study:

• To experimentally investigate the competition and interplay between Thouless pumping and disorder.
• To explore the induction of topological phases by different types of disorder.
• To realize and study a novel topological pump induced by quasi-periodic hopping disorder.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a 41-qubit superconducting quantum processor.
• Employed an improved Floquet engineering technique for adiabatic pumping cycles.
• Simultaneously varied on-site potentials and hopping couplings to control topological pumping and disorder.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated Thouless pumping in the presence of disorder and observed its breakdown with increasing disorder strength.
• Observed two distinct types of topological pumping induced by on-site potential disorder and hopping disorder.
• Achieved the first experimental realization of an intrinsic topological pump induced by quasi-periodic hopping disorder.

Conclusions:

• The study highlights the complex relationship between topological pumping and disorder, showing both destructive and constructive effects.
• The experimental platform offers a controllable system for studying topological physics in disordered regimes.
• The realization of the quasi-periodic hopping disorder pump opens new avenues for exploring topological phenomena.