Topological fine structure of an energy band

Research output: Contribution to journal › Research article › Contributed › peer-review

Contributors

  • Hui Liu - , Stockholm University (Author)
  • Cosma Fulga - , Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden, Würzburg-Dresden Cluster of Excellence ctd.qmat (Author)
  • Emil J. Bergholtz - , Stockholm University (Author)
  • Janos Asboth - , Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Wigner Research Centre for Physics (Author)

Abstract

A band with a nonzero Chern number cannot be fully localized by weak disorder. There must remain at least one extended state, which “carries the Chern number.” Here we show that a trivial band can behave in a similar way. Instead of fully localizing, arbitrarily weak disorder leads to the emergence of two sets of extended states, positioned at two different energy intervals, which carry opposite Chern numbers. Thus, a single trivial band can show the same behavior as two separate Chern bands. We show that this property is predicted by a topological invariant called a “localizer index.” Even though the band as a whole is trivial as far as the Chern number is concerned, the localizer index allows access to a topological fine structure. This index changes as a function of energy within the bandwidth of the trivial band, causing nontrivial extended states to appear as soon as disorder is introduced. Our work points to a previously overlooked manifestation of topology, which impacts the response of systems to impurities beyond the information included in conventional topological invariants.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number172
JournalSciPost physics
Volume20
Issue number6
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2026
Peer-reviewedYes

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas