Topological Mechanics
Our vision
Topological aspects of condensed matter systems have taken the community by storm. Since the discovery of the quantum Hall effect, and in particular since the first measurements of topological insulators, topology is an omni-present topic. However, for a long time, there was a misconception that the quantum nature of these electronic systems is responsible for their topological properties. With our experiment implementing a “quantum spin Hall effect” with macroscopic springs and pendula we firmly established that the topology of Bloch bands is a pure wave effect
With our experiment we helped establishing the field of topological mechanics that has now an active community of physicists, engineers and metamaterial researchers. Beyond the substantial knowledge transfer from basic sciences to the engineering community, topological metamaterials have proven to be a flexible platform for the investigation of new concepts. This includes axial fields known from high-energy physics, or the first observation of a higher-order topological insulator.
Our future priorities include the full classification of mechanical topological bands. Moreover, we know that interactions transformed the quantum Hall effect into an intriguing many-body system. It is largely unexplored how classical non-linearities are going to influence the topology of the linear phonons. Finally, delivering a functional device based on topological mechanics is the ultimate experimental goal of our group.