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Victor N. Zadkov

Publications and source records attributed to Victor N. Zadkov.

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Thresholdless corner vortex solitons in fractal Sierpiński topological insulators

Quantized vortices are ubiquitous in physics, spanning superconductivity, astrophysics, superfluid condensed matter systems, and nonlinear optics. Yet embedding vorticity into topologically protected nonlinear states has remained a major challenge, with all previously observed corner solitons in higher-order topological insulators (HOTIs) exhibiting only trivial phase distributions. Here, we report on the first realization of stable topological corner vortex solitons in a photonic fractal HOTI. Using an array of laser-written waveguides in the shape of Sierpiński gasket with a controllable distortion, we design linear topological vortex modes, from which nonlinear corner vortex solitons bifurcate. Moreover, we demonstrate that these solitons exhibit exceptional robustness across a broad power range and, unlike vortex solitons in topologically trivial lattices, form without a power threshold. Our results introduce the angular momentum degree of freedom into the physics of topological corner modes, opening prospects for topologically protected vortex-based photonics.

physics.optics

Observation of nonlinear higher-order topological insulators with unconventional boundary truncations

In higher-order topological insulators (HOTIs), topologically nontrivial phases are usually associated with the shift of Wannier centers to topologically nontrivial positions on the edges of the unit cells, and the emergence of fractional spectral charges in the corners of the lattice upon its truncation that keeps the number of its unit cells integer. Here we propose theoretically and illustrate experimentally a different approach to the construction of HOTIs. This approach utilizes lattices with incomplete unit cells and achieves localized modes of topological origin across a broader parameter space. When truncation disrupts translational symmetry by cutting through the interior of multiple unit cells, boundary modes in our system emerge for both trivial and topologically nontrivial positions of the Wannier centers. We link these modes to the appearance of fractional Wannier centers. We also demonstrate that linear boundary states give rise to rich families of stable solitons bifurcating from them in the presence of focusing nonlinearity. Multiple types of thresholdless topological solitons with different internal symmetries are observed in waveguide arrays with triangular configurations featuring incomplete unit cells for any dimerization of waveguide spacings. Our results expand the family of HOTIs and pave the way for the observation of boundary states with different symmetries.

physics.optics

Observation of nonlinear topological corner states originating from different spectral charges

Higher-order topological insulators (HOTIs) are unique topological materials supporting edge states with the dimensionality at least by two lower than the dimensionality of the underlying structure. HOTIs were observed on lattices with different symmetries, but only in geometries, where truncation of HOTI produces a finite structure with the same order of discrete rotational symmetry as that of the unit cell, thereby setting the geometry of insulator edge. Here we experimentally demonstrate a new type of two-dimensional (2D) HOTI based on the Kekule-patterned lattice, whose order of discrete rotational symmetry differs from that of the unit cells of the constituent honeycomb lattice, with hybrid boundaries that help to produce all three possible corners that support effectively 0D corner states of topological origin, especially the one associated with spectral charge 5/6. We also show that linear corner states give rise to rich families of stable hybrid nonlinear corner states bifurcating from them in the presence of focusing nonlinearity of the material. Such new types of nonlinear corner states are observed in hybrid HOTI inscribed in transparent nonlinear dielectric using fs-laser writing technique. Our results complete the class of HOTIs and open the way to observation of topological states with new internal structure and symmetry.

physics.optics

Observation of nonlinear fractal higher-order topological insulator

Higher-order topological insulators (HOTIs) are unique materials hosting topologically protected states, whose dimensionality is at least by a factor of 2 lower than that of the bulk. Topological states in such insulators may be strongly confined in their corners that leads to considerable enhancement of nonlinear processes involving such states. However, all nonlinear HOTIs demonstrated so far were built on periodic bulk lattice materials. Here we demonstrate first \textit{nonlinear photonic} HOTI with the fractal origin. Despite their fractional effective dimensionality, the HOTIs constructed here on two different types of the Sierpiński gasket waveguide arrays, may support topological corner states for unexpectedly wide range of coupling strengths, even in parameter regions where conventional HOTIs become trivial. We demonstrate thresholdless solitons bifurcating from corner states in nonlinear fractal HOTIs and show that their localization can be efficiently controlled by the input beam power. We observe sharp differences in nonlinear light localization on outer and multiple inner corners and edges representative for these fractal materials. Our findings not only represent a new paradigm for nonlinear topological insulators, but also open new avenues for potential applications of fractal materials to control the light flow.

physics.optics

Observation of $π$ solitons in oscillating waveguide arrays

Floquet systems with periodically varying in time parameters enable realization of unconventional topological phases that do not exist in static systems with constant parameters and that are frequently accompanied by appearance of novel types of the topological states. Among such Floquet systems are the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger lattices with periodically-modulated couplings that can support at their edges anomalous $π$ modes of topological origin despite the fact that the lattice spends only half of the evolution period in topologically nontrivial phase, while during other half-period it is topologically trivial. Here, using Su-Schrieffer-Heeger arrays composed from periodically oscillating waveguides inscribed in transparent nonlinear optical medium, we report experimental observation of photonic anomalous $π$ modes residing at the edge or in the corner of the one- or two-dimensional arrays, respectively, and demonstrate a new class of topological $π$ solitons bifurcating from such modes in the topological gap of the Floquet spectrum at high powers. $π$ solitons reported here are strongly oscillating nonlinear Floquet states exactly reproducing their profiles after each longitudinal period of the structure. They can be dynamically stable in both one- and two-dimensional oscillating waveguide arrays, the latter ones representing the first realization of the Floquet photonic higher-order topological insulator, while localization properties of such $π$ solitons are determined by their power.

physics.optics

Observation of rotation-induced light localization in waveguide arrays

We study both, experimentally and theoretically, propagation of light in the fs-laser written rotating square waveguide arrays and present the first experimental evidence of light localization induced by the rotation of periodic structure in the direction of light propagation. Such linear light localization occurs either in the corners of truncated square array, where it results from the interplay between the centrifugal effect and total internal reflection at the borders of truncated array, or in the center of array, where rotation creates effective attractive optical potential. The degree of localization of linear bulk and corner modes emerging due to the rotation increases with the increase of rotation frequency. Consequently, corner and bulk solitons in rotating wave-guide arrays become thresholdless for sufficiently large rotation frequencies, in contrast to solitons in non-rotating arrays that exist only above power threshold. Focusing nonlinearity enhances localization degree of corner modes, but surprising initially it leads to broadening of bulk nonlinear states, followed by their re-localization at high input powers. Our results open new prospects for control of evolution of nonlinear multidimensional excitations by dynamically varying potentials.

physics.optics

Generalized quantum measurements. Part II: Partially-destructive quantum measurements in finite-dimensional Hilbert spaces

A concept of the generalized quantum measurement is introduced as the transformation, which establishes a correspondence between the initial states of the object system and final states of the object--measuring device (meter) system with the help of a classical informational index, unambiguously linked to the classically compatible set of states of the object--meter system. It is shown that the generalized measurement covers all the key known quantum measurement concepts--standard projective, entangling, fuzzy and the generalized measurement with the partial or complete destruction of the initial information contained in the object. A special class of partially-destructive measurements that map the continual set of the states in finite-dimensional quantum systems to that one of the infinite-dimensional quantum systems is considered. Their informational essence and some information characteristics are discussed in detail.

quant-ph

Physical implementation of entangling quantum measurements

We clarify the microscopic structure of the entangling quantum measurement superoperators and examine their possible physical realization in a simple three-qubit model, which implements the entangling quantum measurement with an arbitrary degree of entanglement.

quant-ph