Topological phases of quantized light

• 来源期刊: 国家科学评论（英文版）
• 年，卷（期）: 2021,（1）
• 所属期刊栏目: RESEARCH ARTICLES
• 页码范围: 64-75
• 页数: 12页
• 语种: 英文
• DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwaa196

摘要

Topological photonics is an emerging research area that focuses on the topological states of classical light.Here we reveal the topological phases that are intrinsic to the quantum nature of light,i.e.solely related to the quantized Fock states and the inhomogeneous coupling strengths between them.The Hamiltonian of two cavities coupled with a two-level atom is an intrinsic one-dimensional Su-Schriefer-Heeger model of Fock states.By adding another cavity,the Fock-state lattice is extended to two dimensions with a honeycomb structure,where the strain due to the inhomogeneous coupling strengths of the annihilation operator induces a Lifshitz topological phase transition between a semimetal and three band insulators within the lattice.In the semimetallic phase,the strain is equivalent to a pseudomagnetic field,which results in the quantization of the Landau levels and the valley Hall effect.We further construct an inhomogeneous Fock-state Haldane model where the topological phases can be characterized by the topological markers.With d cavities being coupled to the atom,the lattice is extended tod-1 dimensions without an upper limit.In this study we demonstrate a fundamental distinction between the topological phases in quantum and classical optics and provide a novel platform for studying topological physics in dimensions higher than three.