Thouless Pumping in a Driven-Dissipative Kerr Resonator Array

Area of Science:

• Condensed Matter Physics
• Quantum Optics
• Topological Matter

Background:

• Thouless pumping demonstrates topology in physics via quantized charge transport.
• Extending Thouless pumping to interacting systems remains a significant challenge.
• Nonlinear physics and driven-dissipative systems offer new paradigms for topological phenomena.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and investigate a novel Thouless pump based entirely on nonlinear physics.
• To explore the generation of topological bands in interacting systems.
• To demonstrate interaction-induced topological transitions.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing a chain of coupled Kerr resonators with time- and space-modulated on-site Kerr interactions.
• Analyzing the Bogoliubov spectrum of excitations to identify topological bands.
• Employing numerical simulations with parameters inspired by exciton-polaritons.

Main Results:

• Successfully generated 1+1-dimensional topological bands analogous to the Harper-Hofstadter model.
• Observed quantized transport of Wannier states, consistent with band Chern numbers.
• Identified driving configurations that induce band inversion and topological phase transitions.

Conclusions:

• A nonlinear Thouless pump is feasible in driven-dissipative coupled Kerr resonators.
• This work extends topological pumping to interacting systems via nonlinear effects.
• Exciton-polariton systems provide a promising platform for realizing these driven topological phases.