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2026

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07

Topological Gaps in Phononic Crystals

Author:


The team of Zhengyou Liu, Manzhu Ke, and Jiuyang Lu at Wuhan University has proposed a topological trap that enables the spatial confinement and controlled release of chiral modes. This trapping occurs at the interface between two topological domains with identical Chern numbers but mismatched polarizations. The authors have realized this topological trap in a phononic crystal and directly observed the propagation and trapping of acoustic waves under different trap configurations. Their proposed topological trap offers a novel approach to manipulating topological states and may open new avenues for the storage and encoding of topological information.

The research findings were published in Physical Review Letters on June 23, 2026, under the title “Topological Slot in Phononic Crystals.”

Figure 1: Lattice model of the Chen insulator

Figure 2: Schematic diagram of the topology slot

Figure 3: Acoustic realization in phononic crystals

Figure 4: Experimental characterization of edge and interface spectra

Figure 5: Implementation of the Acoustic Topological Cavity

Source: Optics World